new york knicks
Mandatory Credit: Elsa/POOL PHOTOS-USA TODAY Sports

New York Knicks fans were having a party outside MSG after the team’s first playoff win in more than eight years.

New York Knicks fans can rejoice. After years of futility, the Knicks are back in the limelight and the city is ready to pop off.

The orange and blue were able to even their first-round series with the Hawks on the backs of Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson. The fans couldn’t contain themselves after pouring out onto the streets of New York City.

This is the type of fandom that New Yorkers are all about. Whether it’s chanting in the arena, devising elaborate bird-related schemes, or going buck wild on 7th Avenue, they are all-in on this team.

There was some pearl-clutching about the “F*** Trae Young” chants in Game 1, but that’s just a part of the game. The back-and-forth between Young and the MSG crowd has been one of the best parts about the NBA Playoffs so far, let alone this series.

However, it’s worth discussing the ugly incident between Russell Westbrook and a fan in Philadelphia and the possibility that a Knicks fan spit on Trae Young in Game 2.

This is beyond idiotic behavior and there is no place for it in sports. Tell a player he sucks. Dress up in a bird costume to distract Trae Young. Even chanting “F*** you” to a player is more or less harmless.

Trae Young’s father, Ray Young, took to Twitter to call out a Knicks fan for possibly spitting on his son. It’s not 100% clear in the video, but it certainly looks like the fan was spitting at Trae Young.

But anything that becomes physical, racial, and abusive is crossing that imaginary line that exists. Sure, these players are making a fortune playing a game, but they are still human beings.

The good-natured back-and-forth between players and fans is something that we missed for a long time because of the pandemic. Unfortunately, packed arenas mean there are going to be a few clowns like this guy.

Be like the fans chanting outside of Madison Square Garden, not the lowlifes who dump popcorn and spit on players.

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Danny Small
Commercial content writer for Sportradar. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.

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