In this space last year, I wrote that, as much as I despised the Mets' ownership and the way the team was being run, I could not bring myself to stop attending games. That remains true.
And it probably makes me a hypocrite for saying this: Knicks fans should boycott the Knicks.
As a fan, I'm about as loyal as they come: Mets, Giants, Rangers and Knicks. But only recently has the thought crossed my mind that, if the Knicks continue down the same path, I might someday abandon the basketball team I've supported all my life. I'm so mad at the Knicks. I hate them. I hate James Dolan. I hate everything the team does.
Naturally, then, I was pleased to see that Knicks fans are planning a protest outside Madison Square Garden (MSG) before next Wednesday's home game against the Pacers. The fan group that organized the protest - KF4L, a.k.a. Knicks Fans For Life (oh, the irony) - cited "systemic and consistently recurring lack of responsible decision-making at Madison Square Garden" by owner James Dolan and team executives, as the source of their anger.
"We understand Dolan will not sell," Mark Griffin, one of the protest organizers, told reporters in an email. "We understand change may not come of this. We just want our voices heard."
I commend Griffin and his group for speaking up. The problem is, Dolan doesn't give a crap about what the fans think. If he did, wouldn't he have said something by now?
But the bigger problem is that, even as the Knicks keep losing - they were 25-40, 3.5 games shy of a playoff spot, entering last night's game against the Celtics - they continue to rake in the dough. In January, Forbes revealed that, for a second straight year, the Knicks are the NBA's most valuable franchise at $1.4 billion. Thanks in part to the renovation of MSG, the team turned an all-time record profit of $96 million last season.
A mere protest will not change that.
Likely in response to the planned protest, the Knicks sent the following email message to season-ticket holders on Tuesday: "If you plan to attend the Knicks game on Wednesday, March 19th, we'd love for you to attend the Knicks Happy Hour [at 6 p.m., two hours before tip-off], courtesy of Chase. At this event, you'll meet some Alumni, receive vouchers for merchandise and concessions and be able to watch shoot-around from a great spot."
Classic Knicks. While some die-hards are outside MSG protesting the dire state of the team, others will be inside the building throwing more money at the franchise.
All of which is to say that Knicks fans need a new strategy: boycott the team. Next time, instead of organizing a protest, get fans to agree not to attend a given game. Ideally, the fans will band together until, one night - one glorious night - the world's most famous arena is empty except for the players on the floor.
(Hypothetical: If J.R. Smith hoists up an ill-advised jumper and no one is there to hear it clank off the back rim, does it make a sound?)
Knicks fans are nothing if not passionate. But if they really want their team to win - and if they want any chance of an ownership change - they will use the power of the purse. They will send a message by withholding all support for the franchise.
If KF4L organizes it, I'll hop right on board.
In the comments section of a recent nj.com article about the upcoming protest, commenter sertsj123 quipped: "One owner away from a title."
Sertsj123 is right. The Knicks' title run begins with a boycott.
Aaron Leibowitz is a senior who is majoring in American studies. He can be reached at Aaron.Leibowitz@tufts.edu.
