newjerseynewsroom.com

BY STEPHEN SCHIMMEL

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

Ever gone to see a movie so unbearably awful that you walked out of the theater before it was over? Chances are you have, but what movie was it? Kevin Costner’s "Waterworld"? "Earnest Goes to Camp"? "Rocky V"? Perhaps it was "Anaconda 3" or anything with Tim Allen.

The fact is, just about everyone has seen a movie that they wish they never had. Some of you may have had the foresight to head for the exit 10 minutes into the showing, but what would you have done if Regal Cinemas locked the door and there was no escaping? You were trapped inside of a matinee showing of "Jingle All the Way" and had no choice but to watch Arnold Schwarzenegger battle Sinbad for the holiday season’s hottest toy: the Turbo-Man action figure. Does the thought alone make you quiver?

Well if so, you probably aren’t a fan of the New York Knicks, and if you ever were, you more than likely cut your losses years ago to more recently became a fan of the Miami Heat. See, Knicks fans everywhere have been trapped in a theater that’s been showing the same movie for over 10 years now, but none of us ever once even looked back at that exit sign.

If you’ve ever gone to a theater with a broken air conditioner only to realize that the guy sitting next to you ran out of deodorant earlier in the morning, the man behind you has the boniest knees in the world, and your date still texts her ex-boyfriend, you still wouldn’t know what it feels like to be a Knicks fan. Yet we remain in our seats, eyes glued to the screen, as if we liked watching car accidents in slow motion-instant replay on a regular basis.

And yes, some have called us irrationally optimistic or faithful to a fault, but what many have come to know as depression, Knick fans simply refer to as basketball season- it’s just our reality. But for one reason or another, every November has always meant a return to the Church of Madison Square Garden. And every year, we watch in horror as overpaid, egomaniacal, selfish “superstars” hollow the once proud Garden floor with overtly careless play, sexual harassment scandals (see Isiah Thomas, 2007) and loss, after loss, after loss.

Does Knicks owner James Dolan have any idea how embarrassing it was to wear an Eddy Curry jersey outside of the house? If he’s ever gone to a costume shop the day before Halloween only to realize that the only thing left was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Donatello outfit, perhaps he can understand our predicament—sure, Donatello is a nerd who wears purple, but he’s still a Turtle, and we support him because sadly, he’s the best thing left and we really have no choice.

Does Dolan have a clue how many Friday nights Knick fans have wasted in front of the TV? Or how much money we have spent at the Garden only to watch the Blue and Orange lose by 45 points to the Boston Celtics (Nov. 29, 2007). Sadly, my guess is that he does—the evidence is in his monthly bank statements.

But alas, in 2011 the Garden resolve was rewarded. Finally, after a decade of complete ineptitude, former Knicks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh had the Big Apple buzzing again. Amare Stoudemire had the Garden crowd jumping and the mid-season trade acquisition of Carmelo Anthony had Knick fans believing. Yes, in 2011, the Knicks returned to the NBA playoffs for the first time in seven seasons and suddenly, everyone at the movie theater was reminded of why they stuck it out. And despite the first-round sweep to the Celtics, New York had every reason to believe that its Knicks could be the real deal in 2012.

Knick fans (and NBA fans abound) have always been loyal. But how have the Knicks, the NBA, the owners and the players decided to reward that loyalty?

Well, just as the movie starts getting good, the air conditioning kicks back in, the guy sitting next to you finds a stick of Old Spice in his backpack, the man behind you decides to change seats and your date finally turns her phone off, the projector goes out and you find yourself wondering why you went to the movies at all. Why did you purchase that Eddy Curry jersey, and why did you show up at the Garden for $12 beers and 45-point losses?

Have the fans been foolish enough to believe that the Knicks deserved our loyalty for the past 10 years? Because if the current NBA lockout demonstrates anything, it’s that the Knicks, the NBA and all of its players don’t know what loyalty is. No, the NBA doesn’t care about its fans, and frankly, they don’t deserve us. Knick fans have spent more time and money on our team than is worth admitting, and just as things are getting good, the very people that we have supported for the last 10 years decide to bail because to them, money trumps loyalty.

So as Tuesday evening (what was scheduled to be opening night of the 2011-12 NBA season) has come and gone, Knicks fans everywhere are once again back at the same sweaty movie theater with the same sad story showing on repeat. This time, however, I wonder how many fans will head for the exit. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine that many will.

Stephen Schimmel covers sports for NewJerseyNewsroom.com