Last week, Assistant Sports Editor Ronan Khalsa spewed his heart and soul to you in a column on how much he loves New England sports, and why they were unequivocally the best sports region ever. The Vermont native mentioned the recent dominance of New England teams across all sports, and how non-New-Englanders should feel honored and privileged to witness such greatness.
Quite frankly, I feel bad for Ronan. My counter argument is laughably easy. Do you want to talk long-term success? Maybe about a generation that knew winning, and only winning?
I am from New York City, New York. I am a New York sports fan and I gleam with pride for my teams.
Ronan believes New England has pride? Of course they do. It’s easy to be happy when all you do is win. I know that. It is very easy to be a New York Yankees fan when all we do is win. It is very to easy to be a New York Giants fan when we take down the savior himself, Tom Brady, not just once, but twice in the Super Bowl.
New York fans support their team, no matter how bad they are doing. Aside from a three-year stretch in the mid 1990s, the New York Knicks have not been relevant in the NBA since 1973. Does that stop Madison Square Garden from filling to the brim when the Knicks play? No. The worlds most famous arena is always stuffed full of crazy fans.
Looking at the history books, one can see the New England Patriots were the laughing stock of the NFL. The Celtics were not, but my Sultan of Swat still cursed the Red Sox.
The Patriots were so bad they were equivalent of the 2015 Cleveland Browns. Teams wished they could play New England. They knew they could beat them. It was an automatic win. Did Foxboro Stadium fill to the brim when they were losing big, before Brady and Bill Belichick started winning? I will let you guess.
As stated in the previous article, “every team supports each other.” They do, and so does every sports city in America.
Yankees stars Aaron Judge and Luis Severino sit courtside at Madison Square Garden to watch the Knicks. To their left are New York Rangers stars Henrik Lundqvist and Mats Zuccarello.
There is something special about the city of New York and our sports. Our history speaks for itself. Our fans are the best in so many ways. Still as rowdy, beautifully obnoxious, passionate and dedicated as we have ever been.
I yearn for the day Ronan and I can have a knowledgeable conversation about what the Patriots should do with the top pick in the draft, assuming Ronan still knows what football is when the Patriots are that bad and Belichick is long gone. Time will have to tell.
I just have one parting question. Would you rather cue the duck boats, or storm Broadway with millions of your closest, nuttiest friends? I know which one sounds more fun.
