Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 at 10:00 am  |  63 responses

Reggie Miller: Back in My Day, Knick Fans Didn’t Cheer for the Enemy

by Marcel Mutoni

Two nights ago, Reggie Miller tuned in to the Lakers/Knicks game at MSG. He couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing and what his ears were hearing. And it had nothing to do with Kobe Bryant’s stunning performance.

The former Pacer great, and legendary Knick killer, was shocked by the MSG crowd’s response to Bryant. From CBS Sports:

“I was texting Spike as the game was going on, saying how disappointed I was in the fans chanting “MVP!” for Kobe,” Miller said. “I was like, ‘How the mighty have fallen.’”

Because I remember in times past, I never got cheered. I’m sure Jordan never got cheered. And now they are chanting “MVP!” for Kobe? And all (Lee) kept doing was texting back and going, ‘Look, times have changed. The climate has changed.’”

Granted, there were a lot of people wearing Laker shirts in the crowd that night. It’s also worth considering, that the Knicks’ aggressively inept play over the last few years has likely dispirited their fans to the point where they don’t know who to cheer for anymore.

I can only hope that Reggie didn’t scan the schedule for this evening’s slate of games. With Cleveland and You Know Who invading MSG, Miller might want to catch a movie tonight or something.

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  • Ken Posted: Feb.4 at 10:02 am
    I used to cheer for Reggie, but then, I hadn’t heard him try to announce games yet. My ears bleed at the sound of his name now…

  • Ryan Jones Posted: Feb.4 at 10:07 am
    A) Michael Jordan has too been cheered at the Garden.
    B) Those Knicks teams were usually in the running for Finals berths. This Knicks team is in the running for free agents.
    C) Has it occurred to Reggie that no one was cheering for him because he’s a big pen*s?

  • Eboy Posted: Feb.4 at 10:10 am
    I do know that there was never MVP chants in the Garden back in the day for opposing players….that’s just an embarrassment and why the majority of Knicks fans and their team remain a joke today.

  • TADOne Posted: Feb.4 at 10:15 am
    Fans at MSG have always cheered great performances because they are knowledgeable fans. However, the MVP chant was a bit much.

  • mat smith Posted: Feb.4 at 10:18 am
    back in your day the knicks had a team to cheer for

  • Eboy Posted: Feb.4 at 10:25 am
    True.

  • Jukai Posted: Feb.4 at 10:30 am
    At least chant “MIP” when David Lee has the ball or something

  • Ken Posted: Feb.4 at 10:37 am
    lol@Jukai. I like that.

  • the black Castanza Posted: Feb.4 at 10:38 am
    …yea back in reggie’s day you had thugs like charles oakley and mason who manhandled opposing players in the “garden”…now you have these softcore fans with camera phones baiting superstars from other teams to play for them. My, how pathetic are the knicks, and how i can’t stand them. Yall had your shot against my beloved Clutch City rockets back in tha day, but not even questionable officiating or the color commentating of (homer) Amahd Rashad could help you acheive any kind of greatness. Mabey next year…

  • riggs Posted: Feb.4 at 10:45 am
    we used to chant colorado too.

  • ClydeSays Posted: Feb.4 at 10:55 am
    *Fixed “This Knicks team is in the running for Lottery Picks”

  • Todd Spehr Posted: Feb.4 at 11:06 am
    Why is Reggie even putting himself in the same sentence as MJ and Kobe? Seriously, he has way too high opinion of himself – always has.

  • Darksaber Posted: Feb.4 at 11:15 am
    yeah, i sure would cheer on the dude making choke signs at me while singlehandedly shooting down my team. Get a life, pen*s.

  • Doc Funk Posted: Feb.4 at 11:23 am
    Reggie Miller gets boo’d at the supermarket

  • Z Posted: Feb.4 at 11:23 am
    Todd Spehr, because Reggie used to MURDER the Knicks. For real.
    Reggie might be a d!ck and a terrible announcer but he has a point here. NY fans need to stop acting like p-ssies. You DO NOT cheer for the opposing squad. Knowledgeable my ass, you root for the home team and that’s that. Appreciating a great individual perf doesn’t mean you have to give dude a standing O when he checks out. MSG is basically a home game to Kobe and LeBron now.

  • vtrobot Posted: Feb.4 at 11:33 am
    Even though I’ve been a life long Knicks fan, what’s up with everyone thinking that fans in the Garden are so much more knowledgeable than fans in other areas? How’s that?

  • Jackie Moon Posted: Feb.4 at 11:53 am
    “More knowledgeable” is all relative. I would imagine that most Knicks fans could at least name the starters on the team. I went to a Lakers game, and decided to talk to the guy in front of me wearing a Kobe jersey. After talking to him for about 45 seconds, I realized he knew nothing about the Lakers, nothing, he didn’t even know any other players on the team but Kobe and Pau! I was pretty disappointed. That’s why I stick to blogs where at least the people know the names of the guys who are playing.

  • Mendel Posted: Feb.4 at 12:00 pm
    Booing gets old after so many years.

  • riggs Posted: Feb.4 at 12:09 pm
    @Z: if we new yorkers had a team to cheer about then we would, f*ck that stop being p*ssy crap your spouting.

