The Knicks are Back- Does Anybody Care?

Madison Square Garden will welcome the New York Knicks back on Christmas with some new bells and whistles after the “Phase One” renovation of MSG. The question is, will New Yorkers welcome back the Knicks with the same enthusiasm?

“The entire situation just came across as spoiled, the players, the owners, everybody,” said Manhattan resident James Fryar, a self described “supporter” of New York Knicks basketball. “They (the Knicks) are relevant for the first time in awhile, and then this has to go happen. It takes some of the steam out.”

Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony hope to make New Yorkers care about the Knicks.

Many people didn’t really have an opinion one way or another on the Knicks return.. “It’s fun. Good for them. What do I care? I’m the wrong person to ask about this; last week I still thought what’s his name Ewing was on the team! He isn’t, correct?” Agnes Scotcher, a West Village resident said. "The only reason I ever see my grandson is because he likes to watch the Knicks games. So, I'm glad they fixed it all up so that I can see him!" Scotcher said with a laugh. After hearing the main points of stress in the conflict, Scotcher called the whole thing "mularkey" and laughed.

“Me and the guys used to go all in on one of those packages and split up the tickets,” Maurice Caldwell, a doorman and security guard in Manhattan said. He and a group of hotel workers used to purchase a season ticket package for the Knicks home games, but Caldwell isn’t so sure that they will fork over the money this year. “With everything going on today, they are gonna sit around bickering about how to split billions? What a problem to have.”

The New York Knicks had a league high revenue of $226 million in 2010. After all expenses were paid, including salaries and expenses, the Knicks came away with roughly $64 million income. This wasn’t the case for many teams though, which is where the main frustration came from.

Out of the 32 teams in the National Basketball Association, 17 of them lost money during the 2010-2011 season. “It’s unfortunate to hear,” Caldwell said, “but I mean they are all millionaires. No sympathy here.” Caldwell’s co-workers nodded in agreement.