Sport in New York is wonderfully well supported, with a diverse range of sports played as well as many supported. The focus here will be on the major professional teams in the area, representing the most popular American sports. If the opportunity arises to see any of these teams play don't hesitate to go, the experience is a one off and so different to sport in the UK.
American Football In a curious twist there are three NFL teams associated with New York although none of them actually play in New York City. The two nearest ones are the NY Jets, who play in the AFC East, and the NY Giants, playing in the NFC East. However they share the Giants Stadium which is in New Jersey, so isn't really a part of New York City. Both teams are superbly supported though, so the city has clearly embraced them. The third football team is the Buffalo Bills, who are located in the west of New York State and are seen as separate from New York City.
Baseball Major League Baseball is divided into two leagues - the National League and the American League. New York City has strong representation in both. In the National League are the New York Mets, based at Shea Stadium in Queens, whilst the American League has the dominating New York Yankees, who play at Yankee Stadium. Baseball is one of America's passions, and part of the country's cultural heritage. This becomes clear upon visiting a high profile game; there is nothing like it.
Basketball In New York the Knicks are the team to watch when it comes to the NBA. The team are one of the founder members of the National Basketball Association, and one of the best known teams worldwide too. Playing at Madison Square Garden, a location renowned for sporting events for many years, the Knicks draw capacity crowds for every game, where a partisan crowd cheers the team on.
Tuesday 21 Nov. 06
New York Giants at Jacksonville Jaguars
In the Monday Night Football game the New York Giants were defeated by the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-10. The Giants offense was well held by Jacksonville, with Tiki Barber making a total of just 40 yards, whilst the makeshift defense of the Giants, missing many of the starting line-up was pummelled by Jacksonville, the defense now having conceded 64 points in the last two games.
The Giants best drive came in the second half following a fumble by Manning that initially seemed to have been returned for a touchdown but was called back for an illegal play. From this Manning and the Giants put together a 70 yard drive, with 11 plays ending in a TD for the Giants.