The first to go down without his ship was Jeff Van Gundy. As a longtime Knicks fan, I’m still somewhat reeling from his decision. On the surface, Van Gundy seemed to have a pretty sweet deal and would presumably be around for some time to come. He was at the helm of one of the NBA’s marquee teams, patrolling the sidelines of "the world’s most famous arena". The Knicks have routinely appeared in the playoffs over the past decade, typically advancing at least to the second round, and they are only a few years removed from their most recent trip to the Finals. In other words, it did not appear that Van Gundy was in any immediate danger of being run out of town. To the contrary. He was probably New York’s most popular professional sports coach not named Torre. Jeff seemed to be just what the doctor ordered for Knicks fans after the shocking faxed betrayal of Pat Riley, who is only just now beginning to pay the full price for that sin with an absolutely woeful Miami Heat team. After the ill fated Don Nelson experiment was mercifully cut short in Madison Square Garden, former Riley assistant Van Gundy took over the Knickerbockers and won over the city that never sleeps with his tireless work ethic and perfectionist nature. In the most blatant of ways, he was the anti-Riley. Pat’s slicked back hairstyle was replaced by Jeff’s considerably less slick comb-over. Tailored Armani suits headed south and in their place came outfits that seemed to be tossed on as an afterthought. Riley’s GQ profile was supplanted by the excessive baggage under Van Gundy’s eyes. With Riley, success was expected due to his tremendous track record and the supposed brilliance of the psychological ploys he used to motivate tall men. Knicks fans believed that the team would win under Van Gundy as well, and this faith was rewarded, but Jeff needed to work his butt off to convince us, and to keep us convinced. As tough as some of those wins were to come by, most fans and even most players were able to put hard losses and skin-of-the-teeth victories behind them and look forward to the next one. But Van Gundy looked the worse for the wear with each successive battle of titans. The strain of the effort grew increasingly legible in his eyes, and yet nobody questioned his loyalty until it disappeared right before our disbelieving gaze.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Roy Pickering's Sports Issues topic, please visit the Discussions page.