  • tom Posted: Feb.4 at 12:14 pm
    reggie´s just a pain in the arse

  • Anton Posted: Feb.4 at 12:33 pm
    the fans were chanting “please r@pe me”, not MVP

  • Anton Posted: Feb.4 at 12:35 pm
    @ Jackie Moon – that’s because Laker fans are retarded

  • Keith Posted: Feb.4 at 12:46 pm
    Ryan Jones’point C) is the funniest thing I have ever read.

  • Both Teams Played Hard » Blog Archive » Reggie Thinks Gotham Turnt Skirt Posted: Feb.4 at 1:00 pm
    [...] Madison Square Garden crowd’s reaction to Kobe’s 61-point game the other night. (via Slam) “I was texting Spike as the game was going on, saying how disappointed I was in the fans [...]

  • Lan Posted: Feb.4 at 1:36 pm
    What’s with the disrespect toward Reggie? You web guys like to use this forum to spout off your obscenities and cowardly rhetoric. REGGIE MILLER, a CLASS ACT, not to mention an NBA HALL OF FAMER, not an internet gamer; and one of the leagues finest players on and off the court doesn’t warrant being called a “d*ck” or anything else negative. I remember when RACISTS burned the guy’s house down without knowing if he and his family were in it. By the way, he was right; the home crowd need to stand FIRMLY behind their teams. IT just shows how much window dressing goes on in NY.

  • Todd Spehr Posted: Feb.4 at 1:40 pm
    @ Z – I’m not denying that he used to murder the Knicks (because he did), or that his comments have anything to do with his bad announcing (because he is bad at it), my comment was that he was putting himself in a context that placed him alongside MJ and Kobe. That’s all. It was a back-handed pat-on-the-back by Reg, if you will.

  • Todd Spehr Posted: Feb.4 at 1:40 pm
    I don’t think back-handed pat-on-the-back makes sense, but gosh darn it, I’m sticking with it

  • Doc Funk Posted: Feb.4 at 1:42 pm
    I apologize for using the internets to boo Reggie Miller. I now see the error of my ways. From now on, I will only boo him in person.

  • Jackie Moon Posted: Feb.4 at 1:43 pm
    Anton, every team has lame fans. The Lakers have more. The Hornets have the most.

  • Rich Posted: Feb.4 at 1:45 pm
    Reggie’s dead right with his comments. The sight of Spike Lee rocking his commemorative Big Apple LeBrons like a starstruck kid last time the Cavs visited was sickening.

  • Lan Posted: Feb.4 at 1:50 pm
    DOC FUNK…Yea, o.k. smart a**. Let’s argue legitimate points, not not play kids’ games. Or, are you actually a lil’ tike? TODD…any Hall of Fame shooting guard can certainly place himself in the same context of another. Reggie Miller was one of the most well-conditioned, decisive, and skilled players to ever play the game. You can rarely talk about the greatest games during Michael Jordan’s era without Reggie Miller being there as an antagonist.

  • Reggid Hater Posted: Feb.4 at 1:52 pm
    No one cheered for you Reggie, because no one ever like your bitch ass.

  • Doc Funk Posted: Feb.4 at 1:54 pm
    @Lan Nobody is denying his skill, but as you said, he’s the antagonist. You don’t cheer for the antagonist.

  • TADOne Posted: Feb.4 at 1:56 pm
    Cheryl Miller is right. This is pathetic.

  • Cizzo Posted: Feb.4 at 2:04 pm
    Who cares whatever!!!!!!!!!!!1

  • CL Posted: Feb.4 at 2:08 pm
    Kobe got cheered at the Garden (TD BankNorth that is) two years ago. Clemens got cheered at the Fens in his last appearance as a Yankee. When you outprice regular fans from going to game you let the wine and cheese crowd dictate fan reaction because they are the only ones there.

  • Josh D Posted: Feb.4 at 2:09 pm
    Back in your day Reggie, the Knicks were good.

  • what Posted: Feb.4 at 2:12 pm
    Ryan, you got shouted out on Deadspin. Congratulations.

  • underdog Posted: Feb.4 at 2:18 pm
    Seems like not only the basketball team su*ks these days in NYC. The fans also.

  • Todd Spehr Posted: Feb.4 at 2:32 pm
    Lan, you’re absolutely right. Hall of Fame guards can place themselves in the same context as one another. “Boy, the way that Michael Jordan plays, he’s got a lot of Slater Martin in him.” (No disrespect to Slater Martin)

  • Jackie Moon Posted: Feb.4 at 2:39 pm
    Hmmm. Maybe some people are fans of basketball before they are fans of their team. Maybe.

  • ab_40 Posted: Feb.4 at 2:46 pm
    those knicks teams played defense so the fans cheered them on to do that now they don’t have to do that anymore you know mike d’antoni n all so that leaves the door open to chear for the opponents best player if he puts on a show. and I’m with CL the prices especialy in these bad economic times for tickets are far too high. let the regular guy with a normal income unwine at a basketball game instead of canceling his or her vacation so they can come check a game out live

  • and1ballermj2350 Posted: Feb.4 at 3:08 pm
    New york fans suck. Fire the knicks boss already. F**k Kobe! ha!

