Calling Hours

The oddest watch party for the Knicks with the deepest meaning

In the last week since the Knicks clinched their spot in the NBA Finals, watch parties have popped up in every nook and cranny of New York. Bars, bodegas, and sides of entire buildings have been dedicated to sharing these games to the masses. In the face of completely inaccessible tickets to the game, these parties have become the true pulse of what this moment has meant to the city.

With everyone trying to get together with their fellow fans to celebrate this moment in Knick-story, one watch party invite for Game 4 went viral for its unique location.

On Monday, a funeral home in Greenpoint, Brooklyn shared this invite on their social media:

The invite went completely viral for the odd locale, but after speaking with Sparrow Funerals’ Erica Hill, the reason for this watchparty is far deeper than it appears:

I’ve been watching the playoffs (like most New Yorkers) and KAT talking about his mom, how he prayed to her, felt her in the stands, etc was the inspiration.

His comment about, “for people who have lost a parent, you are always looking for a sign”, really resonated. The more I thought about him, all the loss he experienced in his family during Covid, how he moves through it to do his job at the highest level, is vulnerable enough to talk about it…..

I just got really inspired and thought all we do is support people who are grieving and we should have our own watch party kind of around that.

My dad was born and raised in NYC, but moved to LA in his 20’s and became a Lakers fan. He played rec bball until he was in his later years and I played through high school. So I grew up with basketball very much a part of my life, but not the Knicks until I moved to NYC. I know my dad would find this all amusing and be little baffled. He’d probably write a poem about it!

Overall, this moment isn’t about me but more about our city, the joy the Knicks are bringing and how even KAT in speaking about his mom doesn’t sound sad. It feels like thinking about his mom brings him JOY and my hope would be we all learn from that. Speaking about the ones we have lost, eventually, brings us joy. It doesn’t always stay in pain. It’s about community!

Go Knicks (in 5)!!!

Erica Hill

---

Thank you to Erica for sharing this beautiful story with us. We’ll share more from this watch party in the coming days.

If you haven’t already, follow us on social media @HeartOfAFanPod, read our previous journals, listen to our previous podcasts , and sign up to get these stories in your inbox every month. All of this can be found at our website, heartofafan.org

It’s also where you can reach out to us if you have a story about how you’ve built a community through sports fandom or wish to record your own unique story.

Until next time, I’m Matthew Barry, and I’ll see you next time to see what else we can find in the Heart of a Fan. Thanks for reading.