Written by Ralph Rand, Brooklyn. Follow Ralph on Twitter @RalphRand
Living in New York can be stressful. Always hustling around with honking horns and traffic–all around the city and the boroughs. Well, it is called “The city that never sleeps” for a reason.
After a long day of hard work, the average New Yorker likes to come home – by train of course – to a nice home with dinner cooked. When dinner is done and the kids are in bed your average New Yorker loves to plant himself on the couch and watch TV.
The sports anchor decides to talk about New York sports. “Here we go again,” he thinks. As a long-time suffering NY sports fan, he stops and think about recent successes—or lack thereof.
Courtesy: Fox Sports Asia
He starts with the basketball teams. The Knicks were 17-65 this year. The long-struggling franchise has only won 1 playoff series in a little more than a decade—not since the glory days of Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, and James Starks. Knicks fans cringe when they hear names, like Isaiah Thomas and Eddie Curry. A meddling owner doesn’t help, either. I could go on and on about how dysfunctional the franchise has been in recent years, but why rub salt on the wound?
The other basketball team in town is the Brooklyn Nets. They’ve only been in town for a few years, but they’ve had a good amount of dysfunction, too. With the days of Jason Kidd behind them (as player and power-hungry coach), and with an owner that has said publicly that selling the team is a possibility, Nets fans try to be optimistic. Sadly, in the near future at least, there doesn’t seem to be much.
Courtesy: Rick Stewart/Getty Images
Well, if basketball teams are bad, football teams are better? Right? Nope. The Jets and Giants have problems. The Jets were 4-12 last year and fired their coach. The Giants were 6-10 and didn’t make the playoffs. The Jets were “the circus in town” and the Giants were generally inept.
So what about “America’s pastime?” One of the greatest Yankees of all time, Derek Jeter, retired last season. The Core 4 is history. Now the Yankees are looking for a face of the franchise. It’s not you, Alex Rodriguez. Don’t get me wrong, the Yankees could still have a nice year–and they’re leading the AL East in early May–but even if they make the playoffs, don’t expect another trophy anytime soon.
Courtesy: www.newyorkmetsreport.com
But there is a ray of sunshine. It’s (of all teams) the Mets. Since 1986 the New York Mets have been that “other team in town.” But, now, the Mets have a chance of becoming THE team in NY. With a front-line pitcher, Matt Harvey, the Mets are making a run. And, when all is said and done, the Mets (yes, the METS) are the closest NY team to a championship.
Still, though, the average New Yorker mostly sits and pouts about local teams. NY sports fans have suffered a long time—and they might suffer even longer—unless the Mets come through.
Check back in 2-3 years. Things might change by then.
