sunday wrap-up: The Battle for New York

by Guichard Cadet

No one likes to share. The spotlight is reserved for the Yankees and Knicks. In football, the Giants and Jets have what amount to an equal distribution. For the Mets and the Nets, life is about wearing hand-me-downs, even when your success parallels or exceeds your cross-town rival.

This past week, baseball season kicked off as the basketball regular season nears its end. There is a great chance that the New Jersey Nets will make the playoffs. If they do, their playoff success is wholly dependent on not getting the 8th seed and facing the Miami Heat. After a dismal start, the Nets have rebounded, due to the “half-man half-amazing” antics of Vince Carter and the ever-steady stewardship of point guard, Jason Kidd.

On Thursday, the Nets strode into the Garden and soundly defeated the Knicks in a testy battle. Having won the season series 3 to 1, Kidd smugly declared feeling no particular enjoyment beating a bad team. He is right in one aspect: the Knicks are a bad team. It is easy to excuse their losing ways, by pointing to injuries, a coaching change, and mid-season retooling.

The truth boils down to the fact that they do not have to battle for New York hoops supremacy. The Knicks own their arena, the network they play on, and two championship teams. Their legacy is firmly entrenched, whereas the Nets struggle to fill the arena they rent, even when they reigned as Easter Conference Champions.

Though new Nets owner Bruce Ratner caught flack for the team’s off-season transactions, the pending move to Brooklyn is the franchise’s only hope for legitimacy in the region. Will moving to Brooklyn allow the Nets to supplant the Knicks as New York’s team? I doubt it.

Case in point: The New York Mets. Having joined Major League Baseball in 1962, the Mets have won 2 World Series Championships. That number is more than fan-crazed havens like Boston and Chicago. The Mets are not expected to compete with the Yankees’ 26 World Series Championships, with the last coming against the Mets in 2000. Their focus is to not become forgettable or fodder for sportswriters looking to show their wit.

The battle for New York does not depend entirely on wins and losses. It covers real estate, television, merchandising and how your fan base follows you. Recently I came across an interesting question: in a city with tons of bars for Yankee fans, are there any Mets’ bars?

The real estate battle extends to stadium location, wherein the Jets owner, Woody Johnson never considered locating his stadium in Queens. Instead he has endured a highly politicized campaign and media battle spearheaded by community groups and the Knicks owners. Lost in this spat, the New York Giants threw their hat in the mix, offering to defray the construction cost and play their games in the proposed West Side stadium. This could have been a ploy to get more concessions from the state of New Jersey.

Except for the NHL Devils, New Jersey team sports seem to be the result of a bad bluff by team owners who did not think New York politicians would let them bolt. For football, fans only have to trek across the river 8 times a year for regular season games. The teams benefit by keeping the New York name and identity, and fans get the extra space to tailgate.

The Nets had the option of moving from Secaucus (the Meadowlands) to Newark, where the Devils plan to build their new arena. As a former New York team now owned by a New York real estate developer, the team is actually an ancillary part in the new owner’s desire for other real estate ventures in Brooklyn.

Since the arena will serve as the hub, the Nets will have to establish a core NY basketball fan base. Ratner should take a page from the Mets recent management and player transactions. First, plan to build your own television network or join a new network. As it stands, your current deal with YES allows the Nets to get bumped starting in April because the Yankees are back.

Second, draft or acquire a young player that connects the team to the city. By the time the arena (2008 or 2009 season) is built, current marquis stars (Kidd and Carter) will either be gone or in their marketing and playing decline. Look no further than Francisco Garcia or Julius Hodge! Either player fills the void for a backup swing player to lighten Carter and Richard Jefferson’s workload.

Lastly, never give the appearance that you are willing to “bottom out” to save a few bucks.