CNN
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Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what’s trending up and what’s trending down in sports.
This week we’re once again talking about the New York Knickerbockers who, as of this writing, are one win away from the Eastern Conference finals. It would be their first appearance there this century.
Knicks fever hasn’t just gripped New York City, but interest in the team from New York City goes nationwide as well.
So let’s start there with a big upward trend.
Trending up – Google searches for the Knicks: Up 222% from last month
One of the things I love about Google trends is you get a real time reality check on whether people are into a topic. It turns out that people are really interested in the Knicks.
But it’s not just that Google searches for the Knicks are up from last month. It turns out that more people have searched the Knicks on the average day this month than they have on the average day of any month since Google started tracking searches.
Of course, that’s the thing about the Knicks. They haven’t been this good in so long that it’s literally longer than the internet was a way of life for Americans. I wonder what Google searches might have looked like in the 1990s.
Trending up – Television viewers for Game 4 of the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals: Up 1.1 Million from last year
So Google searches are a good starting point, but I also like looking at the hard data. The data here is pretty clear: More than 6 million people tuned in to watch a great Knicks-Celtics ball game.
Last year, Game 4 of the Knicks-Pacers semifinals game had closer to 5 million. That means we’ve seen a 20% rise.
Keep in mind too that the Game 4 of 2024 was on network television, while Game 4 this year was on cable.
You might think part of this might be that the Knicks are taking on a different opponent. When you compare the Celtics to their semifinal Game 4 last year, the ratings are up considerably too.
In an era in which fewer people have cable, there’s no other word for that than impressive.
Trending up – Ticket prices for the first game of a playoff series at Madison Square Garden: Up $300
I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself here. The Knicks haven’t beaten the Boston Celtics just yet. If they do, however, they’ll take on the aforementioned Pacers.
I get the feeling that a lot of Knick fans who would want to see Game 1 in-person are going to watch it at home.
The cheapest ticket on the secondary market is now over $900. The cheapest ticket for the first home game for the Knicks against the Celtics was closer to $600.
I think most of us can agree that these are ridiculous prices, no matter how exciting the Knicks are.
And while the secondary market isn’t face value, I look back to the 1994 Knicks-Pacers eastern conference finals. You could get tickets back then for $25.
To dream the dream.