Knicks · When did you become a fan? (page 1)

My memory is shit, but I think this was the series where I officially became a basketball fan.

Prior to this I always skipped the channel (channel 9?) whenever I saw basketball was on.

I thought it was a couple of years earlier, but I remember seeing Ewing, Oak, X-Man, Rodman, and thinking… “holy shit how have I never watched this?!?”

My earliest Knick memory. I still remember Ewing hitting the desperation three and smoking that Larry Bird pack.💨 Wish my dad had warned me that Ewing wasn't going to play forever and superstars didn't grow on trees.

I remember being in like 5th grade and listening to teachers and classmates talk about NYC sports and then I started watching the Knicks on channel 9 back when they had Rory Sparrow and Sly Williams. Then reading the Daily News and Post sports sections and I was hooked. I remember listening to Knicks games on the radio at night too when they weren't on TV and I can't remember the broadcaster but he was great. Anyone recall the broadcasting teams on TV and radio back in those days ?

Alpha1971 wrote:I remember being in like 5th grade and listening to teachers and classmates talk about NYC sports and then I started watching the Knicks on channel 9 back when they had Rory Sparrow and Sly Williams. Then reading the Daily News and Post sports sections and I was hooked. I remember listening to Knicks games on the radio at night too when they weren't on TV and I can't remember the broadcaster but he was great. Anyone recall the broadcasting teams on TV and radio back in those days ?

The physicality of the 90’s Knicks, and the banter between Marv and Johnny Hoops… man I was hooked!

Here’s a long list of broadcasters. Seems like Bill Daughtry should be in there too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ne...

Maybe my earliest memory is a terrible one - King blowing out his knee. I was a fan watching Hubie (call every single play!), Darrell Walker, Rory Sparrow, Louis Orr (how could someone be so thin!), Trent Tucker, Pat Cummings, Ernie Grunield, James Bailey, Ken ‘The Animal’ Bannister (Best Knick-name ever!), Butch Carter and Eddie Lee Wilkins.

It was a team that had so little talent, but they tried, hard. Every victory was like winning a playoff series!

Then we won the Draft for Patrick! (And Gerald Wilkins!) and things looked up.

1971: I was 9 years old after the 1st chip and my uncle got season tickets and for the next three seasons I"d go to about 5 games a season. He tragically passed at age 48 two months after the knicks on the 2nd chip in 1973.

Clyde was my favorite player then. The elegant swagger was unlike anyone else then or since. Clyde made it look easy.
The Garden was a magical place for me in those years.

It was the 1990 playoffs that got me hooked. Knicks were down 0-2 to Boston and then proceeded to win the next 3. Die hard ever since.

BigDaddyG wrote:My earliest Knick memory. I still remember Ewing hitting the desperation three and smoking that Larry Bird pack.💨 Wish my dad had warned me that Ewing wasn't going to play forever and superstars didn't grow on trees.

Same here! I do remember watching the playoffs series against the Sixers the year before but I become a diehard during this Boston series mainly because of Ewing, who was so good in that series! It was the first series I watched every game and went on to start collecting basketball cards that summer.

02-03...right after we started sucking. Had a bunch of friends that had jumped on the Lakers bandwagon, but no sir, not me. I knew you could never truly appreciate the highs of winning if you didn't first face the lows. Shanvis Eisleyspoon was my cross to bear.

That or I just liked having on basketball and the local team made it easier.

Still feels weird watching the Knicks be good!

I have vague memories of grainy pre cable tv and the voice of Howard Cosell in the 70’s on ABC. Then didn’t follow sports in the 80’s. Fuzzy memories of the Pacers, Bulls playoff match ups. Hating the Jason Kidd Nets. The LJ four point play, Yao Ming, Van Gundy, Curry and Marbury. Alan Hahn was a chubby kid with a blog. Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas, Stat’s wine baths. Melo’s jab step and the clown show of coaches that followed up until Thibs. Oh what a long strange trip it’s been

I vaguely recall discussing the Knicks '73 championship on the playground during recess as my grade school. Obsessive fandom was a slow build for me - starting in the late 70's with Bob McAdoo / Ray Williams era....then MRR, and the twin towers (Cartwright, Webster). Finally went all in head first when Bernard arrived on the scene.

