.jpeg)
The United States of America is a country full of unique backgrounds, cultures, traditions, and personalities. Each region, town, city, and state has something that they're known for.
In sports, athletes will experience a culture shock one way or another. Whether it’s an international player coming to a place like Utah, or an athlete from a small town in Maine going to a city like Dallas, it happens.
The beauty of sports also allows small market organizations to face those star-studded big market teams. Enjoy having a team in the New York metropolitan area? How about a team in… Green Bay, Wisconsin?
No matter where a team is, the fanbase of that organization will bring passion and enthusiasm to every game. Kind of like what will transpire in this season’s NBA Finals.
This season's Finals are officially set with the New York Knicks taking on the San Antonio Spurs in a rematch of the 1999 Finals. It’s also a rematch of this season’s NBA Cup, where New York captured the Cup.
The Knicks are as big time as it gets. From the “World’s Most Famous Arena,” to celebrity fans like Ben Stiller and Spike Lee, to a rambunctious fanbase, the Knicks have waited for this moment. Knicks fans suffered through the days of Cleanthony Early and now they have players like Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The city is about to erupt if they win the Finals for the first time since the 1970s. I can already see the local media proclaim them to be the first local team to win a championship since the Giants won the Super Bowl in February 2012. They will simply ignore the fact that the Atlas, Liberty, Gotham FC and NYCFC have all won championships since then.
However, the Spurs are back to a place they’ve called home numerous times. During the years of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginóbili, Tony Parker, as well as David Robertson and Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio won five championships between 1999 and 2014. This team was the league's standard under Gregg Popovich and now, an extraterrestrial from France is leading the charge to get them back to the promised land.
Victor Wembanyama has truly cemented himself as one of the best players in the world at 22-years-old. When he was selected first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Spurs believed that this generational talent would reinvigorate their franchise. Short answer, he did.
I know people want a breakdown of the X’s and O’s or dumb hottakes or pieces criticizing players like Wemby or KAT. I’m not doing that here. What I want to highlight are the fanbases.
Look, I can be biased as a diehard Nets fan and annoy Knicks fans to death on how they won’t win. Unfortunately, the Knicks' fanbase is stronger in terms of passion and numbers.
A lot of my friends love the Knicks and you can see how genuine their love for the team is. The team connects so many people together from Long Island, to even places in Bergen County in New Jersey. No matter how much tickets cost to watch a game at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks faithful will come and support.
The Spurs faithful are also just as incredible. The fans down in south-central Texas love this franchise simply because they are truly an organization that represents their community well. Call them a small market team all you want but, they have some of the best fans in the Association.
One of the reasons why I love the NBA is because teams like Sacramento, Oklahoma City, and Portland have loyal supporters who love their teams no matter what. Even through hard periods, those fans rally behind their squads and I love it.
In an NBA Finals that will feed generations of families, let’s acknowledge the incredible fanbases taking part in this one. We saw the power Indiana and OKC brought last year so why can’t it happen again?
One thing as well. If celebrities like Timothée Chalamet are going to be at MSG, how do the Spurs get George Strait to come to a game? He’s apparently a Spurs fan.