Out of the Blue

This was originally written in February 2008 -

I am not ashamed to admit that I am quite a bit of a sports fan. I follow all of the 4 major sports and have a New York team I root for in each: Islanders,Yankees, Giants, & Knicks. I have been lucky enough during my lifetime to have seen 3 of the 4 climb to the top of their sport and be crowned champions. They have each given me moments of joy which I am sure will stay with me to my final days.

In hockey, the Islanders had a dynasty that won 4 Stanley Cups in a row in the early 80's. Although they did it when I was still learning to appreciate the ins and outs of sports, I have vivid memories of celebrating their final cup win with my dad. Even though hockey is not as popular as the other major sports, it is still the game I enjoy the most to watch and the Islanders are my favorite team in all of sports.

The Yankees were the team that I always would list as my favorite in school and the one I probably followed the most as a youngster. When I was 6, I could recite the starting lineup on demand along with their current batting averages, or so the old family story goes. They started the 1996 season with a highly touted rookie inserted into the shortstop position that had long been a problem for them. I remember watching opening day that year and seeing him make a couple nice plays on defense and thinking, "Hey we might be on to something with this kid."

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the run of success they were about to embark on. Not only did the Yankees win the World Series that year, they proceeded to win it 3 of the next 4 seasons. The Final World Series win coming in 2000 against their cross town rival the Mets. The buzz that the Subway Series created in New York City that year may not be matched again.

If the Yankees were my favorite team growing up, the Giants were the team I most wanted to play for. I never enjoyed playing baseball as a kid, but I loved playing football. I remember watching Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks, Harry Carson and the rest of their ferocious defense imposing their will on teams.. They played with such passion and intensity it was hard not to be a fan of that team.

I don't really remember the 1986 season itself; although I do remember watching the Super Bowl and watching Phil Simms dissect the Broncos with awe. The names of the players on that team still come to me with relative ease and I remember proudly wearing my Giants jersey the next day. They won the Super Bowl again in 1990 in what was a much more improbable run. After losing starting QB Phil Simms, the team rallied around backup QB Jeff Hostetler and somehow upset the high powered offense of the Buffalo Bills. I jumped off my couch to celebrate when Scott Norwood missed the game winning field goal wide right. I also remember throwing the football around in the street the next day with my friends from the neighborhood, all of whom were giddy over the Giants win.

Two weeks ago, the Giants pulled off an even bigger upset when they toppled the behemoth known as the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl. The Patriots had been prematurely anointed the best team in NFL history, thanks in large part to their undefeated regular season and dominance of all of their opponents. The Patriots entered the game 18-0 and on the verge of history. Yet the Giants pulled together and persevered through 60 minutes of smash-mouth football, to somehow be the last team standing.

I watched the game at a friend’s house and it was obvious from the first play that emotions at the game, and the party would be high throughout. It was such a thrilling game, that when the final second ticked off, all the tension and energy that had built up at the party was released into a big celebration of hugs and cheers.

It wasn't until I was home watching the highlights of the game that I began to realize the magnitude of the game. It is a game that's football fans, not just Giants fans will always remember. Yet as I sat there happily watching the seemingly endless loop of highlights, my mind couldn't help but drift to another New York team, the Knicks.

You see basketball is the last of the 4 major sports that I fell in love with. When I was younger, I loved watching the Lakers with Magic running Showtime on the game of the week. However I didn't have cable and that’s where the majority of the Knicks games could be found. So even though I followed them, it was only casually. It didn't help my interest in the game that I didn't play basketball much when I was younger.

I am not really sure why but when I was in the 8th grade, it became somewhat of an obsession of mine. I would constantly play till dark, always wanting to rush home from school to play. As my love for the game grew, so did my love for the Knicks. I got cable around the same time, and began to watch the Knicks religiously.

Since then I play basketball as much as I can, and follow the entire NBA very closely. I've watched every up and down of the last twenty years for the Knicks, and keep hoping that they will finally be able to hoist the trophy as league champs. They have made it to the NBA finals twice in that time and fallen short, the first time in heartbreaking fashion. Unbelievably, I had never gone to a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden until last year. But after going to just a few games last year with the co-creator of this blog, and after a couple discussions about the matter, we made a decision to buy season tickets.

We were going to commit our time to watch the team we love as they hopefully committed themselves to climbing back to the NBA finals. Obviously, that has not been the case so far this season. I won't go into all of the details of the team’s struggles, they have been documented enough. I will say this though; many of my fellow Knicks fans have lost hope or have turned against the team. I will never do that, I don't see a purpose for it. Every team has its ups and downs, and if you are able to stick with them through the struggles it makes the success even sweeter.

I can't speak for all Knicks fans, but for me, it feels like I have waited forever to see, ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’ be filled with a shower of confetti at season’s end. I know some people will say I should just be happy if the Knicks are playing games that matter and are relevant again. But I would be lying if I said that was good enough. I want the day to come where all of the Knicks fans who have stuck with them through the really tough years lately, finally are rewarded by seeing the team they love win the championship. I want kids who are growing up Knicks fans to experience the same moments I did in my youth as I watched the Giants and Islanders win championships.

In fact, it wasn't until I watched the Giants win the Super Bowl last week that I truly realized why people watch sports. Sure some of it may be to see the athletic prowess of professional athletes. But for the most part, it is to experience games and moments like that victory. They watch for those magical moments that will forever be etched in time. They like to root for the underdog, and embrace the little used player who makes a play for the ages.

Sports fans like to feel like they have a connection to their team. They wear the team gear, and refer to the team as we, because they want to be a part of something. Their loyalties run deep and any straying is blasphemous. 

Rooting interests can pit brother vs. brother or husband vs. wife. Sports fans complain when their team loses and rejoice when they win. They believe in miracles, and every year they believe things will be better next year. They develop rivalries with other fans, over things that neither can control. Sports can unite people and give families and friends a reason to gather. Sports can make you hug strangers, drive around honking your horn in celebration, and cheer wildly in the streets.

Sports can also divide a city based on rooting interests like the Subway Series did in 2000. Or it can help to unite a city, the way the Yankees did in 2001 after the attacks on 9/11. Sports can fill an entire city with excitement and joy, as we see currently in New York City because of the Giants. Most of all, sports take us away from our everyday problems and still allows us to have hopes and dreams about what could be. So as I sat there watching the Giants celebrate and hoist the championship trophy, that’s exactly what I did.

I found myself daydreaming about what it would be like to watch the Knicks one day do the same thing, and I am pretty sure I was not the only one.