Written by Casey Wiederhold

Picture this. The New York Knicks had just won the NBA Championship on June 13, 2026. It was their first championship win in 53 years and their first Finals in 27 years. 

I opened my Threads account when I got home from working a concert, and I saw that Mayor Zohran Mamdani had announced that there was going to be a parade that Thursday in New York City.

Now, let me preface this. I knew the city would be crazy. But nowhere in my mind did I think it would be as crazy as it was. 

In the few days before the parade, my family and I checked to see what the procedures were for viewing the parade, getting there, and all the important details.

My family and I took the 5:45 a.m. train to get to the city. The train was filled with Knicks fans and commuters alike, until someone came into our train car and shouted, “Jalen Brunson,” and did the claps that typically come with cheers. The community on a 6 a.m. train was alive and well, and we were feeling great. 

Now when we got to New York City, we were expecting to have to take the subway, and it was like packing sardines into a can. 

Once we got to our spots, we realized that we weren’t even in a viewing area. My family and I walked around and talked to some people we met, finding out that we would’ve had to have been there the night before to even be anywhere near a parade viewing area. 

So instead, we did the next best thing: we celebrated and wormed our way through the crowds to get near a barricade. We were a block away from the rest of the action. But, we were able to see people standing on sand trucks, waving flags, carrying photos of Jalen Brunson, and so much more. 

Eventually, the parade started, and we all tried to see what was happening. Granted, we couldn’t see much, but it was still fun! 

In New York, for the first time in a while, I saw this huge sense of community. Everyone came together to celebrate something that had been decades in the making (literally). Even though we weren't in the perfect viewing spot, being surrounded by thousands of fans celebrating together made the day one I'll never forget.