Fans weigh in on James' impending decision
With all signs in the chase for LeBron James pointing away from New York, Knicks fans say they're prepared to see the superstar play elsewhere.
"I wish he was going to be coming here, but I don't think he's coming here," said Adam Soifer, 41, of Jericho, a longtime Knicks fan.
"What the Knicks need is an overhaul. They need more" than just James, said Soifer, who was at the Long Island Rail Road station in Hicksville.
Ashley Vieux, 34, of Levittown, said he thought James had two compelling options besides New York: staying with his home-state Cleveland Cavaliers or joining other stars with the Miami Heat.
"I'd like for him to pick the Knicks," said Vieux, who was also at the train station. "I just want a good product. Who's to say you would have gotten LeBron, and that would instantly catapult them to the championship?"
The Dolan family owns controlling interests in the Knicks, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday.
Soifer and Vieux said they had followed the torrent of news stories and Twitter posts about James' decision - a torrent that ends with a one-hour special Thursday night - but not too closely. "It's not going to help me pay my bills, anyway," Vieux said.
At the Kanzer house in Jericho, the dinner conversation usually focuses on one subject: LeBron.
"That's all I do is sleep, breathe basketball," said Laurie Kanzer, 47, whose husband and three sons are all basketball fans. The Kanzers named their middle son Jordan Reed, after Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Knicks legend Willis Reed.
The latest talk in the house, Kanzer said, is that James will go elsewhere. But she said her sons might start following the Knicks more closely again if the King comes to Madison Square Garden.
"I bought the [partial ticket] plan a few years ago, and I couldn't get them to come," she said. "Maybe if LeBron comes, hope against hope, the interest will be recreated."
LeBron fever hasn't infected everyone. "I couldn't care less," said Joe Inzerillo, 40, of Syosset. "If he comes here, that's fine. If he doesn't come here, that's fine. It's not going to impact my day."
Caz Lucidi, 30, and Lily Doering, 26, were asked about James while waiting for a train to Penn Station.
"I hope he comes here," said Lucidi, of Glen Cove.
"Who's that?" asked Doering, of Huntington - who works at a sports bar but says she doesn't watch the TVs.
Lucidi says he used to root for the Knicks but got tired of years of losing. "I'm already a Met and Jet fan," he said. "I have enough misery in my life."
Karen Rubinstein, 54, of Plainview, said she's getting her own updates about James' decision from employees at her sporting goods store, Incredible Feets.
"I was told by several sources, men I work with, that they don't think he'll go to Miami because he's not going to be a big shot in Miami," she said.
Rubinstein roots for the Knicks vicariously through her son, Mat, 25, who bought stock Wednesday in Madison Square Garden because of the LeBron rumors. "He thought it was a sign," she said.
