NFT: Poll Question - Which team will break the drought?

[Doc16LT56]

Who do you think wins the next NY championship?

https://x.com/LicensePlateGuy/status/1925206939975184620?t=DWjKJq5Lipb021VeqKV3ww&s=19

[MightyGiants]

I voted Knicks

If I had a second choice, it would be the Yankees

I wish I could say Giants, but until they start making the playoffs regularly, that seems like a pipe dream.

[jimc]

Where are the Bills?

[Crypto Fareez]

I love the three absolute HOMERS in here who voted for the Giants     

manifest it and it will come!

[kartanoman]

This is a really depressing thread when you really sit down and think about it for a while.

I guess I can't complain because the Giants are the most recent champion out of the bunch. I also picked them as the one who will win the next one first.

I'm also a die-hard Rangers' fan which, to be one of those, you have to be a bit of a masochist to begin with. I'll never forget 1993-94 and can go to my grave, if I must, without seeing them lift the Stanley Cup ever again. Obviously, I don't want to have to do that; however, that Game Seven victory is burned deep in my memory bank. The chants of "We want the CUP" from the long-suffering fans waiting for that moment all of their lives. Hearing the PA announcer scream "Ladies and gentlemen, THE STANLEYYYYY CUUUPPPPPP" followed by pure bedlam! It was surreal then as it is as I type this. Finally, when Mark Messier grabbed the Cup, and hoisted it over his head, in complete ecstasy, the long wait, the dream that never would come true, 1940, all of it, was over! To Ranger fans witnessing that moment, it was a baptism every bit as much an exorcism that we'll never, ever forget. I was 25 at the time and suffered some. But at least I was blessed enough to watch my favorites, the Swedes, inject something into that club in the late 70s which took them all the way to the finals in 1979. It wasn't to be, but to get close enough to get a small taste of it, was the hope I carried as a young kid who used to go to the Garden matinee games on Saturday when my dad and I took the train from Jersey into Penn Station. Watching Hedberg and Nilsson paired up with either Steve Vickers or Espo was a dream for this kid back in the day. That was my footing as a Ranger fan which carried through the early 80s, which ended in disappointment at the hands of the Isles and their Stanley Cup run. In the late 80s, I really liked Kelly Kisio and thought he was the best captain in that decade. The, when Bernie came in and lit the Garden on fire with his lightning start, things were looking good until "The Trade" which brought Messier to MSG and, for the first time since the Espo era, you could tell the Rangers were making a serious investment to have a go at the Cup. It took a few years, several transactions and Messier standing toe-to-toe with the fabled "1940 Curse," but he was up for the challenge and what he did against the Devils will forever live in playoff hockey lore. He truly became "The Messiah" and provided deliverance for a team needing a true leader to guide them to the promised land. How he pulled it off, and how it affected the Rangers' organization, and its fans alike, will forever be with us for those who bore witness to his heroics of near biblical proportion.

Right now, the Knicks are making a run and, although I don't follow the NBA, I am quite aware of "When the Garden Was Eden" (NOTE: if you haven't watched that ESPN 30 for 30 episode, I HIGHLY recommend it! Interviews with the players make you fall in love with them all over again!). That's all I will say as I do not want to jinx them.

I grew up a Yankee fan and the 1977 "When the Bronx Was Burning" team remains my all-time favorite. I was eight years old at the time and the circle at the end of the cul-de-sac I lived on in Elizabeth, NJ was the gathering place for all the kids on the street for our daily whiffle ball games. Most of the kids were older (pre-teens, some already in high school), but were kind enough to let me play and abuse me. They'd start by letting me be the designated hitter so, when watching the '77 Yankees, I took an immediate liking to #41, "Heathcliff" Cliff Johnson whom the Yankees picked up in a trade from Houston (NOTE: Cliff's from San Antonio and has a ranch with horses that his wife tends to, at least in the not-too-distant past). But Cliff had a good year with the Yanks as a flexible player in backing up Thurman Munson at catcher, Chris Chambliss at first base, designated hitter when opponent's left-handed pitchers were up and, finally, a keen-eyed pinch-hitter. Cliff made news in '77 when the Yankees played either the Blue Jays or the Indians (NOTE: it's almost 50 years ago so bear with me) and they cycled the lineup in one of the innings. Well, Heathcliff managed to bat twice in that inning and made the record books for hitting home runs twice in the same inning. I'll have to go back and check the record book, but I think one of them was a grand-slam home run. Anyway, I'm rambling on here but the point I'm trying to make is that I was a deeply involved Yankee fan for a long time but, in recent years, have fallen away from baseball on the whole. If they end up competing and winning it, great. If not, and if the Mets won it all, that's great too. I'm ambivalent about baseball these days.

