My Wednesday started with texts and posts to childhood friends about the upcoming Knicks playoff game. I was nervous, like some of my friends, that the Knicks would break our hearts with a game 4 loss.

Being a Knicks fan is a unifier, because it focuses us on the team. That is one of the spiritual appeals of sports. It lets us go beyond ourselves to a common cause, and going beyond the self is itself spiritual. That is what makes it more than a game.

A benefit of NBA basketball is that almost every New Yorker is a Knicks fan, because there is no real rival. The whole city is united around them, and that’s quite a feat in our divided times.

Another conversation that morning was among my four college housemates. Three of us grew up in Clearview. I don’t talk to them as much as I would like, but I still feel deeply connected. We chatted about the Knicks and managed to keep politics at bay.

The evening brought the wedding of David........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)