As the mullahs in Iran announced they were closing the Strait of Hormuz and President Trump threatened to “bomb the sh*t out of them,” I was sleepless in Jerusalem keeping my eye on another war.
I’m talking, of course, about the New York Knicks versus the San Antonio Spurs in game 4 of the NBA Finals.
I’ve been a sports nut my whole life, so it was no big deal to be up in the middle of the night to follow a major sporting event.
Little did I know the game would be one for the ages.
In front of frenzied fans at Madison Square Garden (MSG), the Knicks came back from a 29-point deficit to win the game by a point. A miracle tip-in by OG Anunoby at the final second sent the MSG fans and New York City in a state of delirium and the Knicks one win away from their first championship in 53 years.
Members of Hollywood royalty with floor seats— Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld, Ben Stiller, Timothee Chalamet, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Spike Lee, Taylor Swift and others— seemed to have no problem losing their composure in public. A Youtube clip after the game showed Chalamet beckoning Knicks superstar Jalen Bronson as if he were a kid desperate for an autograph. That’s Chalamet! The same superstar actor who played Bob Dylan!
Sports can make grown-ups unravel.
I’ve had moments watching my beloved Lakers where I got so loud celebrating a win the neighbors were about to call security.
But why?
Why such ecstasy over something seemingly trivial that has nothing to do with my life?
I understand being passionate about things that are personally meaningful— a family wedding, a special birthday, a children’s graduation, my love of America, and so on—but a basketball game full of rich athletes I don’t even know?
How can team sports have such a hold on so many people?
Because I make a habit out of thinking too much, I’ll offer some possible answers.
One, humans crave belonging. Those New Yorkers who are still celebrating on the streets of Manhattan are not just Knicks fans. They belong to a tribe. A tribe with civic pride. The Knicks of New York tribe.
Two, it feels great to have absolute clarity about who wins and loses. Have you noticed how we never know who’s winning wars these days? Take the war in Iran. The mullahs tell us they’re winning, Trump tells us we’re winning, and we’re all dizzy trying to figure out the score.
No such problem with sports. Ask the Spurs.
Third, watching sports can cleanse our primal urge for combat. It’s therapeutic to use phrases like “going to battle” knowing it won’t be a battle with missiles, tanks and drones. In sports, you go to war and people don’t die. Such a deal.
But forget all that. Watching the Knicks win a Finals game in front of the home crowd after being down 29 points was incredibly fun. It was high drama. It was like watching a fantastic movie– pure, unapologetic entertainment.
Of course, a cat on Tik Tok doing back flips can also be entertaining. But that cat can’t electrify the metropolis that never sleeps, or interrupt the sleep of a journalist in Jerusalem worrying about real missiles and the Strait of Hormuz.
