That Awkward Moment

Embracing a former nemesis

My son fell asleep last night just in time for me to flip the channel from Disney Junior over to ESPN and catch a replay of the standing ovation the Madison Square Garden crowd gave new Knicks president Phil Jackson.

As a Knicks fan, I’d stand an applaud just about anything that, even if it is just on paper, can be seen as a spacer between James Dolan and the basketball decision-making process. Phil may not be a solution, but he certainly represents progress. 

But something about Phil Jackson receiving a standing ovation at Madison Square Garden had me feeling queasy.

It’s not because we’re entering an age where any relatively competent franchise is embracing advanced metrics, data analysis, analytics and nerd overload like a war veteran being reunited with his family in one of those Coming Home videos while the Knicks have handed over the keys to the team to a guy who has never held the position and seems to make decisions by building a bonfire of incense sticks, donning a dashiki and shaking a magic eight ball.

All of that makes me very nervous and skeptical that this will work out, but it’s not why I was queasy Wednesday night.

I felt queasy because it was Phil Jackson – Phil Jackson – that the MSG crowd was treating like a conquering hero. Yes, he was once a Knick and he was once a Knick when they won they won titles in ’70 and ’73, and in that respect he is a conquering hero returning home.

But all of that predates my very existence.

The only Phil Jackson I know is the afro-mulleted, mustachioed pain in the ass/coach of the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls that caused heartache and disappointment for me and the Ewing Knicks for the better part of a decade. He was a conquering hero – for the enemy.

That Phil Jackson won six titles with the best player in the game and acted like he reinvented the sport, looked down his nose at the Knicks players, coaches and their style of play. Of Ewing and other Knicks veterans he once said, “They're players with a lot of habits and accumulation of personal failure.” Of the Knicks physical, defensive-minded style of play, Jackson (who once led the NBA in personal fouls), said “I've seen enough of the Knicks. I can't stand watching them play.” If I spent more time googling I'm sure I could come up with a dozen more condescending quotes and cheap shots from the Zen Master towards the Knicks.

There was a time I would have given Phil Jackson a standing ovation at the Garden, but that fantasy involved Phil being marched to midcourt blindfolded with his hands tied behind his back and a final cigarette in his mouth as Jeff Van Gundy, Patrick Ewing, John Starks and Charles Oakley manned the middle of a firing squad.

I also don’t think I’m alone. 

I’m willing to guess that many of the 17,000 fans who stood and cheered Phil Wednesday night felt the same way as I did back in the '90s. And that shows how much we all truly hate bumbling idiot owner Jim Dolan. We’re all willing to stand and applaud one of the biggest thorns in our side simply because he’s better than the knife in our back.