"I want to watch all the World Cup games, but for us, the Knicks is still a priority." That's George Carson, a self-described diehard soccer fan, sitting inside a Manhattan soccer bar on the first day of the World Cup — already planning to catch the Knicks instead.
That tension is playing out across New York this weekend. The Knicks hold a 3-1 lead over San Antonio in the NBA Finals and can clinch their first title since 1973 in Game 5 on Saturday night. The city hasn't been this close to an NBA championship in over 50 years. Meanwhile, the World Cup — all 104 games of it — is happening right now, partly in New Jersey's own backyard.
Twenty screens and a scheduling nightmare
Brazil plays Morocco at 6 p.m. in East Rutherford, wrapping up roughly 30 minutes before the NBA tipoff in Texas. Scotland and Haiti kick off in Massachusetts at 9 p.m., going head-to-head with the Knicks game in real time. Soccer bars don't usually have to negotiate for screen space like this.
Jack Keane, owner of The Football Factory near Madison Square Garden, put it plainly: "I hope they put it to bed Saturday night, so we can just say, well done, Knicks. Have your parade, and that's it. Now we can concentrate on the soccer."
His bar has 20 screens, hosts supporters groups from PSG, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Leeds and AC Milan, and drew over 2,000 people on the night the Knicks won Game 4. "The Knicks crowd was the same as the Champions League final crowd," Keane said. That's not a casual comparison from a man who runs a soccer bar for a living.
A short walk away, Smithfield Hall — home to Manchester United, West Ham, Barcelona and Bayern Munich supporters, among others — was seeing the same crossover energy. Co-owner Kieron Slattery noted that American sports crowds rarely stand. "For the Knicks right now, they're standing. It's like a soccer game atmosphere."
A city of transplants, a city with competing loyalties
The fans filling these bars reflect New York's diversity as much as anything. Ryan Cole, a Southampton native who's lived in the city for 12 years, was wearing his England jersey and hunting down a ticket for the Three Lions' group match against Panama. Joel Ramirez, transplanted from Dallas with Mexican parents, is planning to watch both — and thinks soccer fans will actually outnumber Knicks fans in the bars on Saturday. "There's going to be pound for pound a lot more football fans in the city," he said.
Even Spike Lee, courtside at MSG for the Knicks' Game 4 comeback, had spent that same Wednesday morning at Brazil's training facility in New Jersey, draped in green and gold. Nobody in New York is picking just one sport this week.
Keane framed the World Cup's pull best: "Everyone's got a shirt in the closet. Everyone's going to claim either their own identity or a parent or a grandparent, get on the bandwagon." The Premier League is a niche market, he said. The World Cup is the big party.
For now, New York is throwing two parties at once — and hoping the Knicks end theirs by Saturday night so the city can get back to football.
