“It is a Net crowd,” declared Marv Albert during the opening possession of the first game between the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets, which took place Monday at Brooklyn’s sparkling new Barclays Center. A “Net crowd” has not been a commonly uttered phrase at Nets games in the past, particularly against their cross-river adversaries.

This is not the Nets of old, though, and Monday’s contest (originally scheduled for Nov. 1 but postponed due to Hurricane Sandy) was not a typical regular-season meeting. This was the first glimpse at what NBA and New York sports fans hope can blossom into the city’s finest rivalry and add another dynamic into the Brooklyn-Manhattan cultural feud, through the medium of an entrenched New York tradition: basketball. 

It’s fitting that Albert, a Brooklyn native, was calling the game for TNT’s national broadcast. Albert became a legend as “the voice of the New York Knicks” from 1967-2004 and did play-by-play for the New Jersey Nets from 2005-2010. Monday night, though, basketball’s most prolific announcer was calling his first game in his home borough.

Ironically, Albert is a perfect example of a native New Yorker who may feel conflicted and intrigued about the Nets, but cannot display allegiance as a broadcaster. However, most New Yorkers are expecting the Brooklyn Nets to make a lasting impression on the city, and Monday night was the club’s first opportunity. 

This storyline is so intriguing because of how rare it is to witness a natural and direct rivalry beginning anew, particularly one this layered and promising. Rather, most classic rivalries are long established via history and time, and sustained by tradition. 

After the game, Jay-Z, the mogul largely responsible for the Brooklyn hype, tweeted, “The city is under new management.” Maybe not yet, but now there is certainly a conversation.

There isn’t a recipe for how to begin a rivalry, but here are the ingredients that should have New Yorkers licking their chops over the burgeoning antagonism, with some lyrical help from the face of Brooklyn:

“As the crowd screams for the other team, I practice so hard for this moment. Victory don’t leave. I know what this means. I’m stuck in this routine. Whole new different day, but the same old things.” – History

For a new rivalry, it’s important to understand the historical context, and whether it lays the foundation for a good future of contentiousness. While the Knicks' history is largely misconstrued, the Nets are hoping to write a new history. 

The Knicks’ history has been shaped by perception over result, but they are thickly embedded into the city’s fabric. Despite the team's lack of contention, New Yorkers remain faithful, and stubbornly place the Knicks on the Celtics' and Lakers' level of “storied NBA franchises.”

In fairness, the franchise does have some mystique. It’s one of the two original franchises to still play in its home city, and its arena is one of the world’s most famous. The team has produced iconic playoff moments (Willis Reed, John Starks, Larry Johnson), and the 1969-1973 dynasty was one of the NBA’s greatest demonstrations of teamwork and talent, producing two championships. 

Since the ’73 title, though, the ‘Bockers have only reached the finals twice. The Ewing Era produced ESPN Classic material, but no rings. And since 2001, the front office has been a constant drama featuring a high-profile cast of failures: James Dolan, Isiah Thomas, Stephon Marbury, Larry Brown, Mike D’Antoni, and Sir Eddy Curry, to name a few. 

Now, after recent roster overhaul, the acquisition of Carmelo Anthony, consecutive playoff appearances, and a taste of Linsanity, the city is back abuzz about its Knicks. Any bitterness with the organization over the Jeremy Lin divorce has largely dissipated, thanks to his sputtering play in Houston and Raymond Felton’s solid performance so far.

The Nets, on the other hand, are leaving their past behind. This is not the New Jersey Nets; this is the Brooklyn Nets, and it solely says “Brooklyn” on both jerseys, in case there was any confusion. 

Similar to the Knicks, the Nets haven’t won a title since the ‘70s, when Dr. J’s New York Nets won two ABA crowns. But since joining the real Association, there have been few bright spots. Brief early ‘90s promise was halted by the death of All-World Croatian Drazen Petrovic. For the next decade, the Nets routinely placed in the bottom of the standings, wallowing in the Continental Airlines Arena, easily the league’s worst venue.

