Knicks are in the NBA Finals, and it still doesn’t feel quite real?

There’s a reason New York Knicks fans have been feral this postseason, and not only because their team is two wins away from an NBA championship. Nor is it because independent of result, this is the best the team has been in nearly three decades.

It is because—no matter what Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns might do late in a game—this incredible run doesn’t feel real.

And who can blame any of them? For some, this is the first time they’ve seen a good New York Knicks team period. Full stop. End of discussion, as they only knew chaos when it came to basketball in Madison Square Garden’s hallowed halls.

For others, myself included, it’s the most alive any Knicks fan has felt since the 1990s. The prime years of Patrick Ewing and John Starks with Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason as the bouncers on defense. This core group never won a championship, often running head first into Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls come playoff time and without a dominant scorer to match Chicago’s pace.

And yet, they are beloved.

“When I get to heaven,” actor and Knicks fan Ethan Hawke said in an interview on Desus & Mero back in 2020, “Whoever gets there, first or second, I’m going to go visit Patrick Ewing. I love that guy. I love him so much.”

“Being a Knicks fan is like being a rescue dog,” The Kid Mero said in that same interview. “You know what I mean? Any type of success or love or joy that you get from the game, you’re like ‘Ahhh, I don’t know if this is gonna last.’ It’s a tentative joy, being a Knicks fan.”

Except, here we are. It’s Monday June 8, Game 3 tips off at Madison Square Garden later tonight, and the Knicks hold a solid 2-0 lead in the series. The team’s fast and physical game has fought past the strong discipline of the San Antonio Spurs. Two more wins, and New York will win its second basketball championship in three years. Back in 2024, the New York Liberty won their first WNBA title.

Given that, what are Knicks fans to do? Sit back and wait for the other shoe to drop like we always have?

Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope. Not on this writer’s watch. Not on this city’s watch. This team suffered through years of Isiah Thomas, Stephon Marbury, and later Carmelo Anthony playing alongside scrubs like Samuel Dalembert and Alexey Shved. New York isn’t letting her people make themselves smaller thanks to years upon years of basketball trauma.

Thankfully, most everyone seems to have gotten the memo. The Sidetalk videos confirm that Knicks fans haven’t lost their crazy this entire postseason. The city has come together in a way not seen since—yes, we’re serious—9/11. Take your two seconds to be offended by it before you realize the truth.

So what does that mean for tonight? Simple. Find your watch party (Away from MSG, sorry folks). Find your Knicks family. Win or lose, watch Game 3 with childlike enthusiasm and know that this summer, here and now?

It’s pretty damn cool being a New York Knicks fan.