The New York Knicks are one win away from their first NBA championship in 53 years, and the city is buzzing with excitement. Fans are performing rituals, avoiding live broadcasts, and waiting anxiously for the result to go in their favor. New York City is spotted orange and blue with fans focused on one mission: bringing the NBA Finals trophy back home.
One lifelong fan, Trishna Sharma, has been doing a special Hindu ritual to ward off the "evil eye" before each game. She uses salt, mustard seeds, and a picture of the team, placing the ingredients in her hand and moving her fist clockwise seven times around the image to invite positive energy. A similar ritual can be done to ward off negative energy, and she plans to burn the ingredients at the end to get rid of any negative energy.
Another fan, Winnonah Foster, has waited decades to see the Knicks win a championship again. She was 19 the last time they won a championship and is now 72. She thinks witnessing another title, this time with her own children, will feel all the more special.
Even new fans have gotten into the Knicks and found camaraderie. Hiris Faozan, who has lived in Queens for the past decade, has only gotten into the Knicks in the past two weeks. He sees Knicks flags in his neighborhood and wears the jersey everywhere he goes, feeling like the team is his friends.
However, some fans believe that the presence of President Donald Trump at Game 3 dampened the spirit of the game. Tracey Walker, a fan since Willis Reed's era, felt that the additional security and restrictions to access Madison Square Garden took them off their game. The refs weren't for them at all.
Celebrity fans have their own rituals, too. Jordyn Woods, the fiancée of Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns, brought a custom orange bag from her clothing brand to each game day, which fans dubbed her lucky bag. However, she couldn't bring it to Game 3 due to security restrictions. When she brought it back on Game 4, the Knicks won.
Ben Stiller and his wife burned all of their clothes from Game 3, calling it an anomaly. Dillon Chance, from Brooklyn, wants the entire sky to be orange and blue to bring the title.
In conclusion, the New York Knicks are one win away from their first NBA championship in 53 years, and the city is buzzing with excitement. Fans are performing rituals, avoiding live broadcasts, and waiting anxiously for the result to go in their favor. The collective support is what will bring the title.
