How the Knicks Saved New York—and Me

On Thursday morning, my son Ben and I joined more than a million Knicks fans in Lower Manhattan to raucously celebrate New York’s NBA championship win last Saturday—its first in 53 years. An hour before the posted start time, the adjoining streets near the parade route on Broadway were mobbed. A sea of blue and orange spread through the city, families decked out in Jalen Brunson jerseys, vendors moving stacks of merch, young fans leading chants while perched atop sanitation trucks—all as the smell of weed drifted through the air, drones buzzed overhead, and confetti fell.