Thank you for checking out NOTHINBUTKNICKS. My name is Simeon Russell I pride myself on being an avid Knick writer/fan, hip hop purist, leader in my community and family man.
NOTHINBUTKNICKS is a very unique blog based on storytelling from a Knick fans point of view. I have a new story that I am working on, but i the meantime, I've posted an old story for you to enjoy as conjure up something fresh!
Feel free to follow me at @nothinbutknicks on twitter
Growing up, I bounced around Upstate NY. I Basically bounced around from hood to hood, ghetto to ghetto. I know ya'll NYC cats don't think there's any hoods upstate.... trust me some of these cities upstate is like taking Bed-Stuy and moving it out of Brooklyn and placing it upstate!! Any way, we moved from outside of Albany (Catskill, yes Mike Tyson's Catskill) to Utica, NY and then bounced around Utica....lol, so needless to say we were broke!! I had to steal cable just to watch the Knicks!! Or listen to the radio!!
It was like 1990/91, Ewing was killin' his sneakers was killin', everybody was coppin' them joints, Gangstarr rocked them joints in the "Just to Get a Rep" video, dudes was rockin' em with the tongue hanging out... man I was feinin for them joints!!!
But of course, I couldn't afford em' so I had to fein!! I feined for them joints for crazy long!! Luckily a misfortune, turned into good fortune!!
As I said before we were broke, and we got more broke, no food, electric out, crazy stuff. In the summer of 91 my mother called my father asked him if my brother and I could live with him, so that summer I moved back to Albany. Although I moved back to the Albany area it wasn't the same area I left, I didn't know anyone, I was tired of moving, I missed my friends and mother (who I lived with for 15 years), I was angry. It seemed no matter what my mother told me about life being better, it didn't feel like it. THINGS were better, I didn't have to worry about food!!! :), but life wasn't necessarily better!! Things were just crazy different, I went from the inner city to the suburbs... big change. Environment was different, people were different, school was different, and life was different. It took a while for me to adjust. But the summer of 92 helped push me along!!
Given some of the things I experienced in my background and some of my behavior my father felt that I needed some structure, he told me I need to learn some responsibility, so he told me to get a job. I was like "cool, I'll work and play ball". The summer of 92 I got a job as a recreation counselor and after work, I'd play ball till mosquito's starting eating my ass up!!. Then I'd go home and do some chores he'd assign me. That's what I did all summer!! I didn't have time to spend my money. Plus, my pocket was finally a lil' laced, so for the first time I was going back to school fly!! I didn't want to spend my money on anything else except school clothes!! Soon as the summer was over I took that 1 hour and 20 minute to Fordham Rd in the Bronx, went slam to V.I.M, and copped 2 pair of Ewings, the first pair were white, green and purple Ewing Concept Hi's and then some black suede Ewing Orion lows. I dropped like a buck thirty between the two, wasn't too bad... V.I.M always got a few deals!! As a matter of fact I did all my school shopping at V.I.M that year!! Bought a couple brimmed skullys' off the street and I was good!!
I went back home flyer than ever with new Ewings on my feet... you know I was fresh!! Once I got home I went slam to my room, pulled my Ewings out the box, put the top back on the box and set my Ewings up on the box, like they were being modeled in the store!! Every once in a while I'd get up and put em on and pose (thinking to myself if someone steps on em in school it's on!! HA HA!!). I went to bed that night with a smile from ear to ear, I even kept a little light on that night so I could catch peaks at em before I fell asleep!! LOL!!
I went to sleep feeling real good. I realized then that "maybe, just maybe things have changed for the better, maybe life was going to be a little different from now on!!" "I'm going to school fly for the first time!! I got crazy fresh Ewings!! TWO PAIR!! And I realized that I did that myself!! Damn!! TWO PAIR!!!!!"
The Knicks have given me so many great memories.... no doubt a few heartbreakers.... but many, many more great memories. It's Crazy!!
So here's to the Knicks' and the new memories I can now look forward to experiencing!!
Oh Yeah.... they brought them Ewings back!!!
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