MY friend and I stopped by New York City on our way to South America, not realizing that it would be more frenetic and frenzied than usual due to sports — basketball and football. The World Cup of soccer had started. In the streets were all kinds of football jerseys, with Brazilian jerseys being the most visible. There were a formidable number of men, women and children wearing them all over the city, parading together and making a statement with their presence.
Meanwhile, the NBA New York basketball team, after 30-plus years of being out of the finals, was in the NBA finals. Their last championship was 50-plus years ago. With the finals playing between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs of San Antonio, Texas, emotions were at an all-time high, if not totally uncontrollable. Fans gathered in and outside Madison Square Garden, where the games were being held, before, during and after. Ticket prices were so forbiddingly high that some of the fans found it cheaper to fly to San Antonio to watch their team play in the competitor’s hometown.
Meanwhile, those outside the Madison Square Garden and other parks in New York City watching the games on giant screens would go into spasms of overenthusiasm leading to violence, uprooting trees and fighting with fans of San Antonio, who unwisely revealed themselves and in the process tried to topple streetlights. The police presence was formidable, but the fans proved to be more so. They threw glass at the police when confronted.
My friend and I had tickets to a Broadway show, which, to our shock, was on the same day as the possible championship winning game. We were horrified to note that the theater for the show was just off Times Square, where the crowds were gathering as early as noon for the 8 p.m. game.
So, we adapted our own game plan. Instead of going to the theater just before 8 p.m., we would go as early as 6 p.m., look for a place nearby to eat dinner and then scurry over to the theater. We managed getting there in a taxi but noted the crowd buildup, and all restaurants and bars that were visibly full of rowdy customers wearing Knicks T-shirts, caps and carrying banners. It was not a place for senior ladies. Finally, we spotted a hotel with an unfamiliar name, but it looked solid enough to keep us safe for dinner. We entered and found a Sports Bar but with mostly senior citizens in small numbers. There were even bleachers at the far end, but the Sports Bar never got full. So, in tranquility, we ordered dinner while watching the Brazil-Morocco game. Brazil has a record of world championships so it was somewhat of a surprise when Morocco scored the first goal. Brazil came back with its own goal, but it was time to go to the theater which we managed through crowds by walking as efficiently as possible.
After the show, which was close to 11p.m., there were crowds on every street and sidewalk in the vicinity. While we had come in a taxi, there was no way we could leave in one. First, there were hardly any taxis as people were occupying the streets watching the game from the screens inside bars and restaurants already too full to take anymore. And even if we found a taxi, it would probably be stopped dead in its tracks. So, we decided there was nothing to do but walk through the crowds.
The idea was to get to our hotel before the game ended, and the mayhem would escalate. So, we crossed Times Square through crowds of people, a phalanx of police and police cars. Already, some enthusiasts were on top of vehicles yelling and screaming, some dancing. You could hear the crowd roar when points were made for the Knicks. We had to walk three long blocks, the ones leading West to East, which are longer than those from North to South. Everyone was walking in the opposite direction we were going. We walked as fast as we could and then realized we needed to hydrate. But the bars were too full to get in, the convenience stores were closed and wisely the food carts had retreated somewhere else. Too dangerous for them, too. Finally, a souvenir store run by Indians was open, and they had drinks. We thanked them for being open as we bought bottled water and continued on our way.
Meanwhile, the roars from the crowd were getting louder and louder as we got farther away. But we noted a full police presence. On every corner, there were three policemen or women. We reached Fifth Avenue which was relatively quiet. The police, too, were following the game, some of them wearing plastic masks. Police cars were cruising along with other cars as traffic was building up there, too.
Finally, we got to our hotel just off Fifth Avenue, dashed into our room, turned on the television and saw the last seconds of the game which was won by four points by the Knicks. Then came the fireworks, the sirens, the blaring horns, but we were safely home. We had survived, were happy for New York City and happy to have been there.
