2008 Woodie Awards
As I See It
Die-hard franchise draws close to death
Dan McCallion
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: Sports
Around this time of year, sports junkies like me start looking indoors for their fix. We're less than a month from March Madness, but until some of those teams trying to find their way into the tournament have their bubble burst, I'm going to hold off on that topic. Both the NBA and the NHL are just hitting their respective playoff races, and the next month promises to be quite the exciting one. However, what really caught my eye this week is a team that isn't going to the playoffs. Normally, when you combine a diehard fan base with big-time financial resources, you have the blueprint for a successful team. Add in a coach that was a Hall of Fame player and the home court advantage of playing at Madison Square Garden and you should have a team that competes every year. Why, then, have the New York Knicks become a basketball afterthought?
The fact that any Average Joe can play basketball, combined with the fact that most players succeed not through pure talent but through hard work, has led to the expectation of the Big Apple faithful for their teams to do the same.
For the better part of the last half-century, the Knicks have been known for that very same blue-collar style of basketball. The 1970 and 1973 championship-winning squads have become legendary for their team-first brand of basketball, based on the seemingly simple principle of doing whatever was necessary to win.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Knicks became known not as the most talented team, but as the toughest. They did this by giving Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls fits in the playoffs by slowing down the game, not letting more athletic players beat them with creativity, and when all else failed, turning the game into a quasi-rugby atmosphere where opposing players were taken out of their game due to the fact that they were looking over their shoulder for the next elbow or hip-check. The Knicks never embodied the entertaining style of Magic's "Showtime" Lakers, nor could they pretend to own the same singular greatness as Jordan's Bulls. Instead, they relied on team play, hard work, and a never-say-die attitude to grind out victories-a style which ensured that their loyal fan base kept the Garden rocking every night. Let's contrast that with this season, where many a home game have seen a half-full arena chanting "Fire Isiah" as the Knicks are defeated again. Where did a once-proud franchise go so wrong?
The fact that any Average Joe can play basketball, combined with the fact that most players succeed not through pure talent but through hard work, has led to the expectation of the Big Apple faithful for their teams to do the same.
For the better part of the last half-century, the Knicks have been known for that very same blue-collar style of basketball. The 1970 and 1973 championship-winning squads have become legendary for their team-first brand of basketball, based on the seemingly simple principle of doing whatever was necessary to win.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Knicks became known not as the most talented team, but as the toughest. They did this by giving Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls fits in the playoffs by slowing down the game, not letting more athletic players beat them with creativity, and when all else failed, turning the game into a quasi-rugby atmosphere where opposing players were taken out of their game due to the fact that they were looking over their shoulder for the next elbow or hip-check. The Knicks never embodied the entertaining style of Magic's "Showtime" Lakers, nor could they pretend to own the same singular greatness as Jordan's Bulls. Instead, they relied on team play, hard work, and a never-say-die attitude to grind out victories-a style which ensured that their loyal fan base kept the Garden rocking every night. Let's contrast that with this season, where many a home game have seen a half-full arena chanting "Fire Isiah" as the Knicks are defeated again. Where did a once-proud franchise go so wrong?
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