nets to brooklyn the sound of whooosh!
No, America, New Jersey is not an outer borough of New York and the NJ Nets is not the poor cousin of the NY Knicks. For years, the Nets have been looked upon as an annoyance from the other side of the Hudson River, the team fans would go and watch only because the Knicks were always sold out and they needed a basketball ‘fix’. Well, hold on to your seats Knicks fans.
Things are about to change. The high-flying, young, exciting and winning NJ Nets are soon to be playing at an arena near you...in your backyard...in Brooklyn...in your face.
I have no idea if majority owner Bruce Ratner is a genius, just lucky or if the basketball gods are smiling upon him but the arrival in 2009 of the Nets couldn’t have better timing. The Knicks are a sorry lot for sure with very little, if any, chance of them resembling a basketball team any time in the near future. The Nets, on the other hand, always manage to put a unit on the floor that makes you glad you are a fan of the game.
The Kidd, Jefferson, Carter trio may not be around in 2009 but they have a crop of young, hungry players in the wings ready to fly. Couple that with the leadership of guru Rod Thorne who is a true man of vision born with the basketball gene in his blood. It doesn’t hurt that co-owner Jay-Z, with Beyonce on his arm, will be front and center in Brooklyn. Move over Spike Lee. The new generation is here. We’ll see which team is the poor cousin across the river.
The Knicks will, for sure, keep their die-hard, life-long fans. True fans don’t jump ship when a new product is paraded in front of them or when the chips are down.
New, young fans will, without a doubt, be so happy to have a real team to cheer for that they will paddle their canoes to Brooklyn if necessary. The fans will be paddling in from Queens, lower Manhattan, Staten Island and, of course, Long Island where the Nets have their original roots. Such an easier commute than to mid-town.
All of us who live in New Jersey and have enjoyed the Nets for many years are sorry, angry and despondent to see the team leave. Ironically, it is those from the Garden State who will have the hardest time getting to Brooklyn. They will always be the NJ Nets. The only thing that keeps spirits up is knowing that the Nets’ arrival in Brooklyn will stick it to Knicks fans...empty seats, fans’ boos, Nets fans gloating...get use to it...what goes around, comes around. Your turn. What’s that noise? Oh, is that the air being sucked out of The Garden?