Vanity Fair: As we speak, it isn’t just your Knicks that are prepping for a title shot. Your other favorite team, Arsenal, is about to play in the Champions League final. What did you do to make all this happen?
Spike Lee: [Laughs] Here’s the thing. I became an Arsenal fan when Thierry Henry joined the squad. But I was reading history about Arsenal—I forget the year, but they had, like, an all-black team. Brothers! So that really gained my interest. I went to a couple of games, and Thierry and I are friends.
In New York City, at least, Arsenal has become kind of the hipster fan team. Mayor Zohran Mamdani is a supporter, and it seems like half of Williamsburg. What do you make of that?
I can’t speak to that. All I know is that there’s a bar next to my office in Brooklyn called Fancy Free, which is the unofficial official headquarters of the supporters of Arsenal. We’ll be there packed in tomorrow for this, hopefully, demolition of PSG! [Unfortunately, Paris St. Germain handed Arsenal a heartbreaking loss in the Champions League final on Saturday in a match decided by penalty kicks.]
Lee has been a courtside fixture at the Garden for more than three decades. He was there for the 1994 Finals, when the Knicks came up short against the Houston Rockets.
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Then it’s on to the Knicks demolishing the Spurs.
I don’t know about demolition, but we will be victorious. And it’s funny, you opened up with the question, Did I have anything to do with it? Well, maybe prayers. I’ve been praying for the Knicks to win since the last one, the ‘72-‘73 team!
What’s your dominant emotion right now? Joy? Fear?
I’m feeling great. Because this is our time. I’m not nervous. I’m not anxious. And we’ve been blessed by Pope Leo.
You think he’s got a hand in this Knicks run?
I met Pope—you’ve got to look at my Instagram! I gave Pope Leo a Knick jersey. Anthony Mason’s number, number 14. He’s the 14th pope named Leo. And also, he signed a jersey for me. I wore it once during the playoffs, but I’m wearing it all during this Finals coming up. Signed by Pope Leo!
And I saw this on Instagram—he was doing a motorcade, and a Knicks fan was yelling, “Knicks, Knicks, Knicks!” and the Pope turned around and gave him a thumbs up!
“We’ve been blessed by Pope Leo.”