Knicks celebrate NBA title with massive New York parade

[p]Chants of "Let's go Knocks" rippled through the dense crowd, made up of some who paid hundreds of dollars for line sitters to wait overnight and save them a space to watch the procession.[/p][p]"The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-york-knicks/WCNO4nbt/"]Knicks[/a] unite the city unlike any other team. We were starved for so long," said Anthony Martorelli, a 29-year-old retail worker.[/p][p]New York erupted in jubilant scenes Saturday when the Knicks broke a 53-year drought to defeat the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/san-antonio-spurs/IwmkErSH/"]San Antonio Spurs[/a] away in Texas.[/p][p]Thursday's parade, organised by Mayor Zohran Mamdani's team, has drawn a huge security detail of 10,000 New York police officers -- the force's largest ever deployment for a planned event.[/p][image alt="Brunson with the NBA trophy" id="40f1655b-dcdf-4722-a194-b13a0fa8b16e" credit-line="REUTERS / Eduardo Munoz" guid="7c779733-e408-4379-b753-d664d54bdefe" original-width="5616" original-height="3744" /][p]Public viewing pens to see the parade were already full three hours before the start, the NYPD said, prompting some late arrivals to scramble for alternatives.[/p][p]In one case, dozens of fans scaled a city dump truck, deployed as a security measure, to catch a glimpse of the passing players and trophy.[/p][p]"I think there's been so much bad around America in the last couple of years, and it's really nice to see this," said Martorelli.[/p][p]He spoke as cheers echoed off the skyscrapers dotted around the World Trade Center, where Knicks gathered alongside National Guard troops surveilling the area.[/p][h2]'Means so much'[/h2][p]The parade, which started at 10:00 am (1400 GMT), was planned for the Knicks to travel from Bowling Green at the bottom of Manhattan to City Hall, a 10-block route known as the "Canyon of Heroes."[/p][p]They were to be showered with 2,500 pounds (1.1 tonnes) of recycled confetti, according to the city, part of a so-called ticker-tape parade that traces its origins to the late 1800s.[/p][p]Later, Mayor Mamdani was to award the Knicks the symbolic key to the city at City Hall, where team owner James Dolan said an all-star show was planned.[/p][p]"We have everybody from Walt Clyde Frazier from the old team to the new team, the Knicks City Dancers, there's like five marching bands," he told local media.[/p][p]Dolan added that Grammy winner Alicia Keys would sing "Empire State of Mind" -- the smash hit she recorded with Jay-Z in 2009.[/p][image alt="New York Knicks fans are seen outside the Westfield World Trade Center" id="9d9219cc-6ebf-4b2e-a441-2fdf793db28a" credit-line="REUTERS / Jeenah Moon" guid="6ecec4ee-2bba-4f7d-96d4-bcebb046b4b2" original-width="6000" original-height="4000" /][p]New York, already swarming with football supporters for the World Cup, faced traffic chaos with a number of street closures enforced across Manhattan.[/p][p]But for many lifelong Knicks fans the disruption was justified, as Thursday's parade marked an emotional culmination of years of following the team.[/p][p]James Smallwood, a 62-year-old retiree, recalled his memories of when the Knicks last won the Finals all the way back in 1973.[/p][p]"I was nine, doing New York stuff, riding bikes and playing tag and I remember my sisters drinking Miller High Life when the Knicks won.[/p][p]"That's when I became a fan. I'm a five-time cancer survivor, so this means so much to see."[/p]