A MIRACLE COMEBACK

I am in the habit of submitting just one column per week, but occasionally something happens which is so remarkable that it deserves attention, and so it is with the Knicks’ miracle comeback last night. So please don’t be confused when you receive two columns today.

I might well be the longest seasons ticket holder in Madison Square Garden. A few years back I was one of five. I have owned two tickets since 1969, and the Garden only opened in 1968. My son Isaac now owns my two tickets, and he is as avid a Knicks fan as I am, maybe even more so.

Yes, I was there when Willis Reed limped onto the court in Game 7 of the NBA finals against the LA Lakers. That was the most exciting sporting event I have ever seen, that is until last night when the Knicks overcame a 29 point deficit in the second half to beat the San Antonio Spurs in game 4 of the NBA finals. As I watched the impossible unfold on my television screen, I had an eerie feeling like when I watched the 9/11 tragedy unfold. I knew what I was watching was real, and yet my mind had trouble grasping it. When the final buzzer went off, I was simply frozen. What had I just seen?

My phone started to make all kinds of noises as friends reached out to me to share the experience. My son Isaac texted me from an airplane flying over the Atlantic Ocean. He said he was so excited he dropped his iPad. I am grateful he did not drop my granddaughter. My dear friend Dr. Charlie Stolar called to tell me that he missed the second half because he was out for dinner, but when he checked the final score he was so sorry the Knicks came up one point shy. “Charlie, look at the score again,” I advised. “The Knicks won by one point. They didn’t lose by one point.” Charlie got off the phone quickly.

My favorite text was from my nephew Dan McConville. For years I had told Dan that I had witnessed the greatest moment in Knicks history back in game 7 of the 1971 finals. Dan simply wrote, “What was that you said about being at the greatest game ever played at MadisonSquare Garden?”

One final observation. As my first column “Premature Withdrawal” points out, I have a tendency to leave games before the final curtain, or in the case of basketball, the final buzzer. As great a miracle as the Knicks’ comeback was yesterday, so was the miracle that I did not turn off my television when they trailed by 29 points. I would be lying if I told you the thought hadn’t entered my mind, but I resisted the temptation.

Go Knicks!