Knicks 'Hottest Ticket in Town!' Stars Flood MSG for Playoffs
It is, at its core, all about basketball. High-quality, competitive, winning basketball. And once again - after a long and arduous wait - the New York Knicks are very much about that.
But this is America and this is New York, so it's also about the "see-and-be-scene'' crowd - and in that regard, the Knicks are the hottest ticket in town ... which means the rich and famous want to sit in the front row.
And so they did in Tuesday's Game 2 of this second-round NBA playoff series at Madison Square Garden, with the Knicks knotting the series against the Miami Heat with a victory ... while MSG was busting at the seams with A-listers wishing to attach themselves to this successful basketball team.
Writes The Post: “The team has been flooded with requests from celebrities, with some saying they will fly in from out of town if they can get tickets. ... There’s way too many asks to address.”
Some of the A-listers are new to the scene, a group headed by freshly-minted New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. His dating life means that he's no stranger to celebrity ... but no, they didn't quite have a show like this back in Green Bay.
There is Spike Lee, of course, and others who are old hands at this. Comedians Dave Chappelle, Tracy Morgan and Chris Rock were in the building. So were starlets like Jessica Alba, and athletes like tennis player Roger Federer and former Knicks standout Carmelo Anthony,w who received a standing ovation from the rest of the audience.
All of this stuff is now familiar TV fodder ... on the other coast. The Los Angeles Lakers have for decades benefited from basking in the glow of the celebrities in the stands. It makes for good television but it also creates buzz in the building and in the community.
At MSG, notes The Post, there is a "special staff'' of workers "dedicated to cultivating and maintaining those relationships'' with celebrities, and the paper puts on that list "rapper Fat Joe, former Yankee CC Sabathia (who also attended last night’s game), Ben Stiller, Michael J. Fox and Jon Stewart. They get perks such as a separate entrance and suite.''
What comes next? The series is tied at 1-1, and the Knicks will hit the for Game 3 on Saturday afternoon in Miami ... where the Heat will also roll out its own "see-and-be-scene'' crew.
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