Two Knicks Called Taylor Swift Their Fakest Celebrity Fan. The Team Issued a Statement
Tyler Kolek and Miles McBride said it on a video-game livestream. Within a day, the Knicks were vouching for her fandom like a character witness.
By the Heckle Desk · · 2 min read
On an NBA 2K League livestream this week, Knicks guards Tyler Kolek and Miles McBride were asked to name the fakest celebrity fan they'd seen courtside. Kolek said, probably Taylor Swift, and McBride agreed. Kolek added that her appearances felt a little performative, and then predicted, correctly, that the Swifties would come for him. It's the first accurate forecast a Knicks player has made in years.
The team did not let the moment breathe. A Knicks spokesperson told NBC News that Swift has been a fan for many years, has a long history with Madison Square Garden, and that the team is incredibly appreciative of her support. Two players gave their opinion; the organization answered with what amounts to a sworn affidavit. In New York, that's how you know who pays for the building.
The record is on Swift's side, for what it's worth. TMZ reported that her Knicks history goes back to 2003, when, at 13, she sang in a halftime talent contest at the Garden. She sat courtside in June, with the Haim sisters and Mariska Hargitay, for the Finals game in which the Knicks came back from 29 points down against San Antonio, and the Knicks went on to win the title. Back then it was a broadcaster who got caught on a hot mic calling her fake, and she apologized. The Swifties, like the tax office, never close a file.
Now, consider what a 'real' fan means in New York. A real Knicks fan is a man who has suffered for 50 years and wants credit for it. Swift was most visible, dancing in the front row, in the one season when there was nothing to suffer about. To a lifelong fan, that doesn't look like loyalty; it looks like showing up to the funeral after the will is read.
McBride did say Ben Stiller and Tracy Morgan were solid, which is nice for them, and tells you the bar. Spend 25 years in a courtside seat looking miserable and you, too, can be a real fan.
Here's the thing about calling someone a fake fan: it's the one argument nobody has ever won. Sports fandom is the only religion where the converts are hated more than the heretics.