The New York Knicks’ experiment to ban music inside Madison Square Garden during Sunday’s game against the Golden State Warriors hit a bum note with the visiting Western Conference leaders.
A message posted on a screen inside the stadium on Sunday advised fans that no music would be played during the first half in order to allow fans to “experience the game in its purest form.”
But the move proved unpopular with players from both sides, with Warriors coach Steve Kerr complaining that the subdued atmosphere “felt like church.”
“It was weird,” Kerr said following his team’s 112-105 win. “It was really weird. You sort of take it for granted because every NBA game, you got all this stuff going on, music in the background. You don’t even think about it until it’s not there. It felt like church.
“It was very quiet. It is Sunday, after all. Maybe that’s why they chose it. It was strange. I kind of liked it better in the second half. It felt more normal with the music.”
Warriors star Stephen Curry was also bemused by the move, comparing the atmosphere to a school game.
“It was, like, back in middle school warm-up games, where it’s just you and the teammates … [and] there’s no music or entertainment whatsoever, so it was definitely different,” Curry said.
Team-mate Draymond Green was more forthright, decrying the move as “disrespectful” to the league.
“It was ridiculous. I think it was completely disrespectful to everyone … all these people who’ve done these things to change the game from an entertainment perspective,” Green said.
“You advance things in the world to make it better. You don’t go back to what was bad. It’s like, computers can do anything for us. It’s like going back to paper. Why would you do that? It was ridiculous.”
Knicks players were also unimpressed, with Kristaps Porzingis adding: “I didn’t like it. It was weird for me. But I guess that’s how it was back in the day.”
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