The Knicks have just won the NBA championships for the first time in 53 years, and as a native New Yorker, I feel as though it’s my responsibility to add some kind of insight to this win. The sky is lighting up with fire works and the streets have become a sea of blue and orange. The city is rumbling with the cries of joy belonging to thousands of New Yorkers celebrating this historic win. Even as someone who has no interest in basketball whatsoever, I found myself just as invested and prideful during the course of this championship. In the past week it has been impossible to walk down a single block without seeing someone or the other wearing Knicks merch. It was impossible to go to school without hearing teachers discuss the matter with other students. It was impossible to go out at night to get a slice of pizza without seeing every single bar and restaurant containing a TV be filled to the brim with people watching the game in their blue and orange merch. But with this win and with level of excitement and cheer, I can’t help but feel like this isn’t just about basketball.
The Knicks games has created a sense of community throughout the entire city. People were matching, cheering, hugging, and celebrating with complete strangers every night that the Knicks won. But this overwhelming amounts of elation didn’t just come from pride of winning the championship, but of being a New Yorker in general.
At the moment, most people in the country aren’t feeling very patriotic. We who have been politically conscious have never felt patriotic to begin with, but especially under this administration when the government violence is hitting closer to home, there seems to be no reason to be proud for being an American anymore for the average person. The feeling of being proud from where you come from is one that immigrants and children of immigrants cherish more than anything else. Being able to have a culture, a history, and a people to feel pride in is something we all desire. It is something that I as a child of immigrants has been able to recognize and am able to connect back here with the Knicks win. In these times, there seems to be a great new absence of pride in this country, one felt by many more than ever before. With the championships and the New York team winning the whole thing, New Yorkers have something to have pride in. This wouldn’t be the first time this year though that New Yorkers have been lucky enough to show off though as this trend started with Mamdani’s victory as becoming Mayor. It didn’t just make headlines in New York, it made headlines across the country. Muslim, democratic socialist, 34 year old, relatable, running on a pro-Palestine platform, Zohran Mamdani won the hearts of the people and the mayoral election. The back to back wins New York has been blessed to achieve this year has all lead up to this moment of incredible thrill.
Are there more ways to politicize this win? Absolutely. But I don’t think it’s necessary to bring down this moment where regular people just want to have a good time. Let’s leave this story as one of triumph with the city ecstatic with its Mayor Mamdani and over the moon about its first win since 1973.