I don't
care what Cheesesteak Al mouths off on the air to JT the Brick, the New York
Knicks had a chance to win it all this year. That was the best Cinderella
team since the '95 Mariners. They'd already pulled off a miracle by
beating the first-seeded Heat in the first round 3 games to 2, thanks to Allan
Houston's game winner. They went on to sweep the Hawks and upset the
Indiana Pacers, before finally getting hit by the juggernaut Spurs- a truly
great team, probably the second best I've seen, after the Bulls dynasty.
Prior to
this I'd never rooted for a team based outside Seattle. I liked the
Knicks because all their players had good chemistry. They seemed like a
bunch of nobodies who all came together to form something great, kind of like
this fantasy team of ruffians I created in my head, only they play rugby.
Head
coach Jeff Van Gundy is a funny guy. I remember a fight the Knicks got in
with the Heat- not this year but a couple years ago, I think. He grabbed
Alonzo Mourning by the ankles, trying to stop him from fighting one of his
players, then got dragged around the court while holding on for dear
life. Speaking of the Heat, what a fantastic rivalry they have with the
Knicks. That's three straight years these two teams had a competitive
series. It used to be the Pacers and the Knicks. And the Bulls
too. I think the Knicks are rivals with all the Eastern Conference
heavyweights at this point.
My theory is that without the Sonics making the playoffs, I had no choice but to root for another team. It looks like our Pacific Division dynasty is over. I'll miss the days when Gary Payton had Shawn Kemp to lob passes to, and a young defense behind them to disrupt the opposing team. Now they just look old. One of my favorite calls by Kevin Calabro (the best announcer in all of sports) was, "Flying chickens in the barnyard!" They'll need some new ammunition to get those chickens flying again.
