Opinion: Why we proudly wear the blue and orange

I am a Knicks and Mets fan. I was born in Queens and it’s only blue and orange for me when it comes to New York sports teams. 

I think the Nets will always be a New Jersey team to me. Their black and white uniforms and Basquiat cosplay doesn’t work for me. And don’t even get me started on the acoustics in Barclays, my thoughts about how developers (and my arch nemesis Jay-Z, the 0.067% former owner) pushed out thousands of Black families to build an arena for a franchise that performed just a step above a high school junior varsity team this season. 

Additionally, I despise the Yankees. They can keep their pinstripes and clean shaven rules (my grandfather told me to never trust a man with no facial hair). Whenever I think of the Yankees I think of Rudy Guiliani. For anyone who has ever met me for five minutes or listened to my FAQ-NYC podcast, you know how I feel about the former mayor. Essentially, I would rather clean every square inch of Citi Field with a toothbrush in the height of summer before I root for the Yankees. But I digress.

My beloved Knicks are on the cusp of a championship, a win they haven’t tasted since 1973, five years before I was born. The last time they were even in the Finals was 1999, against the San Antonio Spurs. As they say, “History doesn’t always repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme.” Hopefully the Knicks will have a better outcome in 2026 than they did 27 years ago. 

New Yorkers want blue and orange skies everywhere and I am consistently amazed as to how few New Yorkers know why we proudly wear the blue and orange, the colors that represent our collective city history and our shared identity as New York City residents.

NYC repping the blue and orange dates back to 1625 and our Dutch roots, when the city was first colonized and known as New Amsterdam. The blue and orange were the colors of the flag of the Dutch Republic, or the “Prince’s Flag.” If you notice, the New York City flag bears the three colors of the Dutch monarchy: blue, white, and orange stripes of equal dimensions with a seal in the center. 

As early as 1611, the Dutch traded along the Hudson River and established Fort Amsterdam on the southern tip of Manhattan. If you look closely at the seal on the flag, you will see a seaman, a beaver, a windmill, and flour barrels, all nods to the city’s early trading roots. The blue, white and orange flag we see flying in various parts of the city today is a modified version of the banner first hoisted over the original Dutch harbor. Unlike the English and the French colonizers, the New Amsterdam colony was founded in a spirit of trade and an ethos that all were welcome. 

Obviously, there are some caveats and footnotes to this shared communal origin story of New York City, but the overarching foundation of the city remains. It is a place where one can come and be someone and be a part of something larger than himself. The individual becoming part of a collective – that was the original spirit, and dare I argue the continuing spirit, of New York City.

I have been doing a little research on what colors mean to people. Not surprisingly, for many, the color blue represents trust, stability and reliability. The orange represents energy, enthusiasm, and pride. Together, there’s no better way to describe loyal Knicks and Mets fans. Recent reports have recorded the decrease in crime overall in city and some have attributed it to the Knicks winning (likely not true). Whether that latter statistic is real or perceived, the city does feel alive and in harmony and feels like…a team.

I have written previously about the Knicks in my Amsterdam News weekly column. To be a Knicks fan is to be in a “community of fellow New Yorkers who become extended family members in this crowded and sometimes lonely city of almost nine million people.” As we see thousands of New Yorkers – men, women, and children – wearing blue and orange, it’s a constant reminder that “to be a Knicks fan is to allow yourself to dream, to outwardly let others know you are filled with hope, and to outwardly set intentions and think of the best path to help you actualize your desired outcome.”

So, as we continue to cheer on our various basketball, baseball, football, soccer, and hockey teams, let the blue feelings come through. And for some of you old enough to remember, even the Brooklyn Dodgers sported the blue. New York is a city of hope. As we cheer on the Knicks (and the Mets), hoping a championship comes our way after decades of waiting, we do so as a community, as a collective, and as those who proudly wear the blue and orange.