The Pain Within: Loving and Hating the Knicks
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Masochism is defined as a tendency to derive pleasure from one's own pain and/or humiliation. The combination of insanity and masochism has been my 24-year experience as a Knicks fan. Season after season I rationalize the things that we do, I make myself believe, and shortly thereafter I am let down once again.
In a way, the Knicks symbolize hope. A constant and shared hope exists amongst Knicks fans, as it has been 20 years since the Knicks got bounced from the Eastern Conference Finals and yet we still remain hopeful that one day things will be different. Unfortunately I have no recollection of the good times, my memories are filled with giving away first round picks for bums and sub 40 win seasons. But why am I a fan? It’s obviously not the winning pedigree, but New Yorkers support New York City through thick and thin. It’s an ingrained stubbornness that comes with being a New Yorker that allows me to believe that the next season will be better than the previous one.
Representing the New York Knicks great Walt Frazier.
Growing up I probably booed the Knicks more than I cheered them, an act continued to this day. But I never stop loving them. The relationship can be described as nothing else but hard and arduous. My oldest sports memories are filled with trips to the Garden and going to Knicks basketball camps. From a young age I noticed how a Knicks game can bring out the whole city. As a little kid, I always loved seeing the Garden packed and the initial excitement of the fans was palpable. Celebrity sightings such as Spike Lee and many others were always accompanied by applause and entering every contest there was immense hope. As I have witnessed on many occasions, losing can bring a fan together just as much as winning can. As quickly as the cheers came, so did the boos; from a young age I knew the boos came from the warmest of places, the heart. Many of the childhood trips I took to the Garden ended well before the end of regulation. It is almost customary to watch a half or maybe 3 quarters of a game then routinely leave for the train to beat the sad mob of exiting fans. These collective rituals bring together a city so large yet it can still feel isolating at times.
Over the past 20 years the Knicks have set themselves up for failure. This decade alone has seen some of the worst trades in the history of the franchise, and quite possibly in league history. Coming off the 2012-2013 season the Knicks finished 54-28, the best season in a decade ended in a playoff loss to the Pacers (hey, remember the playoffs?). For the next season the Knicks had to get over the hump and the fans were prime for an ever deeper playoff run, so what’s the move the Knicks make to take the next step? I Introduce to you Andrea Bargnani, the 7 foot tall three point shooting Italian Power Forward. We sent Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, our 2016 first, and two future seconds to acquire him. While Andre Bargnani was the first pick of the 2006 draft, he was injury prone (only playing 70+ games three seasons in his 10 year career), the worst rebounding big in the league, and a porous defender. In typical Knicks fashion, they completely overpaid for someone who was a disappointment.. In the 2013-2014 season the Knicks went 37-45 and failed to make the playoffs. The Knicks haven’t been to the playoffs since and it doesn’t look like they will be there anytime soon.
There’s not much lower you can go if you are a Knicks fan. It’s only up from here. That alone keeps me holding out hope. There is something unique about rooting for a struggling franchise like this, it creates unity amongst us.. There is an innate comfort knowing that there are so many other fans that feel as shitty as you do. That long period of failure and misery allows for good moments to become surreal and etched in a fans memory. Watching the Nate Robinson years always brought happiness to the Garden. Linsanity, the phenomenon that is Jeremy Lin’s two-week basketball transcendence took the world by storm. The few playoff runs especially 2012-2013 will last in the hearts and minds of this era of Knicks fans forever. Whenever we are close to something other than last place, or vying for the top pick, an adrenaline rush kicks in, because we all have hope.
My fandom is based on a need to be tormented. No but really, why else would I stay? A sane man would have jumped ship to Brooklyn, especially now that you can get in before the stock really soars. But I could never. I trust that one day I will see a good Knicks team with good management and coaching. With the advances in technology I should be around another 60 years, if they aren’t good by then please send the franchise to Buffalo.
But in all seriousness, there are few things that could bring New Yorkers together quite like Knicks success, and imagine what a Knicks championship would bring to this city! More than anything, the Knicks have taught me patience and the importance of strong leadership: I look at the Knicks to see what I shouldn’t be doing in life. Who knows, maybe if we are lucky they will get it together. I'll be right with them for all the downs, and hopefully some of the ups that we have been long waiting for too.