Disconnection

As a fan of basketball and the New York Knicks, I have never been this disconnected to the team in all my years following the team.  I been a fan as far back as I can remember.  My first memories go back to Bernard King. He was like a superhero with his ferocious intensity and video game like scoring ability. The rest of the team were like his helpers that sometimes played bigger then their talents allowed. Those teams lost a lot but you believed in them because they played hard and gave us some great memories against our rival opponents.  Don't get me wrong we have had some horrible years.  The last time we won a championship was 40 years ago.  The Ewing era was a good run. There was alot if great moments to look back on.  15 years to be exact.

The Dark years was a combination of the Scott Layden era and the Isiah Thomas era.  A lot of people talk horribly about Isiah,  but one thing is for certain is he tried his best.  He picked up the best talent and best coaches he could get his hands on.  He even coached himself.  He just wasn't able to find the right mix.  The off the court stuff is what really embarrassed us. No need to relive that,  but there was an excitement still.  There was a buzz.  We sucked but sometimes we didn't and we all had players we liked and we had fun watching games as fans.

I mention Scott Layden last because he is the one that brought us to where we are now.  He ruined the Ewing era by trading him for run down, past their prime, troubled players. He fixed that by over paying mediocre talent. We were capped out  for years  with no ability to get better because of it. Even though they were terrible and we couldn't make moves,  they played hard.  The group lost but over achieved often to get the little wins they did get. 

After painting that picture,  I have no doubt in my heart that this is the absolute worst time in Knicks franchise history.  We won 54 games last season.  We basically lost 2-3 years to get here.  All the fans were on board because we knew what the goal was. We got our two stars and picked up some nice reserves to fill in the blanks.  Even with one of the stars hurt and borderline eligible for medical retirement,  the fans still backed this team to the fullest.  This 2013/14 season has been a complete smack in the face.  They fired Glen Grunwald for an Isiah Thomas era retread. They signed Jr Smiths talentless brother when there was a clear need in the front court.

The writing was on the wall for a bad start but no fan expected the season we  are having now.  First of all Felton showed up out of shape again.  Granted it was probably due to injury but as a professional that is no excuse.  Iman Shumpert didn't get better.  He had a phantom surgery,  but that is still no excuse as a professional.  Jr Smith also had a surgery after he signed a multi year deal.  His behavior since then has been cancerous with his behavior towards fans on Twitter and Instagram, to his selfishness on the court. He's having a season that's reminiscent of his younger days in Denver minus the athletic ability.  Amare has been in minute restrictions that also consist of him taking days off even if the team needs him.  Overall the team failure is being nursed and coddled by a coach with too much experience to be making the decisions he has on and off the court. The team is routinely un prepared and there is no sense of identity.  The coach is still trying to find the answers he should have down since the success of last two seasons.

The only player that hasn't given up on the team is Carmelo Anthony.  For him to still be playing hard is a testament to what he is about at this stage of his career.  The only other player that seems to care is Tim Hardaway Jr, a rookie.  The front office is even worse because they have done nothing as far as trades.  They aren't even pressing internal buttons to try and fix things.  The knicks are routinely embarrassed buy opposing  teams point guards, yet refuse to play 25 year old upstart Toure Murry. They get mercifully out rebounded every night yet refuse to play another young player in Cole Aldrich. They have a young power forward in the pipe line also in Jeremy Tyler, but chose to call up Jr Smiths brother who was said to be the worst  summer league player ever  by some coaches in attendance.  The group of guys are disorganized and they don't play hard.

The absolute last straw for me was hearing Raymond Felton tell the fans to "ride with us", referring to our booing and how we need to be patient.  This infuriated me beyond belief. No player before no matter how bad they were, and we have had some horrible years,  have ever came out and said that. At least when we were bad,  we all knew we were bad.  This team isn't supposed to be remotely close to being this bad.  It's pure nonsense on every level.
                                                     
So at this time I feel the most disconnected I have ever felt as a Knick fan.  With the time, effort and money  I invest in my hobby following the knicks, I literally feel shitted on. The fans take the losses harder than the players.  On days where Amare is taking a game off to rest he's posting that he got a new limited edition nike fuel band.  On a day after a horrible loss,  Shumpert is on instagram posting pics of the new xbox one he got along with a free game he got from Ubisoft. JR Smith on the other had mocks us fans daily  on Twitter and instagram. It's the worst time to be a fan. 

My advice to all that read my blog? Stop watching games and stop going to games until this era is over.  Management doesn't care about us and neither do 90% of the players.  Still be a fan of the team but do not tolerate the visual vomit they are putting it there on the court until somebody takes a stand and does something. The end.