Madison Square Garden Arena is the Mecca of basketball, a place many players dream of making a pilgrimage to.
New York is the economic and cultural heart of the United States, and the arena boasts a uniquely privileged location in the very center of Manhattan, New York's most prosperous borough.
Ever since Jeff Van Gundy led the Knicks to a first-round elimination in the '00-'01 season, the team has failed to make the playoffs. They no longer have the air of the iron-willed New York Gang of the '90s, and Coach Donnie Chaney is seen as someone who can't fully control the locker room.
New York fans are the most impatient in the world, and the New York Media are their accomplices. They're like parents who don't know how to raise a child; the moment the kid underperforms, they don't offer patient guidance or encouragement. Instead, they stand on the sidelines, mocking and jeering, hoping humiliation will somehow spark a revival.
