New Delhi: Many people in the United States weren’t even watching the FIFA World Cup over the last week. It wasn’t that they weren’t interested in football but something far more exciting was taking place at one of the most famous venues in sport: Madison Square Garden.
The New York Knicks were within touching distance of the NBA trophy which had eluded them since 1973. The drought had gone on for so long that it had become a running joke. They had seen players like Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston come and go, they had seen Spike Lee sitting in the stands and cheering them on without reward. But this time, it seemed like their time had finally arrived.
Their regular season run wouldn’t have made you a believer (53-29 which placed them 2nd in the Atlantic Division and 3rd in the Eastern Conference) but their Finals Game 4 comeback certainly would have. The Knicks pulled off the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, overcoming a 29-point deficit to eventually win 107-106 against San Antonio Spurs. It wasn’t just that though. They had trailed in every game and never lost heart.
At their lowest point in Game 4, their guard Jalen Brunson said the simple things: “Let’s play basketball now. Just be smart and stick together. We’ve come back from worse. Chip away.”
And chip away they did. At everyone who looked down on them. At their own demons. At history.
Perhaps this attitude is a result of the team moving away from a superstar culture that seemed to simply weigh them down. And it all started with Brunson. The son of former NBA guard Rick Brunson, he was selected 33rd overall in the 2018 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and played his first four NBA seasons with them.
He was good but a superstar? No. Still there was something about the force of his personality that started changing the team (and perhaps its fans) at their core. Brunson even took a $113 million pay cut by signing a four-year, $156.5 million contract extension in 2024 instead of waiting for a potential five-year, $269 million max deal in free agency. All because he wanted the Knicks to get stronger.
The fans will remember and so will the players. It is the wait that sometimes makes it worthwhile and that message will resonate in the football World Cup as well. The 48-team event means that many teams will now step into a very elite setting for the first time.
It isn’t quite like the Knicks but many in New York should recognise the feeling.
Playing at its first-ever World Cup, Cape Verde is already making history. The former Portuguese colony is an archipelago in the Atlantic with a population of a little more than half a million people.
With a population of only 158,000 people Curaçao is the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup. Uzbekistan are also making their debut in the World Cup. New Zealand, who are making their third appearance at the tournament, have never won a World Cup match or made it to a knockout round. And there is Haiti, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament.
For some of these teams just getting to the World Cup is a triumph, but they are all hungrier for more. That is just how a sportsperson is built. Always pushing, always trying to get better, always trying to make the most of every opportunity. But not everyone makes it to the top and the idea that someday the stars will align keeps them going. This is precisely what makes underdog stories so special.
Just like the Knicks, no one gives these World Cup fledglings a chance. But just like the Knicks, they know that they too just need to keep chipping away. If they keep doing that, then one day, perhaps they too will have their moment. That is what keeps the dream alive, even for the underdogs.