  • albie1kenobi Posted: Feb.4 at 3:50 pm
    CL has a really good point. it’s like an overpriced/overhype restaurant serving mediocre food, and the people who understands and appreciate food don’t want to go because the product is not worth the price. so the only patrons there are people who don’t know/care about the actual food, but are dining there because it’s a name brand.

  • nathan Posted: Feb.4 at 4:02 pm
    reggie miller is amazing

  • Lan Posted: Feb.4 at 4:17 pm
    ALBIE1KENOBI…First of all, I didn’t understand the name you’re posting under until I said it slowly like a person with a speech problem. Your analogy was great. Sadly, many of those people who don’t know any better OWN NBA TEAMS! That’s why you don’t see organizations with coaches and, more and more, marquee players staying on board for no longer than a handful of years. As a fan, you can’t buy season tickets anymore and expect to see the types of games (team and player rivalries, more players that care than those who don’t) you saw in the 80s and 90s.

  • Zee! Posted: Feb.4 at 5:28 pm
    Cue up “Time 4 sum akson” by Redman.

  • kboogie201 Posted: Feb.4 at 6:18 pm
    I love it a whole post about exactly what I wrote about yesterday over in the “Kobe scores 61″ article. Those Knick fans that were chanting MVP do not represent us die hards that have been through heartbreaks and heartaches given to us by MJ & Reggie. I can almost guarantee that MJ has received more ovations at the Garden after his playing career was over than when he’s visited as a player, but not one time have we ever chanted something positive to him. I’m going to have to agree with Reggie on this one.

  • Lucky F. Bastard Posted: Feb.4 at 6:38 pm
    Yep, take it from a used-to-be Knicks fan, several years under Zeke’s rule will suck the life outta u as a fan, you can only take so much…..

  • Lucky F. Bastard Posted: Feb.4 at 6:39 pm
    And they weren’t cheering MVP for the great performance…..they were cheering MVP in the first quarter when he was on the free throw line

  • Solomon Posted: Feb.4 at 7:57 pm
    You know its not just the Knicks Kobe got an MVP chant a couple years ago in Boston, then they got kg and things change, all i know is NO ONE has ever come into staples and gotten an mvp chant no matter what the circumstances

  • Lakers Face Raptors, 1st Of Back-To-Back | LABallTalk.com Posted: Feb.4 at 8:24 pm
    [...] crowd at Madison Square Garden chants MVP for Kobe, you know he’s up to something special. Reggie Miller of course wasn’t too happy about Spike Lee giving Kobe a standing ovation. Let’s not forget that miller was Spike [...]

  • tealish Posted: Feb.4 at 9:29 pm
    Reggie is right on this one. Even though I wasn’t watching the early 90′s duels, the mid to late 90′s I did catch and that was some of the best basketball I’ve ever watched in terms of intensity and quality of the game. It’s hard to rate talent against talent over the years, but enjoyability wise the 90′s, Knicks v Pacers included, were intense to watch and awesome because of it.
    MVP chants back in those days? GTFO!

  • tealish Posted: Feb.4 at 9:32 pm
    Oh and just curious, to all of you who are bringing on the Reggie-hate fierce: Did you guys hate him back in his playing days too? Or only after his career when he made the unfortunate decision to go into broadcasting?

  • Doc Funk Posted: Feb.4 at 11:40 pm
    So did they boo or cheer LeBron tonight? Maybe a hail of confetti to compliment the wine and cheese platter? A parade would be optimal.

  • Anton Posted: Feb.5 at 12:21 am
    They just witnessed

  • Kobe +1 Posted: Feb.5 at 1:42 am
    Reggie got booed at kindergarten

  • Jackie Moon Posted: Feb.5 at 2:00 am
    I did not hear MVP chants for Lebron.

  • Reggie Miller Thinks Knicks Fans Have Jumped The Shark | SKY ROCK INDIA Posted: Feb.5 at 2:05 am
    [...] Miller: Shame on Knicks fans (CBS Sports)Back in My Day, Knick Fans Didn’t Cheer for the Enemy [...]

  • andrew Posted: Feb.5 at 4:22 am
    the sight of spike lee rocking his Lebron VIs courtside made you sick? Does anyone realise that Spike has his own Air Jordans, made two years ago, more than a decade after Jordan regularly beat up on the Knicks? Spike’s always been Nike, no matter which team has the signature player on their side… that’s a dumb comment, Rich.

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Feb.5 at 10:57 am
    Reggie Miller’s gonna bitch about cheering for the enemy while TEXTING BACK AND FORTH WITH SPIKE LEE??????????

  • Pistons_Go Posted: Feb.5 at 10:46 pm
    The Knicks are dead…until 2010 that is.

  • The Four-Point Play: Feb. 5th « snatchSPORTS Posted: Feb.5 at 11:30 pm
    [...] outside the playoff picture, and their own fans are rooting for the other team. Former Knick-killer Reggie Miller had some great thoughts on this, courtesy of [...]

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