After the Knicks’ historic playoff run and championship win, the energy in NYC has been through the roof, and even months later, fans are still riding a wave of excitement. 

After a 53 year drought, the New York Knicks went on an unforgettable run and secured themselves a championship. The win is cemented in city history forever, and it means just as much to the fans as it does the players. According to popular opinion, New York has some of the most passionate fans in all of sports, especially when it comes to rooting for the Knicks. 

As Jay-Z once said “I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can,” which proved to be true, up until Jalen Brunson and the championship team made Knicks hats even more popular than the coveted Yankee caps. If you were to walk around NYC on any given day, you are bound to see not only a variety of Knicks championship merchandise, but also an increase in people wearing Knicks gear as a fashion statement. If you wear anything Knicks related in public, you will be viewed as inherently “cooler”, “trendier”, or even as more of a “New Yorker” than if you were to wear a luxury brand. Wearing Knicks gear has become a first choice option to many New Yorkers, including celebrities, not just limited to Mariska Hargitay, Timothee Chalamet or Spike Lee. 

“Knicks in 5” quickly became the official greeting call of the city, with fans often throwing up Brunson’s signature 3-pointer celebration in place of a wave. The Knicks theme song, “Go New York Go New York Go”, could be heard blasting from speakers at any venue, even if it was another sports-related event. 

The Knicks have become popular among kids who aren’t even old enough to fully understand how the game of basketball works. They just know that wearing a blue and orange #11 jersey is cool, so they do it. The kids that grew up yelling “Kobe” when they shot anything like it was a basketball are now watching the younger generation kids yell “Brunson” when they do the same. 

The Knicks’ Championship Parade felt like a national holiday for New York. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers lined the blocks up to City Hall. Many called out of work, and some businesses actually decided to shut down for the day since they knew that the majority of their employees would “call out sick” to attend the parade and be a part of history. Even though the city was filled with commotion and chaos was unfolding at every street corner, New Yorkers were more united than they had ever been. They were helping each other climb atop New York City DSNY garbage trucks, jump barricades and hoist each other onto the side of buildings to get a better view. There were no bystanders in sight as everyone was willing to offer a helping hand once sanitation trucks began to collapse under the weight of the individuals jumping on top of them. Everybody wanted to get a piece of the action, and you felt like a million bucks if a player did so much as even look in your direction. 

Snapping the championship drought did so much for New York, and the players should be proud to represent the city with a new upgrade to their 2026-2027 season jerseys, being the gold outlining and patches. This win shows how sports could unify a major fanbase, a whole city and even an entire state. The fans are ecstatic to see what the new season brings, and hope to witness back-to-back chips. 

Ava Reschke

09/01/26