All of New York has united around the Knicks. Estwhile New Yorker Donald Trump’s self-serving presence at Madison Square Garden mustn’t dampen the joy.
Everyone is pulling for the team — regardless of ethnicity, religion, income or politics — as they move closer towards a championship trophy after a drought of more than half a century. Black, white, Latino, Asian, Jew, Christian, Muslim, rich, poor, liberal, conservative — we argue over everything, which can be challenging at times but has long been a marker of our strength rather than a weakness.
The Knicks run is a badly needed reminder of that right now. This quest has bound us together. And while everyone is welcome, Trump, although a born and raised New Yorker, has turned his back on this spirit and this city.
While we won’t denounce his appearance at the Garden, he is doing it not to support the team and the city, but to support Trump. He may even be rooting for the San Antonio Spurs to win, as Texas suits him better politically. More likely he will be cheering for the only person Trump ever cheers for: Himself.
Do your best to ignore him no matter how much tries to make the match about him. The players and the fans should focus on the game and the unity that it brings, and not let one selfish man ruin it.
On the streets, on the subways, even non-fans of basketball are engaged and talking about Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. The opponents don’t matter, as the Knicks have made quick work of each squad they have faced in the playoffs. People are wearing the orange and blue colors everywhere (no slight to the Mets) as their run for the championship comes home tomorrow night.
Basketball is the city game. It’s simple to understand and play. Anyone can join, there’s no need for a field or rink like football or baseball or soccer or hockey require. Just a ball and hoop on the side of a building. Anyone can dribble and take some shots. It’s like becoming a New Yorker, as this city has always embraced newcomers from overseas and from elsewhere in the U.S.
That’s the very opposite of what Trump spews, with his dividing and blaming of others and stoking the fear of outsiders. He’s made a specialty of using xenophobia to his political advantage, despite the great harm that it causes.
As Knicks legend Bill Bradley, who was on both of the championship teams of 1970 and 1973, wrote in these pages in 2024 about Trump’s hated-filled campaign rally at the Garden: “Courage, discipline, selflessness, and respect for others are fundamentally American values. Donald Trump doesn’t understand any of those values. He demeans them every day.”
Yes, Trump will be in the crowd tomorrow night, but the spotlight shouldn’t be on him, but on the men on the court, on both benches.
We offered no slight to our other pro teams and cheer that the Yanks and Giants have both won championships in recent years, but Knicks fans have been waiting the longest, since 1973, before Dollar Bill became a U.S. senator.
So good luck and good fortune to the Knicks, ambassadors of sorts for a city that has persevered and always come out on top. You carry the city’s collected hopes with you, and may you bring a championship to the five boroughs draped everywhere in blue and orange in your honor.