New York Knicks: Why fans deserve some of the blame
By Eric Snyder
Attending Disaster
New York City is one of the largest and most important cities in all of the world. The large residential and tourist population within the city means Madison Square Garden will always be full.
With that being said, the indigenous fans of NYC who continue to support awful basketball deserve some of the blame. Continuing to buy tickets in support of a team that doesn’t care about its fans sends the wrong message to Dolan.
Yes, the size and importance of New York City means the Knicks will always be in the top half of NBA attendance rankings. Knicks fans and season-ticket holders are right to want to support their hometown team.
However, their acceptance of an organization that has become a laughing-stock is a part of the problem. New York Knicks fans who consistently go to games need to seriously consider spending their money somewhere else.
In the Top-5 once Again
According to ESPN, the New York Knicks had the fifth-best attendance in the NBA this season. The top five in order is: Bulls, Cavaliers, Raptors, Mavericks and Knicks. Three of the top five are playoff teams, with the Mavericks riding the success of recent years.
| 2017 Attendance | Home | Road | Overall | ||||||||
| RK | TEAM | GMS | TOTAL | AVG | PCT | GMS | AVG | PCT | GMS | AVG | PCT |
| 1 | Bulls | 41 | 888,882 | 21,680 | 103.6 | 41 | 18,033 | 94.0 | 82 | 19,856 | 99.0 |
| 2 | Cavaliers | 41 | 843,042 | 20,562 | 100.0 | 41 | 19,021 | 98.7 | 82 | 19,791 | 99.4 |
| 3 | Raptors | 41 | 813,050 | 19,830 | 100.2 | 41 | 17,925 | 92.8 | 82 | 18,878 | 96.5 |
| 4 | Mavericks | 41 | 811,366 | 19,789 | 103.1 | 41 | 17,519 | 91.9 | 82 | 18,654 | 97.5 |
| 5 | NY Knicks | 41 | 810,741 | 19,774 | 99.8 | 41 | 17,927 | 93.2 | 82 | 18,850 | 96.6 |
(ESPN)
Yet, the Knicks have no recent history of success. Fans continue to buy tickets despite the insanity of James Dolan and Phil Jackson. Until these fans stop going to games, Dolan and Jackson won’t get the message. Unfortunately, these attendance numbers are not a fluke based on this season.