Dear NY sports fans: Don't worry, be happy it's a new year
Chris Kreider of the Rangers shoots the puck during the third period against the Red Wings at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 29. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Enough with the negativity!
We get it: Local sports mostly has stunk this century, now nearly a quarter over.
But this is no time for moping. Bad New York sports news travels fast, especially to Philadelphia and Boston, but it is not healthy for those of us around here.
Not for this long and across this many teams.
But a new year is nigh, and with it the promise of a new day in metropolitan-region sports.
So cheer up as you cheer 2024! There is reason to not worry and be happy.
Remember, the disappointments of this year mostly were a function of teams that were supposed to be very good but instead were very bad.
That suggests that with a few breaks, some are not far from competence, and perhaps even championship contention.
Seriously.
The area’s winter teams all made the playoffs last season and all could make the playoffs again, perhaps doing more damage there.
At the top of that list is the Rangers, who last won a Stanley Cup three weeks before Amazon was founded. (The Internet company, not the river.)
The Blueshirts have looked like one of the best teams in the NHL in the season’s early weeks and are built to sustain success deep into spring. They have star power up and down the lineup and two good goaltenders.
The Islanders are less dynamic, but their style suits the playoffs, as does their experienced roster.
But hey, the hockey playoffs can be unpredictable, as the Bruins reminded us last season.
What about baseball?
The Mets and Yankees are looking to reload, and neither can flop as badly as they did in 2023 . . . right?
The opening salvo came in early December when the Yankees got young star Juan Soto in a trade with the Padres. So what if his contract expires after 2024? If he helps the Yankees reach their first World Series in 15 years, he will have been worth the price of addition.
Given both baseball teams’ resources, it would be a shock if both missed the playoffs again. And given the vagaries of the baseball playoffs, it would not be a shock to find one or both in the World Series and one holding a trophy in the end.
The Knicks might not be a serious NBA title contender, but they are a serious team that has the ability to at least get to the second playoff round again. With some breaks, who knows? Perhaps they will make bigger noise this spring.
The Liberty were the second-best team in the WNBA last year, have all their stars back for 2024 and should be a contender again. Nothing would be better for the WNBA’s national profile than to have a New York team win a pro basketball championship for the first time since 1976.
If all else fails, as it did in 2023, it will be back to football, which naturally leads us where all roads do these days — to Aaron Rodgers.
Somehow a guy who has played four snaps for a New York team made himself the star of the show for months this football season, and there is no reason to think he will not do the same next autumn.
The trick will be doing it while actually playing football. If he does and is able to return to form at age 40 after tearing an Achilles tendon, the Jets could be good.
If he does not, they at least figure to be interesting.
New York has not gone this long without an MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL championship since 1905-21 — before the NFL or NBA existed — but any sense of entitlement we have has been cleansed during this drought.
We no longer take this stuff for granted. That will make it even more fun when the law of averages finally rules in New York’s favor.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
