The Unique, Amazing Benefits of Playing & Watching Sports

As a life-long New York Knicks basketball fan, New York Giants football fan, and LA Dodgers baseball fan, I have endured both the ups-and-downs of being a true fan! It’s been decades since the Giants have had quality years, and before this recent season and especially, post-season, the last time the Knicks made the finals was in 1999, and the last time they won the championship was over 50 years ago, and while some seem to only consider the last decade of the Dodgers becoming really competetive, it was a long-time when they were far-less than stellar! While some people claim to be fans when teams are doing well and competing, and I consider many of them as fair-weather fans, others remain loyal, during good times and bad. Those tuning-in to the NBA Finals witness countless celebrities attend and root for these Knicks, but only a few of them, such as Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, etc., have been there through thick-and-thin! But, why does sports (especially top-level professional, and top-tier college, but also some local teams) have such an impact on so many? Some who aren’t as involved claim why should they care about a bunch of athletes making insane amounts of money! While each person chooses whether they will get personally involved, either by participating in or rooting for a team, those who do, while they experience the agony of defeat, also discover the amazing thrill of victory! With that in mind, this article will attempt to briefly consider, examine, review and discuss some aspects which partially explain the benefits of these involvements, and why it might matter.

This concept and phenomenon is far-from being some new occurrence and/or discovery. It seems the Olympics was originally created so nations and people, who are often at-odds, would have a peaceful outlet, to interrealate, with the probable hope that the competetiveness in sports, would help foster greater understanding, and perhaps, improve and enhance the chance for creating a better, meeting-of-the-minds for the greater good! While the Olympics still seeks to have adveraries funnel their energies towards more-peaceful pursuits, unfortunately, we still witness far-too much dangerous behavior and rhetoric between peoples and especially, leaders, from many nations!

No doubt, the recent dominance of the LA Dodgers has overall, unified the Los Angeles area, in a peaceful and unifying way. However, never in my seven decades on this planet, as someone who played high school and college sports, loves several pro sports, and has been deeply involved in political matters, as well, have I experienced anything like the current NY Knicks run, especially during these playoffs. The only times anything similar seemed to occur was the 1969 Miracle Mets, and the NY professional teams in the aftermath of the horrific 9–11 events in 2001, yet even those, seemed less compelling and unifying than this current Knicks run!

What is unique about this Knicks run, and why does it matter? Especially during these extremely-trying political and social times, many people need both hope, as well as some sort of positive diversion! This team, at least on paper, is not the most talented or dominant, and its stars have faults and assets. They did not finish with close to the best record in the NBA, and in-fact, barely finished third in the NBA East. During this playoffs run, the first and second seeds in the East were defeated by earlier rounds opponents, and at one point, the Knicks enjoyed a 13 game winning streak, where until they lost Game 3 this past Monday, they had been undefeated since late April. While some on other teams often seemed to celebrate prematurely, at least publicly, this Knicks group consistently said the right thing, and emphasized their was nothing to celebrate unless/until they win the championship!

For example, the Knicks captain, and arguably its Most Valuable Player (some might argue not only on the team but in the league), Jalen Brunson, is an undersized (barely 6"2") player, who is neither the fastest, most athletic, or most talented athletically! Brunson is the only top player who was not a first-round draft choice (he was drafted in the 2nd round, with the 33rd overall choice), and when the Knicks acquired him as a free-agent, many casual know-it-all fans seemed outraged the Knicks spent so much on his contract. Of course, all which has happened in these 4 years with the Knicks, is the team has made the playoffs each year, and seemed to get better and more competitive. He did what very-few professional players seem willing to do, which was took a pay extension far-below what he could have, and seemed to indicate he felt it was more important for those dollars to help acquire the best talent available, etc. There are still some Brunson detractors, who focus on his imperfections and limitations, while it appears there are many more who see him as Captain Clutch, who does what’s needed and necessary, especially at clutch-time, to bring this team forward! When one looks at this Knicks starting team, we should realize they truly seem to like each other (The Brotherhood), and 3 of the starting five played together in college at Villanova! Whether it’s Karl Anthony-Toms (KAT), a talented but flawed center, or Josh Hart, a man with amazing heart and seemingly willing to do whatever he needs to for the best of the team, or Mikael Bridges, another Villanova guy who quietly leads with his defense and often-timely offense, or OG Anunoby, the baby-faced forward with great contributions offensively, and leads as the team’s best defensive player, as well as Brunson (known as the Brunson Burner, Captain Clutch, etc.), whether the Knicks go on to win the NBA Championship or not, we should all realize this team has great spirit and camaraderie, and appears to believe in themselves and doesn’t quit, no matter how bad things may look at the time. In an earlier round, the Knicks came back from an over-20 points deficit to win, and last night, this team set an NBA Finals record, by coming back from the largest deficit (27 at the end of the 1st half, and 29 at one point) to win, dramatically, by one-point with 1.2 seconds to go. Even then, while Knicks fans celebrated, the players focused on the bigger-picture, which to them was their goal to become champions. Whether it happens or not, we could and should learn from their examples, that personal beliefs, a real team spirit, never-giving-up, and putting the team ahead of their egos, is a winning formula!

No doubt, this nation, and the NY metropolitan area is far-from unifed in many other aspects. In a time when so many seem so disillusioned by world and nation events, this Knicks run has unified the celebrities, and elite, with the average folks, and many seem personally-invested in the nuances, events, results and ups-and-downs of this team. Madison Square Garden was mostly occupied by the wealthy (who else could afford the ticket prices?), but throughout the city, the many watch parties, etc., created a meaningful, unifying experience, which so many other aspects of our daily lives these days seem to lack!

Some believe sports is an over-hyped experience, but I believe while to some degree it is (especially the over-commercialization), if we could funnel the positives and quality lessons, we might have a better world. At a minimum, watching sports as a fan, is a much-needed diversion from the many less-than-stellar events, currently experienced! While some fans take their rooting interests too far in an excessive, even-antisocial manner, most seem content with experiencing and enjoying it, as much as possible.

Doesn’t it make sense if something makes people happier, and doesn’t harm others, it is an overall-good thing? Each of us might benefit by taking away the positives of team spirit, caring about others, and keeping ones eyes on the target! In these trying times, let’s savor these moments, and use them to try to bring us together for the greater-good, to some extent, in everything we do, personally and as a society.

All I ask is for you to think about it!