The New York Knicks are on the brink of winning the NBA finals for the first time since the 1970s, leading the series 3-1. The city is electric with blue and orange, crowds roar outside Madison Square Garden, and a viral chant has become an unofficial anthem: 'My mayor Muslim, my bagel's Jewish, my Christian Dior, Knicks in four.' After a loss on Sunday, the last line changed to 'Knicks in five,' but the chant lives on thanks to 23-year-old MD Ahnaf Hossain, who shouted it in a Kalshi-branded TikTok video. The New York Times called it 'pure New York City poetry,' and the clip has 7.4 million views on TikTok, inspiring T-shirts and hats.
The Origins of the Chant
Hossain, a Knicks fan from a diverse background, says he grew up with Jews, Muslims, and various ethnicities, aiming to bring everyone together. The lyrics echo hip-hop tradition, reminiscent of Young Jeezy's 'My President is Black' and Pop Smoke's 'Dior.' AD Carson, a hip-hop professor, notes that the chant borrows from a rich cultural text, revealing rap's capacity to hold information. The lines may have predecessors in tweets from May and early June, but Hossain says he hadn't seen them.
Marketing and Controversy
The video is essentially an ad for Kalshi, a prediction market company. Kalshi acknowledged 'smart marketing' behind the clip but said it was also organic. Jeff Hancock from Stanford Social Media Lab identifies three ingredients for the chant's success: its New York focus, its humor and simplicity, and behind-the-scenes marketing. Despite the commercial aspect, Hossain remains focused on the games and the unity they bring. He told the New York Times, 'The sportsmanship is bringing a type of love we haven't seen in the city for a long time.'
