New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani greets the crowds as he marches on 5th Avenue in New York City, 14 June.
knicks finally win
A long-awaited Knicks championship and the energy of its new mayor Mamdani have unleashed a wave of civic joy across New York.
FOR SUCH A sports-obsessed city – you’d be hard-pressed to find a New York bar without a game of some sort playing in the background – the city’s beloved sports teams are a notoriously poor bet when it comes to winning titles.
The Knicks hadn’t won a championship since Nixon was in the White House. The New York Mets last won the baseball World Series in 1986. And their three NFL teams haven’t fared much better; between them the Giants, the Jets and the Buffalo Bills have won five Super Bowls in six decades. The Buffalo Bills’ contribution to that tally is zero.
Despite or because of their extensive droughts between victories, New Yorkers stick with their teams through thick and thin. And since sporting success has been pretty thin on the ground over the past half century, they’re no slouches when it comes to celebrating their hard-fought victories.
“Remember when Ireland got to the (World Cup) quarter-finals in 1990? Now imagine if they’d won the whole damn championship,” a Manhattan friend counselled when trying to describe the off-the-charts celebrations that followed the Knicks spectacular victory.
New York City, USA. 09th June, 2026. People clebrate on 42nd street outside of Bryant Park during a watch party. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Weeks of anticipation and celebrations culminated in the mother of all parties on Saturday night as the previous weeks’ watch parties and block parties morphed into one giant party that enveloped the entire city in a boozy, joyous gathering hosted by their ebullient new Mayor. The morning after the night the Knicks won the NBA Championship received a further boost from the World Cup fever that has gripped the city.
The Mamdani effect
The revelry that has left the rest of the world suffering a bad case of FOMO is a reminder of the enduring power of sports. The Knicks gave New Yorkers a yearned-for chance to rediscover the bonds that still connect them in the thrilling weeks that led to Saturday night’s epic victory.
Neighbourhood bars rediscovered their pre-Covid, pre-smartphone mojo, stuffed to the gills with raucous crowds that spilt out onto the streets. Manhattan organised massive watch parties in parks and around Madison Square Gardens.
In the Bronx and Queens, fans gathered at local block parties where the games were projected onto walls, jerry-rigged rooftop screens and the sides of bus shelters. Millions of New Yorkers, from newly arrived transplants to families who set up shop generations ago, celebrated a shared sense of belonging.
8th June, 2026. Ahead of President Trumps attending the NBA Finals NYPD shut down streets around Madison Square Garden. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
“This would never have happened if Cuomo was Mayor,” one Zohran Mamdani’s campaign advisers posted on X, and indeed, it’s difficult to imagine the taciturn former Governor plunging into a city-wide free-for-all with such gusto.
In politics, timing is everything. Mamdani, New York’s newly minted Mayor, is riding the crest of a wave for which he is both catalyst and beneficiary. He’s become an avatar for the city that never sleeps, casting off the anomie and disgruntlement that sapped the energy of this most vibrant of cities.
New Yorkers are a tough crowd; their mayors don’t maintain stratospheric approval ratings by glad-handling locals and eating at food trucks instead of Michelin-starred restaurants. A city doesn’t run on good vibes alone, and Mamdani knows that the road to reelection is paved with concrete measures that improve the lives of ordinary New Yorkers.
June 13, 2026: Supporters of the New York Knicks gather at local bars in the Park Slope neighborhood to celebrate. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The clarity and discipline that propelled the 33-year-old Muslim into Gracie Mansion against improbable odds has delivered an unusually productive start to his tenure as Mayor. Well aware of the importance of early wins, Mamdani balanced the city’s budget, secured $1.2 billion (€1.04 billion) for child care and filled 100,000 potholes in his first 100 days.
Filling potholes may not seem like a big deal, but for millions of New Yorkers who get to work or school on scooters, bikes and skateboards, not to mention those who hop from bar to bar in five-inch heels, preempting thousands of broken ankles and buckled bicycle wheels is tangible evidence of a Mayor who is aware of the everyday irritations and exasperations of poorly maintained infrastructure.
Were it not for the fact that Mamdani's birth in Uganda disqualifies him from running for the White House, Republicans would be way more concerned. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
There have been other quick wins – so obvious you wonder why th…
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