I’ll admit it; I’m sports-illiterate. Love playing them but never got into watching (except for the occasional begrudging Yankees game with my dad). So I always enjoy Ryan’s posts about what’s happening in the world of watching sports. It’s like reading a translation paired with embarking on an anthropological study.
Take the commenter reaction to yesterday’s post on why the New York Knicks matter again. Here’s Daddy Files (our star commenter) and his tough love:
Dude, the Knicks lost. Just like they’ve been losing for years. So this one was close, big deal. It was close because the Celtics forgot how to defend the pick & roll, not to mention Rondo was severely hampered due to an ankle injury he sustained during the game. Oh yeah, and our starting center wasn’t playing.
Oh and trust me, no one outside of New York cares if MSG is rocking again. But by all means, please perpetuate the misguided notion that New York is the center of all humanity and we all bow down to the Big Apple. I mean, you’re right. Look at the Yankees and their ability to buy talent. Boy that Cliff Lee really jumped at the extra years and tens of millions of dollars to come to New York, huh???
The Knicks will be back on the trash heap sooner than you can say “Reggie Miller.”
Which inspired Spike Chang to respond:
I love how Boston fans, some of the most tortured fans in the history of the USA, are turning into the “lovable” fans that they hated the New Yorkers for being. So congrats, the Celtics are a great team once again, but they sucked for a while too. Celtics fans would have made a big deal out of this game had the roles been switched. It just sounds like Boston fans are bitter and will always be bitter of NYC. Let us savor this one. And lets get serious, Jermaine O’Neal or Shaq wouldn’t have stopped Stoudemire … if you really believe that then you’re just being delusional.
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And finally, Ryan himself got in the game, responding with this:
Why would Knicks fans ever be cocky? The Knicks haven’t won a title since 1973. They made the finals twice in the 90s and lost both times. John Starks put in the worst big-game performance of all time in game 7 of the 94 finals. We do not expect to win. MJ and Reggie tortured us too often. And remember Charles Smith?
And the Jets? Jets fans are the prime example of a fan base that expects everything and anything to go wrong. Dan Marino? Vinny Testaverde? Wayne Chrebet? The Jets have NEVER won a Super Bowl. And as Bill Simmons says, Jets “fans expect to get punched, contort their faces into a giant wince, wait for a punch that never comes, say to themselves, ‘Cool, I’m not gonna get punched, it’s gonna be OK!’ … and then they get clocked.”
The only edge that Jets and Knicks fans know is the one at the end of the cliff we’re ready to jump off of whenever things start going well. Jets and Knicks fans have been those “anxiety-ridden, pessimistic ninnies” for a while.
No titles in 35 years will do that to you.
Check out the post for the full story (and more comments). Thanks to all who contributed to the conversation and we hope you’ll help keep it going.
The Jets never won a Super Bowl? I think Joe Namath would disagree with you. Man, I know things are bad for the Jets but you at least have to remember the few bright spots you’ve had.
Yeah, um, minor oversight on my part. Confused it with the AFL title. No excuses. But still, that’s 42 years ago.
Knicks, Jets…Yanks? Can you say Boston domination of New York?