The Knicks and their self-image

I have never seen or heard a more delusional fan base, or their myth-creators (writers who cover them).

A NY writer named Frank Isola was on espn radio this morning, he was comparing and contrasting the Knicks and Lakers franchises, vis-a-vis signing Carmelo Anthony. He went over various factors, including winning tradition. The Lakers, he said, have "been a bit more successful" over the years.

A bit more successful - unreal.

The Lakers have won 10 NBA championships in the last 40 years. The Knicks have won zero.

The Knicks have created myths out of completely ordinary, boring teams - but if enough New Yorkers keep repeating it, I guess myths can become reality.

 

Are you sure he wasn't being sarcastic?

Isola is a huge critic of Dolan/the Knicks. Dolan won't let anyone talk to him.

 

Frank Isola started on the Knicks beat for the New York Daily News in the fall of 1996, when he was 29 years old. Now, at 46, he has been covering the team longer than anyone else.

Somewhere along the way he got on the team's bad side. These days, the Knicks will not allow Isola or anyone else from the News to conduct one-on-one interviews with players or coaches. The team's publicists regularly warn players, Madison Square Garden employees, and even other reporters to stay away from him, Isola told me.

"The assistant coaches, they're sometimes afraid to even look at you," he said. "It's the most bizarre working atmosphere."

http://deadspin.com/how-frank-isola-became-the-most-hated-man-at-madison-sq-478620919

 

No sarcasm at all in his tone or words.

 

That's weird because he makes fun of the Post's Marc Berman for being a Knicks homer.

 

There is no way he was not being sarcastic. He goes on ESPN radio often and always rips the Knicks.

 

The Knicks are to basketball what the Toronto Maple Leafs are to hockey and the Chicago Cubs to baseball.

 

This is what I figured, but I didn't hear what poindexter did.

The guy is Dolan's nemesis.

 

Other than the Yankees and the Giants -- and maybe the Devils, if you really want to count them -- it's amazing how mediocre New York sports teams really are.
Five sports teams combining for 200-plus seasons over the last 44 years, and they've won a total of eight championships. If you cut it to the last 30 years to eliminate the Knicks' two early-70s titles and the Islanders' run in the early 80s, and it's a whopping two ('86 Mets and '94 Rangers).
New York is a great sports town, but they're damn lucky to have the Yankees and Giants.

 

Wait, so if you cut it down to look at only the years in which New York teams haven't won championships, the city doesn't have many championships? No shit, huh?

 

Not really, the Maple Leafs have won a it all lot more than the Knicks (13 championships to 2). I'd say the Knicks are a slightly more successful version of the Hawks (The Atlanta Hawks, not the Chicago Blackhawks or Seattle Seahawks, neither of which is as terrible as the Knicks)

 

I do think there is something to the media hype. Player gets traded to the Knicks or Rangers or Mets and the media herald him as a star, when the reality is he's an average player. It's not just the local media, either. It seems the national people pick up on the phenomenon.

It's kind of like Texas or Notre Dame football. "If he's playing for (fill in the blank), he must be awesome."

The hype magnifies the disappointment of coming up short. The Royals haven't made the playoffs in a quarter century. But, it's OK, they're from Kansas City and that's life in a smaller market. But somehow, the theory goes, teams from New York should contend every year in every sport.