Photo by Brian Kachejian
I’m sitting here working today as a writer while also watching the Knicks parade on television. I can’t tell you how enjoyable it is to see something like this on every New York channel, including broadcast channels 2, 4, 5 and 7, as well as many cable networks. When all the major New York stations are covering the same event, it is usually because of a tragedy, an election, or some major political story.
Not today. Today’s celebration is about honoring a team that is already being discussed as one of the most beloved New York sports teams of all time, following one of the most memorable championships the city has ever witnessed. Yes, there were the 1969 Mets and Jets, the 1986 Giants and Mets, the 1994 Rangers, the Islanders dynasty, and the Yankees winning it all 27 times, although I would argue that the 1977 and 1996 Yankees championships were the most enjoyable for someone my age. As magical as all of those moments were, I do not think we have ever seen a sports moment quite like this one. The 2026 New York Knicks have brought this city together in a way that feels truly extraordinary.
The Knicks’ run over the past two months, I would argue, brought many new fans to basketball. Part of that was the allure of watching all the celebrities sitting courtside. For old school Knicks fans, that does not matter very much. I understand that. But for those who only occasionally watch the games, there was definitely a fascination with who was sitting where. Early on, the celebrities became almost as much a part of the conversation as the games themselves.
People also talked endlessly about the price of tickets. I do not even want to say that courtside seats were out of reach for the average person. Sitting courtside at a Knicks game was virtually impossible for anyone but the wealthiest fans, unless, of course, you were a celebrity or happened to know somebody. A long time ago, during the 1994 season when the Knicks came within one John Starks three-pointer of winning it all, I got lucky because I knew somebody. Somebody who had courtside seats. And lucky for me, I got to experience it for myself.
At the time, in 1994, I was teaching piano. The father of one of my piano students owned a courtside season ticket. He could not make it to that night’s Knicks-Houston regular-season Rockets game, so he asked if I wanted the ticket. He told me it was a gift and that I did not have to pay for it. After looking at the face value of the ticket, I was very happy to hear those words. I was a huge Knicks fan at the time. We all were. Those teams were special. John Starks, Anthony Mason, Charles Oakley, Patrick Ewing, and, of course, Pat Riley coaching from the sidelines. That team was loved in much the same way this year’s Knicks team has been embraced by the city.
I arrived incredibly early to take advantage of this unbelievable gift. When I say early, I mean I may have been one of the first people in Madison Square Garden that night. It was 32 years ago, so there may be a little fog surrounding some of the details, but there are certain things I remember vividly. One of the first was a waitress walking up to me and asking what I wanted. Up until that point, most of my time at the Garden had been spent in the upper levels, where the players looked like tiny figures in the distance. Nobody had ever come to my seat and asked if I wanted something to eat or drink. I grew up in the Bronx. I was not used to that kind of treatment. Yet there I was, nearly two hours before tipoff, sitting courtside and soaking in every second of it.
As game time approached and the seats around me began to fill, I noticed celebrities taking their places all around the court. A few people looked in my direction and asked others where Vince was. I was sitting in Vince’s seat, thats who gave me the ticket. At that moment, I felt completely out of place. The courtside seats were simple folding chairs packed tightly together, with everyone sitting shoulder to shoulder. It was a far different world from the upper deck, and I was taking it all in second by second.
Once the game began, it turned into an experience I could never have imagined. Most Knicks games I had watched throughout my life were on television, and the games I attended in person were always from seats so far away that the players looked tiny from where I sat. Being courtside was completely different. I do not want to say it felt like being a player, but it was an entirely different way of experiencing the game. It was not just about what you could see. It was about what you could hear.
There is a sound down there that most fans never get to experience. It is the sound of athletes breathing heavily as they battle through every possession. It is the constant communication between teammates, the trash talk, the calls for screens, and the instructions shouted across the court. It is the sound of bodies colliding, elbows digging into ribs, players fighting for position, and the unmistakable impact of muscle and skin crashing together with a force that sounds painful enough to send someone to the floor. Yet these players never seemed to flinch. Until that night, I never realized how physical professional basketball really was. You do not see that on television, and you do not hear it from the upper levels, the middle sections, or even twenty rows back.
What struck me most was how personal the experience felt. Every movement, every sound, and every burst of emotion seemed magnified. It became very easy to understand why people who can afford those seats keep coming back night after night. The cost may seem impossible to justify from a distance, but once you experience a game from that perspective, you begin to understand what they are paying for. There are not many experiences in sports that can match the excitement, intensity, and intimacy of sitting courtside at a Knicks game.
As the game went on, I realized there was a very good chance I would never experience something like that again. I make my living as a musician, a writer, a teacher, and pretty much whatever else it takes to pay the bills. The cost of courtside seats has never fit into that equation. I simply got lucky that one night. I can never repay Vince for giving me the opportunity to sit in that seat, but it is an experience I have carried with me for the past 32 years.
What has stayed with me even more is the realization that there are certain experiences in life that only a small percentage of people ever get to have. In many ways, that is very sad. I often think about how inspiring it would be for young people to experience something like sitting courtside at a Knicks game, seeing greatness up close and feeling part of something bigger than themselves. The Garden’s ownership does recognize that. It is one of the reasons I have so much admiration for Madison Square Garden’s Garden of Dreams program, which gives children and families opportunities they might never otherwise have. I know this firsthand. When my son was battling cancer, Garden of Dreams provided our family with incredible seats for a Rangers game. That experience became one of those unforgettable moments that stays with you forever. That’s a story for another day.
I do not know what the final attendance numbers will be for the thousands upon thousands of people who flooded Lower Manhattan to celebrate the Knicks championship. What I do know is what I saw on television. I saw the city where I was born, the city where I was raised, and the State I have sworn I will never leave. I watched New Yorkers come together in a way that reminded me of other moments when this city stood united. The difference this time was that the gathering was born out of joy. For one afternoon, people from every neighborhood, every background, and every walk of life were celebrating the same thing.
There were some excellent speeches at the end of the parade, including remarks from New York City’s mayor. Politics did not matter in that moment. What mattered was the spirit of New York. If you have lived here long enough, you have probably worked some tough jobs and faced your share of challenges. I know I have. I have washed dishes, worked landscaping jobs, taught in classrooms, performed on stages, and spent time behind the counter at a 7 Eleven. New Yorkers understand that life can knock you down, sometimes by 29 points, and you still have to find a way to get the job done. You never know what tomorrow is going to bring, so you work hard, live hard, and appreciate the moments when something special comes your way. Every once in a while, you get lucky enough to experience something unforgettable, whether it is sitting courtside at a Knicks game in 1994 or celebrating a championship that will be remembered forever in New York sports history.
