[h1]SLAM 147: On Sale Now![/h1][h2][/h2]
Amar’e Stoudemire will bring the Knicks to the promised land.
by Adam Figman | @afigman
I first ran into
Amar’e Stoudemire last September, when we spoke in a trailer on the set of an
NBA on ESPN commercial. (You know,
the one where STAT and Jeff Van Gundy switch places in the RV, and JVG has to awkwardly reposition the driver’s seat.)
The Q+A was quick, but it wasn’t his answers that spoke the loudest, strange, or cliché, as it sounds. It was his demeanor. Sure, Amar’e was (and still is) in a position that many other NBAers are in—he has, in no particular order: millions of dollars stashed in the bank; millions of fans located all around the world; tons of global marketing power; an interesting backstory; and a heap of people curious about and privy to his every move, be it via Twitter, gossip sites, newspapers, magazines, and so forth.
But, when we first met in September—and still to this day—Amar’e Stoudemire had something else. He had an entire city on his back. (Yeah, now there’s some help. More on that in a bit.) The arrival of July 1, 2010, meant the Knickerbockers
finally had a blank slate, and New Knicks Phase One was launched a week or so later, with Stoudemire’s signing. When he put on that forward-facing fitted and proclaimed “The Knicks are back!