Then Jason Kidd arrived, and transformed an athletic band of misfits into a surprise back-to-back Eastern Conference champion. During the Kidd Era, later joined by Vince Carter, the franchise achieved its most prolonged run of success. Still, as a season ticket holder for much of that period, take my word: that place never got loud, never filled up, and was the NBA’s only home-court disadvantage (also, the food was less than impressive). 

During the final two years in Jersey, the club acquired star guard Deron Williams, hired former Coach of the Year Avery Johnson, and was purchased by Russian billionaire/playboy/jet-skier Mikhail Prokhorov. They painfully waited it out in the Meadowlands, suffering through even lower attendance than usual, bitter Jersey fans, and plenty of losing. GM Billy King was hired with the task of putting a competitive roster on the court for the Brooklyn premiere. And while he couldn’t land the biggest fish (Dwight Howard), he acquired Joe Johnson, which, most importantly, paved the way for Williams’s resigning. 

Despite similar historical patterns (title-less since the ‘70s, brief moments of contention since) the teams entered Monday night with different tasks. The Knicks needed to reestablish their dominance in the city, now challenged with the presence of a neighbor. The Nets, meanwhile, could begin writing a new script under the national spotlight.  

“How’s there people in the world who wouldn’t want me as a neighbor?” – I Did It My Way

“It’s only a rivalry if it’s competitive,” said Jason Kidd, now a member of the Knicks. This is especially true when a rivalry is just being born, and doesn’t have the history and tradition to prevail through competitive lulls. 

Heading into the showdown, the 9-3 Knicks led Brooklyn, at 8-4, by one game in the Atlantic division. Symbolically, at least, this added a layer of tension to the game, and highlights a broader reason for excitement: these teams will battle for the division for the next half-decade. 

The Jets-Giants “rivalry” is more of an imbalanced fan argument, because the Giants are clearly superior in nearly every aspect. Big Blue is one of sport’s most respected franchises, thanks to sparkling ownership and an established winning culture. Gang Green, meanwhile (and I’m a proud Jets fan), have been a comic strip for years, without a Super Bowl appearance since Broadway Joe waved his finger in ’68. 

The Yankees and Mets have the same issue, but the beef is slightly more justified. The Bombers are the benchmark franchise in American sports, and New York loves its Yanks. The Mets, like their rhyme-sake, have mostly been a laughing stock, but at least have some iconic moments (Miracle Mets, Mookie in ’86, Ventura in ‘99), and that magical Subway Series run in 2000, to remain relevant. Also, no one loses quite like the Mets (though the Jets come close). The Rangers-Islanders "Battle of New York" rivalry, has largely faded because the teams haven’t been jointly competing for titles in a long time, and the Islanders still play outside the city, in Long Island (although they are moving into Barclays in 2015, so expect an even longer column than this).

One advantage the Nets-Knicks rivalry shares with the Rangers-Isles, though, is the fact that they are in the same conference. The Subway Series was magical, but is highly improbable. A Jets-Giants Super Bowl will never happen in my lifetime, because it would require the Jets to get to the Super Bowl. However, a Nets-Knicks playoff series is almost guaranteed to happen soon, and likely this season. New York’s squads should earn the East’s No. 2 and 3 seeds (with Boston as the only competition), setting up a mouth-watering second-round battle to determine who loses to LeBron.

“I went from Marcy to Hollywood, and back again, and back again” – “Marcy to Hollywood”

The Celtics-Lakers rivalry of the 80s was basketball's finest feud, and overcame the geographical obstacle for multiple reasons. Most importantly, of course, was winning.

Magic’s Lakers won five titles, and Bird’s Celtics won three. The teams met three times in the finals, producing many of the NBA’s most iconic moments. And finally, those teams were stacked with Hall of Famers and All-Stars (the NBA had fewer teams), and those stars played with charisma and style (“Showtime” vs. the smartest team basketball and greatest home-court atmosphere in NBA history). 

This is the major concern with the Brooklyn Nets. They are smartly marketed as the city’s hip-hop team with swagger and street cred, cool enough to take over the borough. Classic Brooklyn rap blasts at games, Jay and B. sit courtside, and hip-hop vernacular adorns the arena. Jay-Z has been performing and appearing more than usual, making sure to wear a Mitchell & Sons Nets snapback for every public appearance. 

