Paint the City in Blue and Orange

• Lori Palminteri
• Uncategorized
• June 10, 2026

From the first game in the NBA finals, every bar in every borough of NYC was overflowing with people. Lines were aggravatingly long for drinks. People were literally watching from the streets, not even drinking at all, just to be part of a legendary New York City experience.

Admittedly, basketball isn’t really my sport. I’m a football and hockey girl. And if this was the Rangers in the Stanley Cup playoffs, I’d be outright losing my mind. It is impossible not to get swept up in the Knicks mania, however. I find myself looking forward to games and watching with a feverish excitement as if I’ve been a die hard basketball fan my entire life. The city is buzzing with a rare sense of optimism that politics never breeds, and a sense of community that we are proud New Yorkers, from born and raised New Yorkers like myself, to people from all over the country and the world. There is about as much to hate about New York as there is to love, but we get these moments of appreciation that we are special in the sense there is no place in the world like New York. The city, of course, offers all the best (and worst) parts of capitalism. The culture is rich, and largely for the rich, from the best food in the world to the greatest shows— concerts, comedy, art galleries, museums, sports arenas. And it’s not just New York City that is special. Upstate has a number of quaint small towns with charming villages and devastatingly beautiful Catskill hikes. While Long Island, my stomping grounds, known for being full of trashy people, has some of the most underrated beaches in the whole world. I will take a Long Island summer over almost any place in the world. Even Frances Scott Fitzgerald knew Long Island is superior to New York City in the summertime.

Like everyone else, I’m charmed by Victor Wembanyama, and I’m sure his day will come, but as a New Yorker to the core, I actively root against the alien. Aliens usually have a home in New York City… but not when it comes to the New York Knicks. Sorry, Wemby. You’ll be alright.

The collective brother and sisterhood this history in the making series is bringing the greatest and hardest city on Earth is exactly why I love sports. This hope. This… fun. And while any Knicks fan will not be having any fun if they lose the series (which I don’t think they will), no matter what the outcome, I will always remember it as a fun time. Perhaps even a healing time. Everyone, of all ages, are ready to cheer and embrace together. This is New York. Where the struggle feels endless. So many of us wondering if staying in New York is even worth it all. And now we get one of those moments in history where you’re reminded that despite the grind, despite the heartache, you are in New York fucking City, baby. And even if this isn’t your forever home, if you’re a transplant, or you one day move on to a place that better fits your needs, once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker to some degree. With the Knicks in the championship, we are one giant fucked up family, literally cheering in the streets. A reminder that every day magic sometimes lies in community, and the simplest of things, like forgetting everything else and watching a game of people playing with a ball.

LET’S FUCKING GO KNICKS!