By Rich Knopke
There’s energy in our community. There’s excitement within the schools. There’s hope in the air.
The New York Liberty won the WNBA Finals. The Yankees made it to the World Series. The Knicks have awakened from their 25 year slumber of irrelevance. Even the Mets (the Mets!) had a magical run this fall.
Sports has a way of lifting people, galvanizing whole towns in this way. And all I want to do is retch at the thought of any sports happiness here.
No offense to the majority of you, but I say “no” to winning for the Liberty. “No” to any Knicks resurgence. The Yankees playing the Dodgers means I have to root for a team from Los Angeles (gack). At least the 2-6 Jets are still the Jets to keep me grounded.
I’ve lived in New York for 30 years. I love it here, but I’m no New Yorker. I’m from Philadelphia, and when you're “sports different,” raising your kids as Philadelphia fans living behind sports enemy lines as I am, you can’t blame me for rooting against New York sports happiness. Sometimes I root harder against New York teams than I root for my Philadelphia teams. But it’s all in good fun.
My family isn’t alone. According to my own in-depth research, there are many people living here raising their kids as non-New York fans rooting for their own teams behind sports enemy lines.
“I don’t mind my kids being sports different,” Philly native and Katonah resident Frank Hourigan said. “As strong of a fanbase as New York is, I feel like Katonah is also enough of a melting pot with Pennsylvania, New England, and some Midwest mixed in that it doesn't feel like we're such extreme outliers,” he added.
Hourigan asked his three kids who they would root for in a Subway Series should it have gotten to that point. His 14-year old son said, "Neither, that's blasphemy,” while his 17-year old daughter thinks “we're all crazy regarding sports or otherwise.” She’s likely right about the “otherwise” part but that’s not relevant to this conversation.
It’s about the kids. You want their happiness. You want their joy. You want them to feel part of something within their community. Yet, apparently there’s a limit to that happiness that, as a parent, you just can’t accept. That point, for people like Hourigan and me and many others, just happens to be their rooting for New York teams.
Please don’t judge us.
One friend from Philly living in New York saw his son come downstairs for school a few years ago wearing a Yankees jersey. It broke his heart, and he admitted to failing as a parent. It was hard to disagree with him.
Why do we brainwash — I mean, educate — our children into rooting for non-New York teams when they could join in the local celebrations and spirit?
The family bonds and connections we forge through sports can be so powerful. Through life’s ups and downs, a shared connection through sports will continue to bring us closer together. The roller coaster rides, sitting on the edge of our seats when those few and far between championships may happen upon our way. That’s special.
There will also be the need for comfort when there’s a heartbreaking defeat, like the recent loss the Phillies suffered at the hands of Mets (sigh), and no one will want to speak for weeks.
There was whining, There was complaining. There was sobbing.
It was bad, but I was just happy my kids were there for me when I got like that, though they’ve made no promises to prop me up should there be more New York sports happiness.
Rich Knopke lives in Lake Katonah and is the author of “Dancing On Our Own: Raising Your Children As Philly Fans Despite Living Behind Sports Enemy Lines.” The author noted, “Unless you’re from Philly, you’ll hate it.”