A fan of the New York Knicks, Mayor Adams already knows that the crowd at Madison Square is anything but boring.
The mayor, who has been in office for two weeks, got a decidedly mixed reception from Knicks fans when he gave a pregame speech at the traditional Martin Luther King Day matinee game at the Garden.
“When the civil rights battle was on the line Dr. King wanted the ball in his hand and he gave his life to ensure that our country would be a better place,” Adams told the crowd in his debut appearance at MSG.
“Let’s win this for Team New York and Team America,” Adams said.
The Knicks’ faithful responded with a mix of tepid cheers and boos for the newly minted mayor. One loud-mouthed fan shouted, “shut the f--- up.”
At the end of the speech, the crowd erupted into applause for the mayor.
However, when Adams moved to the broadcast table for a first-quarter chat with announcer Mike Breen on the MSG Network, there were some unforced errors.
Growing up as an ardent Knicks fan, Adams said his favorite players included “Clyde and Frazier,” a slightly awkward slip-up because superstar-turned-commentator Walt (Clyde) Frazier was sitting right next to him at the courtside table.
One Twitter fan known as @livelikelefty noted that the hometown favorites were down just 14-12 to the Charlotte Hornets when the interview started. By the time he signed off, they were in the hole 25-15.
“Eric Adams is a -8,” he tweeted.
Some Knicks fans weren’t shy about pointing the finger of blame for the afternoon stinker at the new guy at City Hall.
“Knicks start playing like trash when they put Eric Adams on the broadcast,” wrote @benwarmerdan. “Not a coincidence.”
The Charlotte Hornets went on to beat the New York Knicks 97-87.
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