Ok. It’s another year and another season, and I am yet again filled with great hope for our beloved New York Knicks. Dare I say, this is our year. I might be a little premature in my excitement, but being a true New York sports fan is all about the prospect of good things to come in the future. Hope, joy, community, and resilience are what I think of as the key elements of being a Knicks fan and part of the larger New York sports community, in my view.
I am filled with a sense of possibility seeing the newly hired Coach Mike Brown these past few games. Seeing him rotate almost the entire bench had me in absolute shock, something we never saw with the previous coaching staff. Coach Thibs practically ran his players into the ground, and his strategy was not sustainable for long-term success. I am optimistic to see bench players step into key roles and showcase why they are worthy of being in the blue and orange.
For me, Knicks basketball is so much more than just the sport and the magical time in the Garden. It really is a time to experience collective joy (and disappointment) and fellowship with a broad array of New Yorkers. This city of almost nine million people can feel lonely and overwhelming for many. The city can also feel like it pushes people into a sea of faces and a level of anonymity that can be isolating for others. New York sports pull people out of the margins and give them a reason to feel camaraderie and community with friends and strangers alike.
I recently went to a game and found myself high-fiving strangers next to me, genuinely wishing them well when we parted, and feeling like I lived in a small town for just a few hours. In reality, New York is nothing but hundreds of small towns and communities where people identify strangers by sports logos, and those strangers become anything from fleeting moments of positive energy passing by, and often, lifelong friends.
If sports are not your thing, I think it is important to find another way to build community in such a large and busy city. As some of you may know, I quite enjoy birding as another activity to help me appreciate the beauty of New York through nature.
Life is very stressful for so many. There are so many stories of cruelty and lawlessness and breaking of norms happening right now, it is so important to find whatever joy you can. So, whether it’s the Knicks or sports or nature or whatever it may be, find it and savor it and enjoy it and spread the love.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of the books “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.