Let’s start at the beginning —

The Knicks inked plenty of useful players to reasonable contracts during the summer, giving the team an identity after a disgrace of a 2014–15 season. Arron Afflalo and Robin Lopez were brought in to defend and play important roles on the team right away, while guys like Derrick Williams, Kyle O’Quinn, and Kevin Seraphin were brought in to provide much needed depth.

Kristaps Porzingis and Jerian Grant were drafted as projects that would hopefully develop into strong NBA players with time. The return of role players Lance Thomas and Jose Calderon would bolster the rotations, while the return of Carmelo Anthony would be an absolute blessing. Their offseason was viewed as a step forward, and fans were generally pleased with the moves that Phil made.

The season began, and surprisingly, Porzingis was ahead of schedule. He emerged as the Knicks’ second best player almost immediately, and the guy that was supposed to be a season away from being a season away had arrived to lead the caravan earlier than expected. The buzz around the team was palpable. Kristaps was getting national attention and the Knicks were vying for a playoff spot while consistently hovering around .500. Times were good and fans were happy. The Knicks were abandoning their old ways of rash decision making and buffoonery.

Then, in a flurry, the team lost steam. Derek Fisher was fired for (snogging Matt Barnes’ ex-wife) the perceived lack of experience he possessed, the bench stopped producing, and play from veterans fell off. They lost 15 of 18. Suddenly, it wasn’t fun anymore. It didn’t feel like a step forward; it felt the same old Knicks.

After the February swoon —

Fans are justifiably upset. I’m upset. We’re all upset! No one likes to have a team with plenty of games left on the docket be out of the playoff race. It takes a certain magic away from the games. Knowing that the wins don’t matter anymore aside from small moral victories is a little sickening. The Knicks don’t possess a draft pick this year, so no rooting interest can stem from that (Thanks, Andrea!).

Once the season becomes a trudge to the end, the temperature of the team is taken. We became accustomed to moves like the Bargnani trade that we had to talk ourselves into liking. That was the only way to keep ourselves sane.

“Yeah, Bargnani can’t rebound or play defense, but at least he’s a model of health! And he can stretch the floor!!… Hold up, you’re telling me he hasn’t played a full season in three years? And can’t shoot threes anymore? Nah, he’ll be fine.”

The moves that they made seemed to blow up in their face, and the moves they didn’t make have looked bad in hindsight (Sup, Kyle Lowry?). That’s what made the beginning of this season so exciting. We finally had an executive in Phil Jackson that would preserve the team’s assets while making shrewd moves to improve the team during the offseason.

And, by in large, he did just that! The Knicks didn’t make any dumb trades or dole out any bad contracts. The frustration that fans feel for this year’s squad is not all because of this year, though. It has been built up over the years. The lack of trust and enjoyment that fans have had for this team has festered from within the fanbase the better part of a decade. I, like many Knicks fans my age, grew up being a fan of a team that was consistently a punch line; a footnote on the backside of NBA greatness.

When I was in elementary school, I would flip the Knicks on with my dad sometimes. My dad was a huge Knicks fan growing up, and raised me the same way. But, during this time period their general terribleness and his role of a father of four depressed his fandom a bit. When we would turn a game on, the info panel for DirecTV would block the score initially, and would take a few seconds to remove itself from the screen. It felt like every time that info panel cleared, disappointment set in. “Nuggets 83, Knicks 67.” “Bulls 99, Knicks 82.” “Mavericks 128, Knicks 78.” Losing was an expectation.

Once I grew up enough to commit myself to the team, I sold my soul. Starting around the 2009 season, I did my best to watch every game. The 2012–13 season was the most fun I’ve ever had watching a team play, and that’s coming from a huge Giants, Yankees, and Rangers fan. All of those team have had their share of success in recent years.

There’s something about basketball, though.

As Clyde would say, it’s like sweet jazz, full of improvisation and beauty. Over the years, I have spread my love of this irritating franchise to plenty. During that season, my friends and I would get together for every Friday night game.

When my girlfriend at the time and I would hang out, if the Knicks played, we watched. I didn’t miss a single game. When they lost, my mood was affected. I would be upset.

After the loss to the Pacers in the playoffs, I hugged my poor cat for 10 minutes because I was so upset. Have I mentioned that they were only a 54 win team? Coming off of a first round exit the season before? That they weren’t viewed as legitimate contenders by many because of LeBron and the Heat? This is how badly I wanted this team to be good. A small taste of greatness propelled my expectations through the roof, and the loss pummeled me right back through the floor.