Crazy Director and His Obsessive Fandom

Crazy Director and His Obsessive Fandom

Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals: the Indiana Pacers faced the New York Knicks.

Reggie Miller played so brilliantly that night that Spike Lee, a Knicks fan, grew to hate him with a passion.

Every time Reggie Miller sank a three, Spike Lee would scream at him from the sideline, "If you're a man, make another one!"

Reggie Miller sank another three, then turned around and asked, "How about that one?"

Spike Lee naturally refused to back down. "If you've got the guts, make another one," he said again.

Reggie Miller sank another one.

The two of them traded barbs like that for nearly the entire game.

During the game, Reggie Miller even made a choking gesture at Spike Lee with both hands.

After that, whenever the Indiana Pacers came to New York to play, Spike Lee would trade insults with Reggie Miller from the sideline.

It went on for ten years.

Then, in Reggie Miller's final game against the Knicks before his retirement, the two embraced warmly after the game.

Ten years of grudges dissolved in a single smile.

It moved every fan who witnessed it.

Later, Lee also traded barbs with Trae Young of the Hawks.

For the past thirty years, Spike Lee had bought Knicks season tickets every single year.

He usually sat in the front row, courtside.

The Knicks were already among the teams with the most expensive tickets, and courtside seats in the front row cost even more.

Including the preseason, his season ticket package cost $300,000 a year.

Taking inflation and other factors into account, the old man had spent $10 million just to watch the Knicks over those thirty years.

He wasn't just a die-hard fan. He was an absolutely obsessive one.

The pregame interviews