championship | I didn't have my glasses on....

Coach Red Holzman directs play from the Knicks bench,

1973. | Dick Raphael/NBAE/Getty Images

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tonight the New York Knicks will have a chance to win it all once again

the city is electric with hope and joy for their return to glory

it’s been a very long time coming

53 years

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here’s a look back with an excerpt from Mental Floss Magazine:

In the summer of 1973, New York City was riding a collective high—and you didn’t even have to walk through the Village to catch the drift. The real buzz that summer was a wave of sports euphoria. Ever since the Knicks clinched th MNA Title on May 10, 1973, a semi-permanent celebratory state had settled over the five boroughs.

It was a season of shifts: downtown, a gleaming pair of skyscrapers completely rewrote the Manhattan skyline, while up in Midtown, rock royalty shook the rafters of Madison Square Garden. But before the music started and the concrete dried, the tone for the entire summer was set the moment the world-champion basketball team touched down at the airport.

Police officers hold back a crowd of ecstatic fans welcoming the NBA Champion New York Knicks

at JFK Airport on May 12, 1973. | Robert Rosamilio/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images

Before the summer of 1973 even had a chance to heat up, the city was already boiling over. On May 12, the New York Knicks touched down at JFK International Airport after dethroning the Los Angeles Lakers on their own court to claim the NBA Championship. The reception was less of a welcome home and more of a glorious riot: Port Authority police found themselves in a full-court press just trying to keep the roaring crowd from swarming the tarmac. It set a manic, victorious tone for a legendary New York summer where the energy simply never simmered down.

here’s to the team touching down at JFK one more time

with a trophy

and a city

waiting with open arms

ready to celebrate them

at long last

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‘the strength of the team is each individual member. the strength of each member is the team.’

*phil jackson

*Phil Jackson is a legendary American basketball player, coach and executive. He was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1969, where he won two NBA championships as a player. He holds the NBA record for winning the most championships as a head coach, capturing 11 titles. He is celebrated as the “Zen Master” for his unique coaching style that used mindfulness and teamwork.

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source credit: Mental Floss , Nitya Rao