I love my New York Knicks.
But those hefty MSG and New York City prices, eh, not so much. That’s what prompted this little adventure on a budget that my friend Frank and I cooked up.
But first, some history.
Born in 1994 but really started watching basketball in the early 2000s, this is easily the most exciting time in my adult life as a Knicks fan.
(I rooted for my squad through some dark times, man. Like watching Alexey Shved yeet a ball into outer space. Stuff like that.)
So, without a doubt, I wanted to support my guys in the Blue and Orange this postseason.
Finally, we have our point guard in All-Star Jalen Brunson, a competent and savvy front office, a Coach of the Year calling the shots, plus a long list of talented, tough, and gritty players. (Special shout-out to those dogs from Villanova: Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo.)
After defeating (in six games!) a very solid team in the Philadelphia Sixers, led by MVP Joel Embiid with a penchant for hard fouls, it was clear the Knicks were having a special season — even despite huge injury blows, including losing the reason the Knicks have been relevant the last five seasons: Julius Randle.
The last time I was truly this excited by a team — though I know it was nearly impossible to get through LeBron James and his Monstars on the Miami Heat — was that 2013 playoff run powered by Carmelo Anthony.
After cruising through the Celtics in the first round, the Knicks — I thought — had a shot at making the Eastern Conference Finals. It didn’t shake out that way.
That’s because the Pacers series happened. And the block. A moment forever seared into my brain: Roy Hibbert snuffing Anthony at the rim and sending my beloved Knicks into another decade of irrelevancy.
That 2013 team was fun. This team is special.
Here we are in Round 2 again, with a rematch against the Pacers. The Knicks are up 2-0. Tickets to get into MSG are exorbitant. Look at this:
The cheapest ticket for Knicks vs Pacers Game 7 is currently $604 on TickPick.
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) May 16, 2024
If you bought the cheapest ticket at every Pacers home game this season, you could have gone to all 41 games for LESS than the price of Game 7.
MSG prices are wild. pic.twitter.com/aZYY9HY9vd
So we said, let’s go behind enemy lines. Let’s fly out to Indiana. We were sure the Knicks could use some cheering out in the Midwest.
Okay, so I’ll get to dollars and cents now, which you’re probably here for anyway.
The Trip
Because it was a last-minute trip and the timing of things, we flew into Louisville, Ky.
The game was Friday at 7 p.m.
We booked two tickets from LaGuardia to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (about a two-hour flight) that got us in on game day. The price was $716.40 for two tickets. (I’ll have the full price breakdown at the end.)
That flight got us in at 1:25 p.m. Louisville is a sub-two-hour drive to Indy, just a straight shot up I-65. So we rented a car. We got the manager’s special, which was $83.19. We totaled 140 miles in a Toyota Corolla.
By the way, Louisville is a very pretty city. We hung out on Main Street for an hour to check it out. We wish we had more time to check out more of the bourbon trail.
En route to Indy, we did stop at a Culver’s — because it is so damn good. The cheese curds are incredible. That was $14.67.
We pulled into the city around 4:45 p.m.
First stop was Long’s Bakery — apparently a must-go, according to our guy Hart in his podcast with Brunson. They sell craft doughnuts for $0.90 a pop. Quite a deal. We grabbed $7 worth and then went to our hotel. That’s like $3 cheaper than Dunkin’ — and they’re actually fresh.
We booked at the Downtown Indianapolis Marriott, which I think was one of their nicer places to stay, for $168.48. We parked the car for $30, plus we gassed it up for $17.70.
Then we walked about a half-mile to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home of the Pacers. But first, a drink, or two. Actually, f— it. Two shots each. We found this bar right outside the stadium. We both slugged vodka (by the way, filled way more than a normal shot) for $6 each at a place called The Pub. Insanity. That’s easily $12-16 each in NYC.
Also, gotta say, the fans were tolerable. I donned my Knicks #9 jersey. No, it wasn’t RJ Barrett, but the Knicks starting PG for the playoffs in 2013: the pesky Pablo Prigioni.
The jersey got a lot of respect, honestly. I had two people come take a picture with me, and another, a Pacers fan, say, “I hate the Knicks, but I respect that jersey,” as he shook my hand.
Okay, now we’re at our seats.
We didn’t realize that the 200 section is essentially the nosebleeds, but whatever. As luck would have it, we sat next to four Knicks fans, our fellow New York brethren. Actually, one guy was from Connecticut but lived in Pittsburgh or something. Who cares, for the night he was from New York.
We sat in section 206, row 14. The two tickets totaled $259.06. Those similar tickets at MSG for Game 5 were priced at $1,687.75.
After seeing our seats existed (as every normal human does), we went for two cocktails: two vodka Red Bulls. The price: $33.54. At MSG, that’s at least $60 or more. I’ve spent $40 for a vodka-soda before at a regular season Rangers game last season.
The only food we got was two Chick-fil-A sandwiches at $22.89 total. While there is no Chick-fil-A at MSG, you can get a Fuku chicken sandwich for $15 each.
So the game happened. And guess who was there? Roy Hibbert. Nice. First sign of the pain to come. While the Knicks had a slow start, thanks to the valiant effort, specifically from DiVincenzo and key bench points from Alec Burks, the Knicks held the lead in the fourth quarter.
Then it was all downhill from there. The Knicks went on to lose a heartbreaker on a 31-foot, Hail Mary 3-pointer.
Frank and I laughed, smiled, sweated, and cried all over two hours. But, at least we didn’t break the bank. Plus I got paid to write this, so who’s winning now? Technically, the Knicks, who are up 3-2, with Game 6 Friday night. Let’s go, Knicks, baby!
Final breakdown
