Thank you, New York

 “My mayor is Muslim,
My bagels are Jewish,
The pope is on our side, 
Knicks in Five!”

An impromptu roadside interview in the middle of Manhattan that will likely ring forever throughout the five boroughs. T-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, you name it. Just give them a few a days. 

In case you haven't heard, the New York Knicks ended a 53-year championship drought Saturday night and New York City is currently levitating as I write this. And all signs are showing it won't stop anytime soon. 

They had been the prisoner of hope for so long. The Knicks were such a bad team for so long. Never landing the superstar (outside of Carmelo), dealing with everything Jim Dolan brings as an owner (YouTube Pablo Torre Finds Out - Jim Dolan spying for an example), and also having Lebron roaming around the Eastern Conference for the better part of two decades doesn't help much either (He's very good at basketball).  

But after several years of building toward the ultimate goal, the Knicks finally struck lightning in a bottle and steamrolled their way through the Eastern Conference this year, along with the Spurs en route to a chip. Despite how good a fight the Spurs put up, at the end of the day it was still...Knicks in five. 

But what's been amazing about this championship run from my view is the unifying force the Knicks have been for one of the biggest cities in the world. Also where there is so much division among all the other major sports.  

Mets or Yankees. 

Jets or Giants.  

Rangers or Islanders.  

But the Knicks? The Knicks stand alone in New York. (Shhh, pipe down Brooklyn. No one asked you)

Just type “Knicks” in the search bar on any of your social media apps. It's an endless stream of the happiest people in the world. Folks dancing in the streets, strangers high-fiving, grown men crying -- it's all there. 

And I don't know about you, but I needed this positivity. When it's the emotion of such a long-awaited prize and the fans are showing how much it means to them, it can hit you in a special spot in your soul that makes you feel like you're a part of it, even if you're hundreds of miles away. 

And that's a special type of elation. 

The daily news cycle has been, and is, and will continue to be a massive emotional and mental drain, thanks to [redacted]. 

When these moments happen -- and they are rare -- it's such an enormous breath of fresh air. And even more so right now amid the current state of affairs in the good ol' U-S of A. 

These moments do such a good job though of reminding you people are in this together. That the collective will always be so much stronger than the few. The watch parties people created on the side of buildings or by pulling a flatscreen out to the top of their stoop was such a great reminder of how creative we can be when we need to solve a problem. 

And if I can take it a step further.. New York is one of, if not, the most diverse city in the world. Which means people from different backgrounds were coming together to solve a simple problem like watching the game and they did it. And they enjoyed it. And then they partied all night once the final buzzer went off. Sounds like a pretty cool place to live, right? 

I felt inspired to write this after watching genuine joy pour over Manhattan Saturday night. The scenes of entire city blocks covered in people singing Alicia Keys or Frank Sinatra was something out of a Broadway play. And no disrespect to Broadway, but it could never do that scene justice.

These moments are worth celebrating. These moments don't happen often. We cannot lose sight of that or ever take it for granted. Go to the game. Go to the parade. Go to the watch party. Go experience being part of something bigger than you. And drink in every moment you can. Maybe even put the phone down a little more to enjoy the moment? 

Congrats, New York. I'm envious of your experience and I want that for myself one day. 

But thank you for reminding us everyone can still come together. And can enjoy each other. And can look out for each other. Even if it's in celebration of a group of 15 men who were the best at throwing a ball through a cylinder while stopping their opponent from doing the same. 

Please know I'm not judging. My friends and I are going to cry like a babies together when the Carolina Panthers play "Real estate acquisition 10 yards at a time" better than anyone else. 

Thanks for reading. 

(Or scrolling to the bottom of the page, I guess?)