If the World Cup paints cities around the world with the colors of national flags, in New York the colors are blue and orange, symbols of the Knicks, the local basketball team that is in the NBA final with the chance to break a drought of more than 50 years.
This historic opportunity for the team in one of the busiest tournaments in the United States, after the NFL, the American football league, has obliterated the relevance of the World Cup in the city’s public dynamics. The Knicks have only two NBA titles, the last one in 1973.
“Let’s go, Knicks”, ends the audible warning about train delays and interruptions in New York subway stations this week. Merchants are grateful for the demand. On 125th Street, an important shopping center in the heart of the Harlem neighborhood dominated by locals, not tourists, street vendors have exchanged their wares: now, in unison, they sell Knicks caps and T-shirts.
Demand was high especially this week, when, coinciding with the World Cup’s debut, the NBA Finals are being played in New York, at Madison Square Garden. “We adapt,” comments one of the salespeople, himself wearing a Knicks t-shirt. Which one comes out the most? All of them, but there is a special appreciation for the one that carries an image of the team’s star, point guard Jalen Brunson.
Politicians and celebrities also invest in the topic. Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the socialist Democrat who captivated voters and took office in New York earlier this year, made a campaign video with his candidates for the primaries to be held next month simulating a basketball team in Knicks colors.
“This is our team; go vote,” he says, an avowed Knicks fan long before taking his current role.
Mamdani himself attended this week’s games, shelling out US$1,000 (R$5,000) for a ticket, he said. The minimum price for tickets for the final games in New York on the parallel market was US$8,000 (R$40,000) in recent days.
This is how, in New York City, in the middle of the World Cup, the most talked about topic is the Knicks, not football.
Still, city and state administrations have been vocal about the significant importance of competition to the economy. The neighboring state of New Jersey will host eight World Cup matches, the first being Brazil’s debut, against Morocco, next Saturday (13), in addition to the World Cup final on July 19.
Local administrations evaluate the importance of the competition in these terms: as a unique opportunity for an entire generation of traders. They said that the games and the arrival of tourists are expected to generate a total economic impact of US$3.3 billion (R$16.5 billion), which includes US$1.7 billion (R$8.5 billion) in revenue from tourism, supporting the creation of 26 thousand new jobs, and US$432 million (R$2.1 billion) in local tax revenues.
The atmosphere that dominates the city suffered a slight blow this Monday (8), when the Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden by 115 to 111 in game 3 of the finals. The New York team still leads the best-of-seven series by 2-1. The next match is this Wednesday (10), also at the Garden.
President Donald Trump’s appearance at the match changed the dynamics of the fans. After paying thousands of dollars for tickets, they spent hours queuing outside the stadium to enter due to the tight security for the president. The popular party that brings together thousands of fans around the stadium was canceled for the same reason. When he appeared on the screen, Trump was booed.
Even though the Republican is a native of New York and has a large part of his economic empire based in the city, it still remains a Democratic stronghold in the USA and brings together several immigrant communities, many frightened by the president’s deportation and detention policy.
The last time the Knicks celebrated the East Coast title and thus went to the NBA Finals was in 1999, coincidentally also against the Spurs, who took the competition in Game 5 of the series. Now it remains to be seen whether history repeats itself, or whether orange and blue will continue to paint the streets of New York.
