No place in the world has drama like the New York City. The city has the most famous sports teams in the world and the most passionate fans in the country, bar none. Here are a few stories that have caused the most drama in the Big Apple.
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New York Knicks
The New York Knicks like to pay their stars — a lot.
The Knicks are arguably New York City’s favorite sport franchise. When the Knicks are relevant, the city is buzzing with anticipation and excitement, hoping that year is the year the Knicks will finally contend for an NBA championship. The Knicks front office must think Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire can lead them to the promised land, because both were rewarded with truly outrageous contracts luring them to the bright lights of New York. Thus far, both superstars have yet to lead their team to anything other than sneaking into the playoffs as this year’s Eastern Conference’s eighth seed. Notorious for injuries that keep him out for long stretches of the season, Stoudemire was nevertheless signed a five year, one hundred million dollar contract with the Knicks. Soon after, Carmelo Anthony was traded to New York from Denver, creating the tandem Knicks fans thought would lead them to multiple titles. Instead, the Knicks struggled to find the chemistry necessary to be one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams. They were disposed of in the first round of the playoffs by the Celtics and looked to be on their way to another disheartening season this year before Jeremy Lin came out of nowhere to inject life into the team. Perhaps it would’ve been smarter for the Knicks front office to wait until serious progress was made before they overpaid their superstars.
Darelle Revis doesn’t like Coach Belichick
Speaking of the Jets, one of their players managed to make headlines this offseason by having some pretty strong comments about Bill Belichick, the coach for the rival New England Patriots. Jets cornerback Darelle Revis, appearing on SportsCenter with Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, was playing a word association game when he was asked what word best described Belichick. Revis responded by calling Belichick a “jerk”. When asked why he would use that word, he said it was a result of “Just some of the comments he says about the Jets.” Gronkowski, sitting next to Revis and looking highly uncomfortable, responded by saying he “wasn’t expecting that one.” This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, time a Jet or a Patriot has had an unkind work for one other, but these comments seemed to be an unnecessary dig at New England. Not only was Revis sitting next to a member of the Patriots when he called Belichick a “jerk”, he was naïve to think his comments wouldn’t draw headlines and be the subject of much debate. Revis’ comments were out of line, but the Patriots have the chance to exact revenge during the upcoming season, when they play Revis and the Jets twice. No matter how it plays out, Revis’ comments will undoubtedly add fuel to the fire of this storied rivalry.
Tim Tebow hits the Big Apple
Tim Tebow, the unorthodox quarterback that led the Denver Broncos on their improbable run that included a first round playoff upset of the Pittsburg Steelers, was traded to the Jets this past off-season. As if the New York needed more drama, the city is now the home of the most polarizing athlete in the world, which seems fitting. Tebow, whose friendly smile and stout religious beliefs are the subject of much criticism and praise, will add another zealous personality to the circus that is already the New York Jets football team. The real question is why the Jets brought in Tebow when they already have what they thought would be a franchise quarterback in Mark Sanchez. Obviously, the Jets have about run out of patience with the mistake-prone Sanchez, and, although they have denied it, they’ve brought in Tebow to compete with Sanchez for the starting quarterback position. Although the Jets insist they brought Tebow on board to run the “wildcat” offense for fifteen to twenty plays a game, it’s very possible Tebow could be the starting quarterback at some point in the coming season.
