May 08, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Knicks fans arrived early and made their voices heard in Game 3 in Philly Friday night.
Any list of the best traveling fan bases in American sports has to include Philadelphia. How often have television broadcasts remarked on an influx of Phillies fans at a Nationals game, or Eagles fans at a Giants game?
Philly loves its sports, and loves winning even more.
But for some reason, dating back to the 2024 playoff series between the two teams that saw Philadelphia lose by three points in Game 6 on their home floor, Xfinity Mobile Arena (or the Wells Fargo Center, as it was called then) has served as a home away from home for New York Knicks fans.
Even before this year's second-round series, which put the Sixers on the brink of elimination down 3-0, Joel Embiid was calling out his own fans.
“Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like [Philadelphia] was Madison Square Garden [West]. We’re going to need the support,” Embiid said after the Sixers came back from down 3-1 to upset the Celtics last week. “Don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys. Knicks fans travel, they buy tickets. There’s going to be people who will sell the tickets because they need the money. Don’t do it, we need you guys. We need the support, and we need them to be extremely loud. If you need money, I’ve got you.”
Various outlets are reporting that a big portion of sales have gone to the New York and New Jersey area.
All of this fuels Knick fans.
"If they're worrying about what the fans are doing, they got another thing coming," Nick Spies, who traveled to the game from Yonkers, New York, said before top off Friday night. "They should be worried about what's going on on the court."
Again in Friday's Game 3, Knicks fans made their voices heard. During a moment of silence for head coach Nick Nurse's brother Steve who recently passed, a fan yelled "Go Knicks!" which spurred a cascade of "boos" from Philly fans.
The NY fans equalled, and even drowned out the Philly fans throughout the game. It did not sound like a home game.
Knicks fans want it more, and show it by showing up in Philadelphia. But why is this the case?
Sixers fans have been through a lot since the start of "The Process" in 2013. They've gone through losing 72 games. Through failed No. 1 overall picks Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons. Short lived superstars James Harden and Jimmy Butler. Bad contracts for Tobias Harris and Al Horford. And just this winter, shipping Jared McCain to the defending NBA champs for close to nothing. And then there's Joel Embiid — the full experience from MVP to playoff meltdowns and all the injuries in between.
It's hard for fans to take this team seriously, even after their incredible Game 7 win in Boston. The Sixers have not advanced past the second round since Allen Iverson took them to the NBA Finals in 2001. The entire process to this point has not produced any real contention. Even the quadruple bouncing Kawhi Leonard dagger in 2019 came in the second round. And trailing in this series against the Knicks again, it feels like more of the same.
The crowd was engaged, but also looked like way less than a sellout with seats draped with white T-shirts all over the arena well into the second quarter:
This seems significant? There look to be tons of empty seats near the end of the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Is this game really not sold out? pic.twitter.com/XvWtCpzSCX
— Evan Macy (@evan_macy) May 8, 2026
Now compare that to the Knicks, who have been knocking on the door of a Finals berth for a few years now and who have their fans hyped.
"To me, I'm a Knicks fan," John Ortiz, who drove to South Philly from Brooklyn on Friday, told PhillyVoice. "I'm coming wherever they're at. Whether Joel Embiid said it or not, I would have been here.
"We don't like coming to Philly, we're just coming and taking over your house... We would have went to Indiana if we had to."
Can you really picture a Sixers fan saying that?
In the arena Friday were thousands of Knicks fans, led by Spike Lee and Tracy Morgan, each making the trip. This for a Game 3, in a second-round series. Knicks alum were everywhere to be seen, from Walt Frazier (who does local broadcasts for the team) to Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Allan Houston and others. It's just different than the Sixers support is.
It's sort of like how the Eagles are in Philly.
Another key reason for the Knicks takeover is simple dollars and cents.
Stubhub's get-in price (as of Friday):
• Game 4 in Philadelphia: $118 (section 207)
• Game 5 in Manhattan: $530 (standing room only)
Add in the price of Amtrak (between $12 and $48 each way) and even add a hotel or AirBnB and you have a cheaper trip.
"The tickets in New York are so expensive, it's cheaper down here," Nick Cutlip from Morris County, New Jersey, said. It took him two hours to get to Philly, and takes him an hour to get to MSG. "We want to win, we want to see the team win and it's also cheaper, it's more convenient for some of us."
Logistically it's not as cut and dried as you'd think. Many Knicks fans live in Northern New Jersey or on Long Island — it's about a 45-to-90 minute train commute depending on where fans are going from. And don't even think about driving, the traffic around Manhattan and over all of the bridges into the city is legendary.
The drive from any part of New Jersey is palatable to get to Philly. A train from Penn Station to 30th Street Station ranges from 70 minutes to 105 minutes. Relatively speaking, getting to Philly from the New York area isn't really that hard. There aren't many metropolises that are this geographically close.
The Knicks and 76ers are regional rivals — closer geographically than any other Philly sports opponent (save for the New York Giants).
"I think it's a good thing for sports, you know? Dan Monahan, a Knicks fan who has settled in South Jersey, said. "It's a heavy rivalry. It's a lot of fun, you know?"
The Knicks haven't made the NBA Finals in 27 years. And their fans are itching for anything to celebrate. Like they did last year, as they won a second-round series and did this:
Ludicrous scenes outside of MSG still after the Knicks won Game 6
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) May 17, 2025
Thanks to the Redditor u/Leegend124 for the video:https://t.co/1uxPr8i1YE pic.twitter.com/JuwRvF1MvV
It might not feel like it at times, but despite having half the teams in total, Philadelphia has had more success from its major sports teams in the last half century.
Last championship by team
| League | New York | Philadelphia |
| NBA | Knicks (1973) | 76ers (1983) |
| Nets (1976, ABA) | ||
| NFL | Giants (2012) | Eagles (2024) |
| Jets (1969) | ||
| NHL | Rangers (1994) | Flyers (1976) |
| Islanders (1983) | ||
| MLB | Yankees (2009) | Phillies (2008) |
| Mets (1986) |
We'll even break it down further, taking a look at the last time each NY and Philly team appeared in a championship game:
Last championship round/game appearance
| League | New York | Philadelphia |
| NBA | Knicks (1999) | 76ers (2001) |
| Nets (2003, in NJ) | ||
| NFL | Giants (2012) | Eagles (2024) |
| Jets (1969) | ||
| NHL | Rangers (2014) | Flyers (2010) |
| Islanders (1984) | ||
| MLB | Yankees (2024) | Phillies (2022) |
| Mets (2015) |
If you're from New York and not a Yankee fan, and especially if you're a Jets fan instead of a Giants fan... it's been rough.
"We have a history of losing in the playoffs," Monahan said. "We have a history of injuries, so this is a big thing right now, especially because last year we were so close to getting to the Eastern Conference Finals so it's a lot bigger now."
"It's been a long time since any fan in New York has seen a championship."
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