Fifty-three years. The Knicks waited fifty-three years, and on Tuesday, before the Sixers, they raised their banner in front of their crowd. That’s a moment. And then, according to The Athletic, the assistant coaches were handed boxes. Empty ones. Seven sources confirm it.
Me, an empty box, I’d still announce it. Listen. The dark, well, half the dark, because our caretaker keeps his strip lights on. The two school fête spotlights on the scorer’s table. [drum roll] “Mesdames et messieurs, dames en heren, for the coaching staff…” Two seconds of silence. We open it. Nothing. And instead of cutting the music, I restart the jingle. [jingle] Because an empty box with music is suspense. Without music, it’s cardboard.
Two sources say they were told that morning. So the assistants knew before they opened the box. A surprise announced in the morning, on the mic, is called a rehearsal. Make some noise for the people who already knew!
And then there’s the September email to Madison Square Garden employees: “Congratulations, your employee championship ring has arrived”. A cybersecurity test run by James Dolan, with mandatory training for anyone who clicked. That one, on the mic, I wouldn’t know how to announce. I tried it in my head. “And now, your mandatory training.” Nobody gets up.
At our place, the last box we opened under the spotlights was the new jerseys. Number seven was missing. I announced it anyway. Just saying.
It’s true, we checked: BeBasket.
