Should You Switch Loyalty from the Knicks to the Nets? YES
2) Borough Pride
If you’re not from Brooklyn, or not living here now, fine, you won’t feel this as much. But if you are in Brooklyn, you can’t deny that there is a certain level of excitement at finally having a team with the word Brooklyn prominently displayed in its name. This is a cool thing and its specific to Brooklyn, by which I mean that all other sports teams that are in the general vicinity of Manhattan are called “New York” teams. It’s not the Queens Mets. It’s not the Bronx Yankees. It’s not the New Jersey Giants or Jets. But it’s the Brooklyn Nets. Because Brooklyn as a concept rivals that of New York. Which is pretty amazing when you think about it.
3) You Never Really Liked the Knicks to Begin With
This is a totally legit reason to switch over to the Nets. In fact, this is the MOST legit reason and one that I think is probably not uncommon. Unless you’ve been a Knicks fan since the glory days of the mid-90s or earlier, you maybe have never really liked the Knicks at all because they have spent the last 10+ years being terrible under the guidance of James Dolan. Maybe you’ve been waiting for a team that you can root for with more than anemic enthusiasm. Well, now’s your chance!
4) It’s Just Sports
As a debating tactic, this line of reasoning will infuriate your adversary. Why will it cause his face to get red and a vein to bulge and pulse in his temple while he splutters a retort? Well, because it’s true. All of this is just sports. It’s not actually that important on any level. It’s sort of like that line in “Annie Hall” where Alvy gets asked, “What is so fascinating about sitting around watching a bunch of pituitary cases stuff a ball through a hoop?” And even though we sympathize with Alvy, we also have to acknowledge the absurdity of what it is that we actually do when we expend so much energy and time into watching professional sports.
Because even if there’s something strangely and yet viscerally fascinating about sports, there’s nothing important about them. So if you want to switch teams, go ahead. Some people will be annoyed, but that’s really their problem. Those people are the same kind of people who take genuine and inordinate pride in things—like their country of birth—that they had absolutely no agency over. Where’s the pride in that? You know where there’s pride? In making your own choice, using your own free will, to root for (or not root for) whatever team you feel like. Freedom, you guys. Freedom should always win over something as contrived as brand loyalty. Choose your choice, Brooklyn. Choose the home team.
FOR THE COUNTERPOINT, READ HERE.
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