Is Shinnecock part of New York’s biggest sports week…?
SOUTHAMPTON, NY – These are unusual times in New York sports, and if you wanted to know why, you needed an unusual type of ticket Thursday morning.
One to the Long Island Railroad.
The trains started before dawn, heading in each direction (ie, east and west) on two distinctly different slabs of the sports heaven. On the eastbound trains, fans wore pastel-and-khaki shirts, wearing their Thursday best for the opening round of the 126th US Open. The vibes were cool and laid back, and not just because of the morning fog. These fans were heading to one of the most prestigious golf courses in the world, Shinnecock Hills, for one of the most prestigious golf tournaments on the calendar, the US Open. What was expected was a spectacular kick in the face – a bloodbath in a botanic garden.
On the westbound trains, the fans were in a completely different mood. They wore blue and orange almost exclusively, and their power (from the east end of Long Island, at least) was one of great concern. For good reason, too: These fans were heading to the show, which, starting at 8 a.m., had already run out of space for them. The show was a very unusual affair: a tapestry celebration of a city that has not had one in 15 years, a celebration. the group never had one of these ….
After a very long winter, the sun shines again on the big apple. The New York Knicks are the world champions. The US Open has returned to its rightful home. And oh yeah – have you guys heard about this World Cup business?
It’s hard to remember a time when the city’s sports excitement was as high as it is now in New York, even for those of us who have lived in the metro area for a long time (I want 28 years and five months). The Giants won those Super Bowls in ’08 and ’11, but they were alone atop New York’s sports mountain in the winter. The Yankees received World Series parades in ’00 and ’09, but those teams were expected victory … and again, it was the only show in town.
This Knicks run? It came the same week as summer in New York after a very bitter winter, to a team that seemed to embody all the good qualities about New Yorkers, and, yes, it brought that victory for the city’s favorite team. As the tournament closed on Saturday night, it didn’t feel like the good times were back yet, it felt like they weren’t going away.
But it was Robert Frost who first delivered three words about life that no Knicks fan wanted to hear Saturday night: It continues.
And as it turns out, that might not be a bad thing. These Knicks spent a week as the toast of the town, starting a long, many years as the toast of the town. Rumor has it that they might try to make it to Shinnecock for the US Open this weekend, but that’s assuming they’re too busy attending a major sporting event. in the world happening across the river at the Meadowlands, where the “New York/New Jersey stadium” is preparing to host the World Cup final in a month’s time.
It’s amazing, this incredible power in New York, especially after many seasons of the Knicks were dismissed as beloved losers. And while this power was apparently new meI wondered if other New Yorkers were feeling it, too.
This is what brought me to Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, a New York sports talk show host, on Wednesday afternoon in Shinnecock. In particular, I wanted to know if Russo — a living, breathing anthology of sports history and ideology — could remember such an affirming moment in the city’s history. He was also frustrated.
“Good work, good work,” he said, “It’s there. Putting all that together, it will be difficult to climb in New York sports history. ”
Mad Dog, formerly the WFAN sports talk show Mike and the Mad Doghe said he could only remember once when a team seemed to completely capture the spirit of the city like the Knicks.
“It’s Giants-Patriots for the first time, when the Giants beat New England in Tyree’s catch,” he said. “That was big too, it couldn’t have happened, but this is big too, big as it happened.”
According to Russo, while each event taking place this week in New York has its own debate over top billing, there is a definite order of importance.
“I think I’d like to be here in Shinnecock,” Russo said. “The World Cup is over at MetLife, if it’s not the United States, I’m not done with that. I was in Game 4 – nothing will top Game 4. Nothing. But it’s not this week, the parade is this week, and I’m going to take [Shinnecock] over the parade.”
Unlike the throngs of fans who boarded the westbound Long Island Railroad trains this morning, Russo seemed indifferent to the spectacle of the show. Actually, has little interest you may be selling it.
“You wouldn’t take me to the show under any circumstances,” he said. “Even me.”
Thankfully, he didn’t have to go far to find another way. In Southampton, the fun was about to begin.
You can reach the author with your (reasonable) New York sports opinions at james.colgan@golf.com.
