Dress for the job you want.<\/p>\n
A Knicks \u201csuperfan\u201d with dreams of becoming the official team mascot was the toast of the town Wednesday as he took to the streets to lead the\u00a0wild, public Game 1 Finals celebrations<\/a>\u00a0in Midtown Wednesday.<\/p>\n The mystery man behind the\u00a0costumed Niko Knickerbocker<\/a>\u00a0danced onto rapper French Montana\u2019s music video set, rallied cheers behind the bars at a\u00a0jam-packed restaurant\u00a0<\/a>and ignited cheers outside the Garden while the team soared to victory.<\/p>\n Niko Knickerbocker has made himself the unofficial mascot of the New York Knicks. Robert Mecea for New York Post<\/p>\n \u201cYo Niko! Yo Niko!\u201d\u00a0the fans\u00a0screamed as the modern-day Knickerbocker strolled along 8th Avenue.<\/p>\n The Queens-born man behind the mask said the reactions are \u201cpriceless.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted to make something for us like\u00a0that. And\u00a0I felt like the fans deserved it,\u201d Knickerbocker said.<\/p>\n Knickerbocker \u2014 who prefers to be called a \u201csuperfan\u201d rather than a mascot \u2014 has been bringing the\u00a0fun to fans since the 2023-24 season in an informal capacity, he told The Post on the condition of maintaining his anonymity.<\/p>\n The idea for the character sprouted when the man behind the mask pondered\u00a0how\u00a0the Knicks didn\u2019t already have their own mascot when those like the Phoenix Suns\u2019 \u201cGo the Gorilla\u201d were making a name for themselves outside the arena.<\/p>\n Knickerbocker was created by a Queens-born man, who prefers to remain anonymous behind the mask. Robert Mecea for New York Post<\/p>\n \u201cI love being around people,\u201d he said. \u201cI love making people smile, making people laugh, making people happy. I just wanted to spread love for our team, spread love for our fans. And that\u2019s what I set out to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Knickerbocker sketched out a character wearing 17th-century-style knickerbocker pants as an ode to the\u00a0Knick\u2019s\u00a0historical team name and spent $3,000 of his own cash to make the three-piece costume a reality.<\/p>\n His gimmicks are simple \u2014 he parties with fans, holds up question cards about the team for fans and, in moments of ecstasy, leaps in the air and clicks his shiny blue shoes together.<\/p>\n One of Nickerbocker\u2019s gimmicks is his \u201cheel-click.\u201d Robert Mecea for New York Post<\/p>\n But he\u2019s also a born-and-bred New Yorker \u2014 meaning he\u2019ll help an old lady get her cat out of her tree, but he\u2019ll also be screaming in the after-game traffic.<\/p>\n