Honestly, I had no idea how I'd feel after hearing that Carmelo Anthony to the NY Knicks was finally approved. The nonstop drama certainly tainted my judgment a bit. I spoke with my Dad about the tentative deal early Monday afternoon, and he was convinced that it was only a matter of time. Although I followed all of the back and forth, I detached myself a bit. I refused to involve my heart in the Melodrama because as a Knicks fan, I know far too well what it feels like to be letdown. I refused to set myself up for the fall...again.
Fast forward a few hours. I received a two-word text from my Dad saying, "It's done!" I stood emotionless. The trade was officially official and not in a "sources say the deal is 90% done we just need Carmelo to approve it kind of way." I called my Dad so he could fill me in. Although I was hesitant to celebrate, he didn't allow me to rain on his parade. He was pumped. So pumped that I convinced him to guest blog his reaction later this week. Stay tuned for that! But I digress.
Sensing my lack of enthusiasm, my Dad suggested I go home and listen to WFAN. He convinced me that the energy from the fans calling into the station would be so infectious that I'd have no other choice but to get hype. My funk would immediately wash away. After listening for a while and reading twitter, I was still unmoved.
But! A short while later, it hit me!! I finally started to get hype. It didn't have anything to do with the callers on the radio, or tweets on my timeline, or ESPN commentary. Instead, it had everything to do with me having flashbacks to Melo's Syracuse days in 2002-2003 and the previous success he'd had in New York. My mind suddenly started racing with memories of how he used to light up MSG as a college freshman!!! The last time New York had a reason to celebrate anything basketball related, was all due to Carmelo carrying Syracuse to an NCAA Championship. I recalled watching Melo in the Big Dance and thinking he was virtually unstoppable. I remembered how he went to work in the Final Four against Texas. I remembered being pissed that Lebron James was the star of the 2003 NBA Draft based on a high school highlight reel. At the time, I thought C. Melo should've been #1, no question. And I can't help but think that Melo's pairing with Amar'e Stoudemire presents one more hurdle for the Miami Heat to overcome if they want that rock.
And not to overlook Melo's NBA career, but taking it way back to the days when I first admired his game is what has me most amp'd to see Melo in a Knicks uni. He knows what it means to win in New York and this is more than I can say for anyone else within the Knicks organization, aside from Walt Clyde Frazier. OK, maybe I'm reaching a bit with that statement, but let me get that. No one is messing with my high right now. Not even the fact that Mike D'antoni is still the coach or the rumors that Isiah Thomas' grubby little hands were all over this trade will prevent me from counting down the hours until Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony team up and light up MSG on Wednesday. Well done, Knicks. Well done.
No comments:
Post a Comment