I really don't care to follow the Mets, Jets, Isles, Nets as I had a dad that grew up following the "old guard" teams and passed that on to me. Giants, Rangers and, to lesser extents, the Knicks and Yanks (NOTE: dad stayed loyal to the Yanks up until his passing in 2015). I've taken my summer sports passion across the world to Australia and the Australian Football League (AFL) and my beloved Collingwood Magpies who last won the league championship (i.e. "Premiership") in 2023. They currently sit in first place on the AFL League Ladder and have beaten nearly all the teams believed to be contenders for the 2025 flag. So, that's where the majority of my energy is at these days and I watch the AFL every weekend with an international streaming subscription which allows me to watch live or on demand. I also have the ability to watch all of their football shows which are similar to what our networks provide us. In all, if you're a fan of the sport, it's a dream package living on the other side of the world. The only catch is that the early games start at 8 PM on our Pacific Time, which is what Arizona is on right now.

To conclude, this thread, as I freely write what's on my mind, makes me less "concerned," if you will, about the gap between our favorite teams' last championship, and actually makes me come to remember, and appreciate even more, the memories of those glory days and how their winning it all impacted me then, and how it does today. I find, similar to what I've heard many former players remark, that as they get older, those memories are cherished even more. You learn to appreciate and value the importance of the effort, the teamwork and the sacrifices made by all to achieve the ultimate reward. When you get there, how can you appreciate it when all you can do is stop, catch your breath and reconcile within your own mind "Are we done? Is this it? Is the journey complete? Now what do we do with ourselves? I'm too tired to celebrate! It's all so surreal!" It takes time for the dust to settle. It takes longer for time to move on, life to go on, and the cycle repeating itself a few times over, before they can gain an honest and objective perspective of what they've accomplished.

So, I submit to all who share their valued input here, that perhaps the wish shouldn't so much be centered on which team we believe ends their drought first, but rather which had the most memorable championship, which has grown fondest in your heart, that perhaps you will feel a bit uneasy, when the team supplants it with their next championship.

A deep thought to carefully consider when you have some quiet time for yourself.

Peace!

[Doc16LT56]

I'll go with the Mets. I'm being a homer, but I think they have the right owner at the right time.

The Yankees will always be in the mix. I'm not quite sold on the Knicks, but they do have a lot of pieces. Last year around this time I would've chosen the Rangers. What happened to them??

[Doc16LT56]

which had the most memorable championship, which has grown fondest in your heart, that perhaps you will feel a bit uneasy, when the team supplants it with their next championship.

A deep thought to carefully consider when you have some quiet time for yourself.

Peace!

This is a great topic idea. I'd have to put more thoughtful into it. Different championships have meant different things to me at various points in my life. Lots to consider and so many great memories.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

I voted the Knicks. I'd like to recant my vote 

[EDjohnst1981]

Rangers.

But I only support them and the Giants. I don't think they are poles apart but I think the Rangers have the core position nailed down, with the Giants it's an unknown.

[DaveBrown74]

It's hard to not take the Knicks in this list, given they're currently playing in the final four of the NBA. Statistically they have the best chance of being the first to break the drought.

I voted for the Mets though. I think the Mets can beat anyone in baseball in a series. The Knicks on the other hand would be a pretty clear underdog to either of the remaining western conference teams, and that's if they even win this series they're in now, which, at down 1-0, is obviously far from a given.

[EDjohnst1981]

It's hard to not take the Knicks in this list, given they're currently playing in the final four of the NBA. Statistically they have the best chance of being the first to break the drought.

I voted for the Mets though. I think the Mets can beat anyone in baseball in a series. The Knicks on the other hand would be a pretty clear underdog to either of the remaining western conference teams, and that's if they even win this series they're in now, which, at down 1-0, is obviously far from a given.

Jeff- As an absolute aside, and an indulgence if I may,if it's between the Giants and Rangers - what do you think?

[Shoelessjoe]

The Liberty has already broken it.