New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has shared his delight at a viral fan chant that celebrates both the city's diversity and the New York Knicks' first NBA championship in 53 years. The rhyme, which starts 'My mayor’s Muslim, my bagel’s Jewish,' has become a rallying cry across the Big Apple after the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, overcoming a 16-point deficit.
Speaking on MS Now’s Jacob Soboroff programme on Sunday, Mamdani, 34, was shown a clip of the chant's originator, 23-year-old MD Ahnaf Hossain, exclaiming: 'My mayor’s still Muslim, my bagel’s still Jewish, even the Pope’s on our side, Knicks in five!' The mayor, wearing a Knicks jersey over his dress shirt and tie, chuckled and said: 'He is a New Yorker whose words have really stayed with all of us.'
Mamdani added that the chant 'speaks to what the city is and even this team. It’s not just a cookie cut out of the same thing again and again, it’s every single player having a role, bringing together all of the five boroughs in this moment.' Thousands of New Yorkers gathered to watch the historic win and later took to the streets to celebrate the team's first title since 1973.
The mayor reflected on the long wait for the championship, saying: 'People have been waiting for this for 53 years. And there have been so many heartbreaks, so many near misses... And for it to actually happen now, there's nothing more we can ask for as New Yorkers.' He also noted that such unity often comes from tragedy, but added: 'To see it coming now, in a moment of joy, it's something that I have never seen before.'
The chant, which originally ran 'My mayor’s Muslim, my bagel’s Jewish, my Christian Dior, Knicks in four,' has been reproduced on merchandise and hailed as 'pure New York City poetry' by The New York Times. Hossain told the Washington Post it was about unifying the city: 'I grew up with Jews, Muslims, Haitians, Pakistanis, Bengalis. I just had to bring everyone together.' Even the official Knicks account posted: 'NEW YORK FOREVER, WE DID THIS TOGETHER, THE CITY'S ALIVE, KNICKS IN FIVE.'