Yankees Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson Talks Knicks’ Parade with Rich

As the Knicks rolled through the Canyon of Heroes, Rich got a call from the man who made him fall in love with baseball: Reggie Jackson, phoning in while driving to Palo Alto to talk hot rods with a friend he met at 19 and has looked after ever since.

Mr. October knows exactly what the parade feels like, because he lived it with the Yankees in 1977. That was his first year living in New York, at 79th and Fifth, and the whole city became his neighborhood. He could be running late downtown, flag down a police car, and get a siren-blaring ride back to the ballpark, just on the strength of being Reggie. It was a different time, he said, but that same neighborhood feeling is what he sees around these Knicks.

Jackson kept returning to that idea of the city as a village. Standing in the canyon, looking up at the tall buildings as confetti and toilet-paper rolls came down, he described a togetherness and family feeling he believes New York does better than anywhere, from the guys hustling you for a ride at the airport to Jamie Dimon and the biggest names on Wall Street, all rallying around the same thing. He briefly took it to the national mood, lamenting the division in the country and finding it genuinely cool to watch Brunson plant himself in the middle of "we" and "us" and "our."

He was warm on James Dolan, too, saying the owner has been kicked around as much as anyone and deserves to finally get some handshakes and props.

His read on Brunson was admiration bordering on kinship. Jackson praised the kiss with his father after the game, the value of kids seeing parents do that on a national stage, and called Brunson a gentleman who, at 6-foot-2 against a 7-foot-5 opponent, simply can't be stopped and doesn't need much help. Asked what advice he'd give, Jackson framed it through gratitude, comparing Brunson to Derek Jeter, a player who never made mistakes, and saying Brunson seems grateful and thankful in the same way Jackson is at 80. He looks forward to shaking his hand and welcoming him to the club of New York sports icons.

Before hanging up, Jackson got personal with his old friend, saying he always roots for Rich, that he was happy to see him return to ESPN the way Jackson returned to the Yankees, and adding that Dan Patrick needs to get back there too.