The New York Knicks celebrated their third NBA championship with a ticker-tape parade down the city’s Canyon of Heroes on Thursday morning, marking the franchise’s first such parade after a 53-year title drought and a period in the 1970s when New York suspended the tradition, according to ESPN.
Gates for the parade opened at 6 a.m., and capacity inside viewing areas was reached less than 90 minutes later — about three hours before the parade was scheduled to begin, ESPN reported. Fans arrived from across the metropolitan area, with Long Island and New Jersey train stations noticeably busier than usual during the pre-dawn hours.
Some supporters set out in the middle of the night to secure a spot. John Kaplan told ESPN at 4:20 a.m. inside the Hoboken PATH station that he planned to leave at 4 a.m. and did, saying the parade was worth the early start. “It was not easy to buy tickets to these games, so I feel like this is like the ticket to the game,” Kaplan said, adding, “I’ve been waiting 31 years for this.”
Other fans described similarly determined efforts. Alfred Alcaide drove down from Washington Heights at 1 a.m., arriving wearing a goat onesie and carrying a Dominican Republic flag and plantains, and told ESPN at 8:12 a.m. that the experience “was worth the 1 a.m.” Christian Crimmins said he woke at 3:30 a.m. to take a train from Bridgewater, New Jersey, and was in line by 5:35 a.m., noting the early trains were full of Knicks supporters.
Fans interviewed by ESPN said the parade felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate together and to see the championship trophy in person, a tangible end to the long wait for a title.
