It’s love and basketball — however provided that it’s the Knicks.
A pair of highschool sweethearts are bitter rivals of their loyalties to their favourite sports activities groups, however their unwavering assist for the latest NBA champions is a real love story.
The Knicks have been a throughline for Queens couple Danielle Kuchinskas and Alex Frawley’s romance, capped with seeing the dramatic, history-making Sport 5 in San Antonio a full-circle second.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling. We’re over the moon. That is what we’ve been ready for for therefore lengthy and it’s loopy how they’re the champions!” Kuchinskas, 35, instructed The Publish.
The husband-and-wife duo’s love for basketball and the Knicks was one of many first issues that they bonded over when their romance sparked in 2007.
The couple, each from Center Village, had been raised as Knicks followers and performed the game for his or her respective excessive faculties. Frawley performed for Regis in Manhattan, whereas Kuchinskas performed for Christ the King — the identical alma mater as Knicks star Jose Alvarado.
Additionally they each boasted hoop-themed AIM display names: Kuckinskas was DKlovesbball, and Frawley was littlebballdude20, a reference to retired Knicks star Allan Houston, who wore the quantity.
The love for the Knicks was sufficient to hold them after they separated for his or her faculty years and pledged loyalties to their warring faculties’ basketball groups, which they each keep immediately.
Frawley is a devoted Georgetown follower, whereas Kuckinskas stands behind Villanova College, however they put their variations apart to look at the faculty video games collectively — which fatefully allowed the couple to witness Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges in motion earlier than their Knicks stardom.
The fan fissure was the second for the couple, who had been raised with contending baseball loyalties.
Kuckinskas is a devoted Mets fan, whereas Frawley inherited his love for the Yankees from his Bronx-born grandfather.
When requested if the opposing assist ever obtained heated, Frawley, 36, a lawyer, admitted: “A bit of bit!”
“Going again two years in the past, we had been just a little frightened — I put that frivolously — about what [the League Championship Series] would seem like if it had been a subway sequence and we might deal with that as a result of we weren’t certain we’d have the ability to go to these sorts of video games collectively,” he continued.
“We agreed that we must watch individually!” added Kuckinskas, a paralegal.
The Knicks, nevertheless, have executed nothing however unite the pair.
The Queens lovebirds secured partial-season tickets in 2023, however realized in April that they had been prepared to begin trailing the staff throughout the nation to be a part of their historic, and in the end championship-winning, run.
Kuckinskas and Frawley witnessed the staff destroy the Hawks in Atlanta and the 76ers in Philadelphia.
They missed the Knicks crushing the Cavaliers in Cleveland, however flew out for every of the Finals video games in San Antonio, together with one the place Kuchinskas waved a “MSG Texas” sign up reference to the wave of Knicks followers that overtook Spurs territory.
Most significantly, the couple was within the Texas stands when the ultimate buzzer went off and secured the Knicks’ victory within the historical past books.
“I obtained so emotional. I cried after they received! Alex and I shared a very nice hug. It’s simply unbelievable — and we’re nonetheless processing it. It’s an unimaginable feeling,” mentioned Kuckinskas.
Frawley added: “It’s particular to unite for the Knicks and have the ability to cheer collectively. It’s a number of enjoyable.“