…..Eddy Curry towel just touch it Dave, lee’s jazz hands, just get in the car, marbury’s vasoline video, turning over VanGundy’s Honda Civic, Jorts, freaking out about including Mosgoz in the Melo trade, Donnie Walsh asleep in his rocking chair at the trade deadline…..

92-93 I was about 9 or 10, Riley with his slick back hair and showtime reputation came to NY and got 50 wins. XMan, Mason and Oakley looked like scary enforcers who didn't take crap, Ewing was awesome, and Starks was starting to develop as the little underdog overachiever that any kid could see themselves being.

I was fresh off the boat, in this case a jumbo jet, when I saw in the TV Bernard King going up against the Pistons. I was hooked

I go back to 72. I actually declared my love for NBA and the Knicks as my fav and began going to games mid year the 2nd time they won it all. I just made it. So I have the memory of winning it all. I have the program from the next season. I go back to the greats and remember Dean Meminger and Hawthorne Wingo :) oh Frazier, Reed, Bradley, Debusscher those guys too.

tomlin8 wrote:I go back to 72. I actually declared my love for NBA and the Knicks as my fav and began going to games mid year the 2nd time they won it all. I just made it. So I have the memory of winning it all. I have the program from the next season. I go back to the greats and remember Dean Meminger and Hawthorne Wingo :) oh Frazier, Reed, Bradley, Debusscher those guys too.

Okay ban this guy.

I grew up in South Florida and other than all of us being entranced by Wilt the NBA wasn’t on the radar. Was more into college and Olympic hoops actually. Moved to NYC summer ‘81 and started reading local sports pages, mostly as a baseball and football fan but started reading about the Knicks- was right about then that Michael Ray uttered his infamous “ship be sinking.” Probably the next season a buddy and I started going to the Garden, with student IDs we got $6 general admission nosebleeds for $3 and then snuck down after the half. Only got booted a few times when we got too drunk, was not that crowded. This would be the Ken Bannister, Eddie Lee Wilkins era. We had a lot of fun.

Somewhere along the line Hubie came in and Bernard and the two unit defense minded teams with Louis Orr, Rory Sparrow, Cartwright et al. Good hard nosed Knick teams that pushed the Celtics to the brink on more than one occasion (I’ll say it, despite the refs). For me that was my golden era. Bernard was the single most exciting Knick I ever witnessed. Three defenders on him and shooting like out the top of a phone booth pure. Although he came back, his injury was devastating.

Then we had the great teams with Patrick and Riley but the suits and celebs started to take over. But a fan ever since!

Like Nalod, the 71-72 season. My Dad’s company had 3rd row (red) center court seats. Once in a while (not often) he would get tickets for the game. The first thing that struck me, going through one of the tunnels into the arena, was how amped the crowd was. Never heard so many people screaming so loud at the same time.

The second thing I remember was the Knicks ball movement. You didn’t see a lot of ISO. Some fans hated the design of MSG back then, I liked, looked futuristic.

Looking forward to going to MSG when I move back (hopefully in a year from now). Going to some games, the big soft pretzels. Not looking forward to the prices LOL.

ToddTT wrote:

tomlin8 wrote:I go back to 72. I actually declared my love for NBA and the Knicks as my fav and began going to games mid year the 2nd time they won it all. I just made it. So I have the memory of winning it all. I have the program from the next season. I go back to the greats and remember Dean Meminger and Hawthorne Wingo :) oh Frazier, Reed, Bradley, Debusscher those guys too.

Okay ban this guy.

Fucking show off

I’ve never witnessed a sports atmosphere like the Garden when it’s rocking.

ToddTT wrote:

tomlin8 wrote:I go back to 72. I actually declared my love for NBA and the Knicks as my fav and began going to games mid year the 2nd time they won it all. I just made it. So I have the memory of winning it all. I have the program from the next season. I go back to the greats and remember Dean Meminger and Hawthorne Wingo :) oh Frazier, Reed, Bradley, Debusscher those guys too.

Okay ban this guy.

why? what a strange comment