But this abstracts the reality that the Brooklyn Nets are not particularly fun to watch, and have one of the most uncharismatic rosters in the league. King aggressively assembled playoff talent, but failed to acquire one marketable player. The Nets said “Hello Brooklyn” with a starting five of Williams, Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, and Brook Lopez. In other words, five solid players, one star, two other potential All-Stars, and zero players anybody has ever paid money to see. 

This is the Nets’ biggest issue, but shouldn’t dampen the rivalry, for now. It will be a problem down the road, as the team tries to sustain popularity after it loses its new car smell. For the debut season, though, winning should satisfy Brooklynites, who are looking for any reason to embrace their new inhabitants. 

As the Nets churn out slow, half-court ball, and rely on Jay-Z and their borough for personality, the Knicks are as exciting as any team in the Association. The roster includes one of the league’s most personable superstars (Anthony) and two top-30 players (Stoudemire and Chandler). This summer, the team added two high-profile veterans: Jason Kidd and Rasheed Wallace, one of the most colorful characters in NBA history. While this might not help sway undecided New Yorkers to the Brooklyn side, it’s necessary for the rivalry to exist as more than just media and fan hype.

“The whole city’s buzzin'. Wasn’t checking for me a dozen or so months ago; now I’m all they know.”—“In My Lifetime (Remix)”

The most unique and significant component of this burgeoning rivalry is its place within the cultural context of New York City. It’s overstated, but true: New York is the Mecca of basketball. Between the great CCNY and NYU teams of the ‘40s, the Harlem Globetrotters, the street culture of Rucker, The Cage, Coney Island, Madison Square Garden, St. John’s and the Big East, and the rich high-school basketball tradition, New York is the game's true home (sorry, Hoosiers). 

Furthermore, the Knicks-Nets dispute represents the broader social beef permeating the city. Brooklyn is the cool new kid in school and needs Manhattan to know it. Alan Feuer of The New York Times wrote it best: “Knicks vs. Nets was, of course, no more than the latest manifestation of Manhattan vs. Brooklyn, an inter-borough battle that has included in its various iterations Lombardi’s vs. Grimaldi’s, high-rises vs. brownstones, the Giants vs. the Dodgers and the yuppies of the Upper West Side vs. the yuppies in Park Slope.” 

The result is the tremendous amount of pride the fans came to Barclays with. From the get-go, the Nets fans were involved, with constant chants of “Broooklynnn” that were clearly audible on TV. 

“You can feel it here in this building,” said Steve Kerr, on the call for TNT.

“Wake up, Muttley, you’re dreamin’ again. Your own reality show, the season begins.” – “American Dreamin’”

So, as ESPN says to promote mediocre football games: it all came down to Monday night. The parts were in place. Brooklyn—the fans, the arena, and the Nets—just needed to deliver. 

The game had a picturesque aesthetic. With Barclays’ zigzag hardwood, the Nets’ basic black/white logo and jerseys, and the Knicks' fantastic new vintage look, the game evoked the feeling of throwback New York basketball. The teams looked like classic rival street teams—if the Jets and the Sharks could ball.

In a star-studded playoff atmosphere, the Nets earned the franchise’s most groundbreaking win in a 96-89 battle. Fittingly, the game went to overtime after Carmelo (35 points) missed the winning jumper at the end of regulation (this had to be Brooklyn’s night). 

"I think it's just as important for them, because if we're so much the new kid on the block and we're trying to come in and gain some territorial rights, I think they're going to try to do everything they can to push back, so I think it's great," said Joe Johnson. "I don't think it's so much of a Duke-North Carolina rivalry yet, but hopefully one day it'll get there."

Brooklyn officially has a team worth rooting for, and the foundation has been laid for New York City’s greatest crosstown rivalry. The City has needed this for a while—the Globetrotters beat the Generals every time. 

Just don’t ask Spike to switch sides.

 

 

Reach Staff Writer Michael Corvo via email or follow him on Twitter.