New York Knicks: How to enact change at Madison Square Garden

How can we finally see change with the New York Knicks?

The New York Knicks were once a proud franchise, one of the top in the sport on a yearly basis. Madison Square Garden once a place that teams dreaded coming to for a game. The years with Walt Frazier and the two NBA titles were the stuff of legends. For those of us not old enough to have seen those times, we have the Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy years. Nobody went down the lane against Patrick Ewing and company without hitting the floor, literally! The Garden rocked to the rafter back then.

Doesn’t that seem like it’s a lifetime ago? The times are certainly different now. Now, the Knicks are the perennial losers. They had the brief streak of playoff appearances with Mike D’Antoni at the helm but nothing has been sustained. To be honest I had forgotten about those three playoff appearance because they have been so bad every other year. Prior to that they only made the playoffs twice since the century turned.

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When the NBA draft lottery was started prior to the 1985 season, Patrick Ewing was the prized college player. We all know that he went to the Knicks and the rest was history. The rumor was that the lottery was rigged so New York could get the big star and get back to being a top NBA franchise. This was never proven of course but it leads to my point.

These days the lottery doesn’t need to be rigged because the Knicks are always right there with a significant chance to pick at or near the top of the draft.

Doesn’t it seem like this abyss of losing is never going to end for the Knicks? No matter who they bring to lead this team or play, nothing changes. Other than the various brief glimmers of hope (hello Kristaps Porzingis), it’s another losing season. All of the losing, really since Jeff Van Gundy walked out the door, yet the product really doesn’t get any better. Why?

Because we all continue to watch it. That’s why.

Case and point, the most recent home game was the last game before the break when the Knicks fell 118-113 to the Wizards. It amounted to their seventh straight loss heading into the All-Star break. It was also their 36th loss in 60 games. However, more than 19,000 fans still attended the contest. Why? Is the beer THAT good at the Garden? Is bad basketball really more interesting in person?

James Dolan sees a full building and believes he is doing something right. That is why the wholesale changes never come.

Next: State of the Knicks

The way to make change happen is easier said than done. Stop going to the games, Dolan will notice that. The problem is most of us are priced out of the building in favor of corporations. They will attend the games to entertain employees and clients whether the team is good or bad. Without them going elsewhere, the Garden will be at or close to capacity every night.

And nothing will change. We can try not to go, but we are only a small dent in the crowd at large.

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