Майк Бриний түүхэн тайлбар болон багийн гайхамшигт эргэн ирэлт нь Нью-Йоркийн хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн олон жилийн хүлээлтийг тайллаа.
2026 оны NBA-ийн финалын цувралын тав дахь тоглолтын төгсгөлд тайлбарлагч Майк Брин Нью-Йорк Никс багийн аварга болсныг зарлахдаа хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийг уйлахыг уриалсан нь олны сэтгэлийг хөдөлгөсөн агшин байв. Тэрээр сүүлийн хэдэн жилийн турш багийн үнэнч хөгжөөн дэмжигчидтэй хийсэн ярианаасаа сэдэвлэн энэхүү алдартай үгээ бэлтгэжээ. Брин 30 гаруй жил Нью-Йорк Никс багийн тоглолтыг тайлбарлаж, 21 жил NBA-ийн финалыг албан ёсоор хүргэсэн туршлагатай нэгэн юм.
Тайлбарлагч Жо Букийн зөвлөснөөр, Брин өөрийн сэтгэл хөдлөлөө барилгүй чөлөөтэй илэрхийлсэн нь Нью-Йоркийн хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн мөчийг илүү утга төгөлдөр болгов. Тоглолтын явцад Брин, Ричард Жефферсон, Тим Леглер нар Нью-Йорк Никс болон Сан-Антонио Спёрс багуудын өрсөлдөөнийг мэргэжлийн түвшинд хүргэсэн юм. Тоглолтын төгсгөлд гарсан зарим алдаатай мэдээлэл болон дүн шинжилгээний үл ялиг дутагдлууд байсан ч багийн хамтын ажиллагаа амжилттай үргэлжлэв.
Нью-Йорк Никс баг 1970 оноос хойш анх удаа аваргын цомыг өргөж буй нь энэ бөгөөд олон жилийн турш амжилтгүй байсан багийн түүхэнд шинэ хуудас нээгдлээ. Брин өөрийн карьерын хамгийн чухал мөчүүдийн нэг болох энэхүү үйл явдлыг Марв Альбертын домогт тайлбартай дүйцэхүйц түвшинд хүргэж чадсан юм. Ийнхүү 53 жилийн урт удаан хүлээлт эцэслэж, Нью-Йорк Никс дахин NBA-ийн оргилд гарлаа.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
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“It’s over! It’s over! Knick fans, this is not a dream! Your long, long wait has ended! Go ahead and cry! After 53 years, the Knicks are finally NBA champions once again!” – Mike Breen at the end of Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals on ABC.
ESPN announcer Mike Breen’s definitive line, “Go ahead and cry!” was the culmination of conversations that led up to that inspired touch on the 2026 New York Knicks’ championship.
The words were from the scores of chats Breen had over the last few years with Knick fans, and his patented excitement was aided by advice from one of the most prominent championship voices of this generation.
“The cry line was from all the fans that I’ve talked to,” Breen told The Athletic. “It started the last three or four seasons when there was hope that this team might actually win a championship. They all said the same thing. ‘If that ever happens, I’m going to cry.’ They all said it. I figured that is a good time to let them know, ‘It’s OK to cry.’ That’s where it came from.”
Breen, 65, has called Knicks games for more than three decades and has been the voice of the NBA Finals for a record 21 years. The two roles, though, had never collided until now.
Not many announcers could relate to the scenario, as the combination of calling the top events and being closely associated with a local team is rare. Joe Buck, who followed his father into the St. Louis Cardinals booth, has called 24 World Series and six Super Bowls.
In 2006, when the Cardinals won the World Series, Buck felt his call on Fox was flat as he said, “For the first time since 1982, St. Louis has a World Series winner.” He listened to outside voices accusing him of being biased for his hometown team, and in his estimation, he went too far to prove those critics wrong.
Prior to the Finals, Buck reached out to Breen via phone and told him, “Let it rip and do the New York fans justice, too. This is their moment, as well. So don’t be so ‘unbiased’ that you don’t get excited for the Knicks.”
“I fell into that trap,” Buck told The Athletic. “I didn’t want company. He was pitch perfect.”
In the majority of cases, the idea that a play-by-player is rooting for one team has more to do with the listener’s bias than the announcer’s.
While Breen, an all-time great, is known for reserving his signature “Bang!” call for the biggest made shots of games, what makes him elite is the way he uses his voice with inflection and slight chuckles that many times say more than multisyllabic words. He sounded as excited for big Victor Wembanyama dunks as he was for Jalen Brunson’s 3s.
“It was so helpful,” Breen said of Buck’s message.
Breen sounded like himself throughout all five games. Working with analyst Richard Jefferson and newcomer Tim Legler, the trio had a strong series, save for two moments at the end of Game 4: The analysts not focusing on De’Aaron Fox’s decision against trying to run out the clock at the end, and a misspeak from Breen in which he said at the final whistle that the Knicks’ 29-point comeback was the largest in NBA playoff history, though it was only the largest for a finals game. (The Clippers came back against Golden State in 2019 after being down 31.)
But the trio told the story of the Knicks-Spurs series well, with Legler lamenting why San Antonio wasn’t utilizing star rookie Dylan Harper more, while Jefferson had a very strong spot in Game 2 on an apparent Luke Kornet kick with seconds remaining that ended up being moot. They worked well together and showed room for growth.
Breen is the star of this trio. He has been a worthy successor to Marv Albert, both on the Knicks’ side and as the top NBA voice nationally, for years now.
In 1970, Albert had the legendary “Here comes Willis!” call, instantly memorializing Willis Reed’s dramatic Game 7 comeback ahead of the Knicks’ first NBA championship.
While Breen’s “Go ahead and cry” will not live in that stratosphere, it met the moment.
When Albert uttered his words about Willis, Breen was a 9-year-old Knicks fan outside the Bronx, in Yonkers. Three years later, the Knicks won another title. Then, for 53 years the team failed to pick up another championship.
There was so much heartache — especially after the Patrick Ewing era and the Allan Houston years — which is why Breen is so thrilled for the team’s fans.
“Clearly, for a 20-year stretch, there would’ve been a cry for a different reason,” Breen said. “It was not because they were going to win a title, but because they weren’t going to make the playoffs.”
Now, “It’s over! It’s over!”
And Breen’s final call did it justice.
