When the Golden State Warriors were preparing for their game against the New York Knicks, I don’t think they thought about the music/sounds that would be played during the game. Or in the case of Sunday night’s game, lack of music.
Before the start of the game, a message that read “The first half of today’s game will be presented without music, video or in-game entertainment so you can experience the game in its purest form. Enjoy the sounds of the game,” was displayed on the jumbotron.
It did not directly affect the game, but afterwards Warriors forward Draymond Green spoke to the media with his thoughts about the silence, which included calling it “disrespectful” and “pathetic”.
“It was pathetic. It was ridiculous. It changed the flow of the game, it changed everything,” Green said. “You get so used to playing the game a certain way, to completely change that, to me I think it was disrespectful to everyone who has worked to give the game a great vibe.”
The decision was reportedly made directly by the Knicks organization and even the home team’s players showed skepticism of the decision.
When asked about the events, Knicks’ superstar forward Carmelo Anthony only stated that it was “different” and refused to speak anymore on the topic.
The only thing fans seemed to latch onto as fun from the strange choice was the introduction of the starting lineups done without the background music and sound effects. Everyone clearly heard PA announcer Mike Walczewski give his signature intros for the Knicks and the visiting Warriors, giving the game a more retro feel.
“They need to trash that, because that’s exactly what it was,” Green said in his final comments. “You advance things in the world to make it better, you don’t go back to what was bad. It’s like, computers can do anything for us. It’s like going back to paper.”
