Trump’s visit to MSG shuts down the city, so there will be no Knicks watch parties for Game 3
It’s the biggest Knicks game in a generation, and there are presidential security measures in the way. The fans who packed Plaza 33 for Games 1 and 2 are paying for it.
There will be no party. The outdoor Knicks watch parties that turned midtown into a sea of orange and blue for the first two games have been canceled because Trump will be at Madison Square Garden on Monday night for Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The arena has been filled with one of the biggest security operations it has ever seen.
The situation couldn’t be more sad or happy. The Knicks are two wins away from making history. They have a giant lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals and are having their first Finals home game at Madison Square Garden since 1999. They have a chance to win their first championship since 1973. Monday should have been a block party for the whole city. Instead, it is becoming more like a lockdown.
Trump said yes to Knicks owner James Dolan’s offer and will be at the game at 8:30 a.m., which the league thinks will make him the first president in office to attend an NBA Finals game in person. Barack Obama was the last president to attend an NBA game, which was in 2015. Because he is there, there are hundreds of Secret Service agents and thousands of NYPD cops around the building, and the secured area can’t be entered by car or on foot. Because of these restrictions, there will be no watch parties outside the Garden. This situation is a big change from Games 1 and 2, when thousands of fans crowded into Plaza 33. There is a strict “no bags” policy inside, and people are screened like they would at an airport. They are also told to get there at least two hours early, since gates open at 6:30. One potential issue is that a report indicated the NYPD was still finalizing the details with the Secret Service, but all indications suggest that the parties will be held outside.
Drew Sidora and Michael B. Jordan would spin the block. The only thing that matters is Trump’s car.
Not everyone is putting out the welcome mat. In public, Stephen A. Smith asked Trump to stay home, saying it had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with keeping the Knicks safe and the city’s energy up right now. Despite sitting far from Trump, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced his attendance at the game. The mood is more laid-back in the locker room, and backup center Mitchell Robinson seems to enjoy the attention instead of avoiding it.
The pain is real for fans who waited 27 years for the Finals to come back to the Garden. The most important home game in a generation has finally arrived, but the party that was meant to spread to Seventh and Eighth Avenues will have to find a new home.
