The Knicks championship offers an important reminder to Jets fans

The New York Knicks are NBA champions. That's a sentence many longtime fans of the team wondered if they would ever hear again. And for many, they're hearing it for the first time.

53 years had passed since the franchise last won a title. Entire generations grew up without experiencing a championship. The Knicks were often the punchline of the NBA, as seasons ended in disappointment, and hope gave way to frustration more often than not.

Then Saturday night happened. Watching the celebration unfold with my family and friends, one thought kept coming back to me. A reminder of why sports can mean so much to so many people.

This is why people stick with teams through all the losing. This is why we, as New York Jets fans, continue to watch and support this stupid football team.

Now, the Jets are nowhere near what the Knicks just accomplished. Their championship drought is even longer. The frustrations are familiar to anyone who follows New York sports. That's also why the Knicks' title felt like more than a basketball story.

Every Jets fan watching had to be thinking the same thing. What if one day that's us?

The Knicks just reminded Jets fans why we do this

Nobody who lived through the James Dolan era — and even the pre-Dolan eras — needed a reminder of how difficult the journey had been. The Knicks spent decades battling dysfunction, self-inflicted wounds, and endless humiliation before finally reaching the top.

Now they're champions. Part of what made Saturday night so emotional wasn't just the trophy, but everything that came before it. Everything fans experienced on the road to the mountaintop of the sport.

As the final seconds ticked away, I couldn't help but think about all the names buried deep in the memory bank of Knicks fans. Thoughts of Renaldo Balkman, Jared Jeffries, Ronny Turiaf, Cleanthony Early, Damyean Dotson, and countless others who became part of the journey came to mind.

Those names may be unfamiliar to anyone who missed the dark ages of Knicks basketball, but they represent the years spent waiting for a moment like this. Jets fans will one day have their own list.

Luke Falk. Trevor Siemian. Bryce Petty. Tim Boyle. Greg McElroy. James Morgan. And those are just the quarterbacks!

That's what makes moments like the Knicks' championship feel so special. The losing becomes part of the story. The heartbreak becomes part of the story. All the years spent wondering if it would ever happen become part of the story.

Nobody can promise the Jets will ever give their fans a moment like the Knicks delivered on Saturday night. Sports don't work that way. But after watching a franchise climb out of a 53-year championship drought, it's a little harder to dismiss the possibility.

Maybe it happens. Maybe it doesn't. At this point, Jets fans have been on the ride long enough that we might as well see where it goes.

Congratulations to the New York Knicks. This is why we do it.

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