An orange and blue fever has been spreading through the city of New York, as hometown team the Knicks compete in the NBA finals for the first time in 27 years.
Donning jerseys and custom airbrushed Knicks merch bought outside their local corner store, residents have been flooding the streets, jumping on top of taxis, and partying in subway cars like they’ve already won.
All in all, New Yorkers are getting hot, so what better way to starve out the fever than with the shocking ice bath that was President Donald Trump’s arrival at Madison Square Garden (MSG), in attendance for what would become a devastating third match-up for the Knicks against the Spurs.
After the Knicks’ Game 2 win, the nation’s leader announced he would be the first sitting president to attend an NBA finals game, prompting online derision and city-wide concern that the unfavorable leader would bring bad luck to the famed arena. And, if you’re a superstitious sports fan or prone to making connections with the universe, they may have been correct.
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Ahead of the game, U.S. Secret Service barricaded sidewalks around the venue and cancelled a public watch party being held that night outside MSG. In response, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was in attendance for the game, coordinated a separate viewing event at Manhattan’s Bryant Park. Users online began preparing themselves for his appearance, including a viral tutorial on how to properly boo the President, with the caption “How to ward off the curse coming for the Knicks in game 3 of the finals.”
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So as the national anthem ushered in the start of the game and cameras panned to Trump in his private box, the crowd was ready and loud. Even the Brant Park watch party attendees joined in the chorus, which ricocheted across the city. But it wasn’t enough to fend off the Spurs, who would go on to win the match up in a nail-biting game.
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Speaking to reporters outside of Air Force One that night, Trump said, “I mean, I thought it was amazing, actually. You mean when they had the camera on me? I thought it was very good. Yeah. It was certainly amazing. It was, I think, mostly cheers. It was loud and it was very enthusiastic.”
Trump has previously criticized the league for its “liberal” player politics, and continued the sentiment in his Game 3 comments: “It tends to be a little left wing, but it’s great entertainment. It’s great.”
