Some celebs were too superstitious to talk to The Post about the Knicks — but these famous superfans let nothing stop them from showing love for New York City’s blue and orange.
“30 Rock” alum Tracy Morgan says his favorite moment as a Knicks fan was the playoffs’ now-legendary Game 1 against the Cavs — but that could change “because we might win a championship and that’s going to be the greatest moment.” Even sitting on Celebrity Row, the Bed-Stuy native “felt like everybody in that arena, overjoyed. It was fire.” And even in low moments — like “last year when we lost to Indiana. I felt really bad for my team. I felt really bad for us fans” — Morgan has remained optimistic. “I bounced back. I just said, ‘There’s always next year.’ Now look where we are!” And his hope is totally unbridled right now: “I believe we’re going to take the championship because I don’t believe no team on the West Coast can handle us.”
“The Sopranos” star first fell in love with the Knicks while watching games in the nosebleeds with his father. Now he’s much closer to action — and calls Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals “the most electric game, of any sport, that I have ever attended.” In 2000, Imperioli even flew on the team plane with actor Chazz Palminteri to Detroit “to entice Grant Hill to play for NY.” While the attempt failed, it sparked a long relationship with the team and MSG. “The greatest celebrity perk in all of showbiz is being a part of that [MSG] family,” he said, adding that he had a “full circle” fan moment when he got to sit courtside with his dad.
“I grew up in the city. I honestly don’t remember ever not being a Knicks fan,” said the actress, whose favorite player of all time is John Starks. “I remember watching him growing up, his passion and intensity. I really identified with him as a kid in the ’90s. I recently found a journal entry from my childhood talking about his fire. I have an autographed ball cap from him I cherish. No one puts that cap in the wash!” Currently, her #1 is Jalen Brunson. “He’s the pulse of the team. Every time I’m there and see him in person, he’s so cool headed, he’s never in a rush, he’s got an elegance and he always delivers the goods,” Rossum said. Just don’t ask her how these next games are gonna go: “I’m too superstitious to make any predictions. LGK!”
“When I moved to New York City in the late 1970s I became a New York sports fan. Knicks. Rangers. Giants. Yankees. I grew up in Utah, where there was no NBA, NHL, MLB or NFL teams. So it was a dream come true going to the Garden and seeing the Knicks,” the “Full Metal Jacket” and “Stranger Things” actor told The Post. “My favorite moment, no question, is LJ’s [Larry Johnson’s] 4-point play in Game 3 of the ’99 Eastern Conference finals. But it’s impossible to pick a favorite player. Currently, I adore Josh Hart. He’s shows up and plays with all his heart every game. When that dude smiles — he lights up the entire Garden. And Jalen Brunson understands leadership and leads by example. He’s a stud.”
“Going to the Garden as a kid, watching the Knicks since 1979, was beyond special. We always sat in the blue or green sections, which weren’t close, but it was magical,” said the actor, who grew up on the Upper East Side. “I was born and raised a Knicks Fan. It’s in my blood. My favorite Knick ever is probably Charles Oakley — he represented everything that New York is at its core: hard working, tough and plays for the city. As for my favorite moment, it hasn’t happened yet. I’m waiting for a championship.” When Rapaport isn’t at the Garden, he has his own tradition at home: “I watch games quietly, which may surprise people. It’s very emotional.”
“I am not exactly sure when I became a Knicks fan. It is something that sort of creeps up on you as a New Yorker. Especially growing up around the ’90s-era Knicks,” said “The Smashing Machine” director. “It becomes a part of you. And that’s what makes the heartbreak so intense [when they lose]. I feel like I can never be comfortable. Everyone has it out against the Knicks, and we have to fight that on top of everything else. I try to always believe, to always feel like it’s our year. But I never want to say that out loud. So, never mind.”
“A very nice person I know is a casual fan. I don’t fault her for it. Any fan of the Knicks is a friend of mine. In 2012, she called me about a pair of courtside tickets she had access to, asking if I wanted them for a Utah Jazz game,” the “Marty Supreme” director recalled. “She had no idea what happened the previous game vs the Nets: Jeremy Lin was inserted into the starting lineup and was about to cement what became Linsanity. I couldn’t wait for that game [against the Jazz] to begin. I lucked out. It was one of the greatest experiences ever as a Knicks fan. Sitting wood, I was a sixth man: I spared nothing and didn’t care what the referees thought, who I called out to using their first names. The Knicks felt it. Lin saw it, I know. Jared Jeffries rushed to me at the end of regulation and give me a huge hug. I was not normal. After the game, we went car yelling — where you yell at the cars as they leave the VIP ramp on 33rd.”
“I became a fan In 1971 when I was in high school,” said the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress, who grew up in Mount Vernon. “My boyfriend was a fan. He turned me on to basketball and the Knicks, so I got to experience some glory years” — including the ’73 championship. “There were some tough years between now and then, but here we are and it’s glorious once more. My favorite player of all time is Walt Frazier. He was always the coolest person in the room. He still is,” Essman said. “I don’t have a favorite current player because I love how they play together as a team, from the starters to the bench, and the group dynamic is what makes them so special. I think they will win in six and the Garden will rock as only Madison Square Garden can with the greatest fans in the world.”
The comedian, a Queens native, remembers the first Knicks game that “sealed his fandom.” In 1993, his father took 9-year-old Distefano to see NY beat the Orlando Magic. He recalled his dad telling him, “‘And the Knicks covered the spread, Chrissy!! They covered the spread.’ I had no idea what that meant until my mother explained it to me during the divorce.” Despite some lean years, the John Starks superfan remained loyal. “I never left. I just cried through the pain as I do when I put on my Spanx.” Now he’s counting on Jalen Brunson and putting his “faith in Jesus Christ and Mr. James Dolan.” His prediction: “Knicks win in six. And I get arrested for streaking down 7th Avenue but happily take my orange-and-blue butt cheeks to Rikers.”
“I’ve been a fan since I was 8,” said the Bensonhurt-born “The Sopranos” and “Blue Bloods” star. “I even played at the Garden [while at Brooklyn College]. That was 100 pounds ago. When I was in college and had a student card, I think the tickets were $6.” Nowadays, he’s not up in the cheap seats. “I got to sit next to Clyde [Frazier] the other night … Of all the things I get to do being a half-assed celebrity, my favorite thing in the world is going to Knicks games,” the “WillieBoy Eats the World” author said. “Brunson has turned the franchise around. His jersey will be in the rafters someday.”
The comedian “fell in love with the ’90s Knicks” but that doesn’t mean they didn’t break his heart. In 1995, after Patrick Ewing’s missed finger roll against Indiana sent the Knicks packing, Morril said, it “hurt because I loved him so much. I wanted him to win. I was 11 and had to be carried out crying.” He calls the current squad “lovable.” He’s convinced the team is going all the way — “it’s time” — but to keep the winning juju going, he’s taking no chances: “I’m sick in the head. I have a Knicks candle I’ll light.”
“I am so excited for the Knicks having been a fan since the 1970s when I used to go to game after game after game with my friends,” the Martha Stewart Living founder said. “I got to know Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier, and Patrick Ewing, and when I see them now at a Knicks game it’s so exciting. I’m so proud of the team.”
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。