Ana Ballom and her partner, Rodney Ballom, had driven 28 hours from Dallas to New York. By Sunday afternoon, they’ll be in Detroit. They had originally planned their trip to visit family. Their itinerary pivoted around their beloved New York Knicks.
If Ana was feeling any fatigue from the 1,500-mile drive, she didn’t show it. She finished a slice of pizza on Thursday evening on a plaza outside Madison Square Garden, early in the second half of the Knicks’ narrow Game 3 win over the Detroit Pistons. She was one of around 1,000 Knicks fans that had filled Knicks Plaza on 33rd Street for a Game 3 watch party.
The Knicks have hosted watch parties outside the Garden for all three of the first round games so far, with large screens and a social gathering area for fans. The watch parties carry a similar vibe to Knicks home games, complete with giveaways, fan contests, photo opportunities and the “Karaoke Cam,” and are free and open to the public. The club has also opened its Fan Plaza nearby, which has games, face painting and giveaways starting two hours before tip-off.
“This is lit,” said Steven Rivera, a Knicks fan from Brooklyn who attended the Game 3 watch party. “I’ve never been to anything like this. It brings all of us together. This is great vibes.”
“It’s been a long time coming since we’ve had a good Knicks team,” said Ricky Barksdale, a Knicks fan who hails from the South Bronx. “We’re all celebrating the happiness together.”
Thursday night’s watch party featured appearances from Knicks alumni Latrell Sprewell, Stephon Marbury and Larry Johnson.
Marbury, a New York native who grew up a Knicks fan and fulfilled his dream of playing at Madison Square Garden for his hometown team, said that Knicks fans in the city share a special bond.
“For me to be able to be a Knick fan and to be able to see them,” Marbury told amNewYork on Thursday before tip-off, “I share the same energy that they share. Growing up watching the games, being in this position, I know exactly how they feel.”
Behind Marbury, the Knicks fans in front of the screen began a “Let’s go Knicks!” chant.
“Come on,” he said. “Once you hear that sound, ‘Let’s go Knicks!’ Knicks fans, it’s hard to get us to cheer. It’s hard to get us to scream ‘Defense!’ It’s hard to get us to say, ‘Let’s go Knicks!’ We got to really be in it. Our players, when they get on the court and play the way they’re playing, for us to have that energy consistently like that, it shows how the culture is changing.”
Ana grew up in The Bronx as a third generation Knicks fan, following her grandfather and her mother. She was mesmerized by the Knicks teams of the 1990s led by Patrick Ewing and John Starks. In high school, she’d buy the newspaper when the Knicks won in the playoffs and celebrate at school. They were amazing to watch, she said, and carried the same New York swagger as the current Knicks’ core, led by Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
“Every year, Patrick Ewing would say, ‘We’re gonna win,’” said Ana. “And we believed him. I think that’s the same energy that we get from Jalen. When he says, ‘We’re not done. We’re still working,’ we feel it in our soul that he really wants this for the city.”
Ana’s partner, Rodney, is from New Orleans but said that he is also a lifelong Knicks fan. In 2016, they moved to Dallas. For the last three years, they’ve come back to New York to see the Knicks play, including the last two playoff runs.
The Balloms booked the Detroit leg of their journey on Wednesday, on their drive into the city.
“When Detroit said that Knicks fans couldn’t go to their arena,” Ana began, “I said, ‘We’re going.’”
Knicks fans have a high standard for their own players, but as fans at Thursday’s watch party insisted, there isn’t a more loyal fan base.
“The loyalty is real,” said Rivera, who presumably met Ana Ballom beforehand. “I just met a person from Texas, just to be here. I said, ‘Where are you from?’ She said ‘The Bronx.’ It’s love.”
“You can go to any city, you’ll see Knicks jerseys anywhere,” said Qaasid Dajwa, who stood near the back of the watch party in a blue Josh Hart jersey. “You feel the sense of community with them.”
It may be early in the first round, but in the back of fans’ and players’ minds is the legacy that comes with winning in New York. It’s just a matter of time before another generation of Knicks joins the New York greats.
“When you win big in New York, you’re immortalized,” said Barksdale. “Look at Eli Manning, look at Derek Jeter, look at Mark Messier. You win a title at the Garden or in New York City, you’re immortalized, and I think people respect that.”
