Knicks night out

Tonight was another bucket list moment. Garry and I bought last-minute tickets to see the New York Knicks basketball team play the LA Clippers at Madison Square Garden. It was my first time at The Garden, and Garry’s first-ever American sports stadium experience.

Out tickets were directly in front of centre court, a few rows behind television cameras on the stadium's middle tier. The atmosphere was electric.The stadium was heaving! Attendance peaked at 19,812, essentially a sellout crowd. The game was also attended by several notable celebrities, including comedian Chelsea Handler and Michael J Fox. 

The Knicks are in the midst of their worst stretch of basketball in two seasons, having lost six of the last ten games they’ve played. As result, they desperately needed a win tonight in front of their home crowd. The odds didn’t look good after Clippers took an early lead in the first quarter. The Knick then trailed for three quarters before forging ahead halfway through the fourth quarter to win 123 to 111. 

The home crowd went wild as the Knicks surged. The row of local in front of us were chanting and cheering all night. Garry loved the experience, especially the pageantry that make live American sports so entertaining. We got it all. Cheerleaders, hyped up commentary, play by play organ music, kiss cam and t-shirt tosses into the crowd. My favourite side show would have to be the Knicks flag bearers. They race out just before a break in play ends, like a timeout, and complete a breakneck circuit of the court.

The price of beer and popcorn was equally memorable, although not for the right reason. A pint-sized can of Heineken cost us an astronomical USD 18.00, or AUD 26.00. A mid-sized bucket of popcorn was USD 6.00, or AUD 10.00. Needless to say we only bought one beer each.