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New Jersey Notebook: World Cup fever in New York but basketball heat rages
Daily News and New York Post's coverage of New York Nicks success in the NBA ON June 15, 2026. In spite of the ongoing Fifa World Cup, most dailies in USA have been preoccupied with the NBA.
What you need to know:
- All the 16 venues at this year's Fifa World Cup, apart from BC Place, have a corporate sponsor.
- Most Americans opt to drive themselves around and only have to worry about where to park.
In New Jersey
Last Saturday, you could say all roads led to MetLife Stadium, otherwise known by Fifa as New York New Jersey Stadium, and to Madison Square Garden. Football fever had indeed spread in great proportions as MetLife hosted the first match of the tournament, pitting Morocco against Brazil.
In New York, residents almost went bonkers as their beloved New York Knicks won their first NBA title in 53 years with a 4-1 demolition of the San Antonio Spurs. Celebrations on the streets went on late into the night as Americans showed what sport they truly loved.
“Champions”, “Team of Destiny”, “We are number one”, were some of the local newspaper splash headlines with the World Cup relegated to a secondary item on the day.
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BC Place the only World Cup venue without corporate name
They say America is the place of big sports and big money. It is no surprise, therefore, that almost all major sports venues have naming rights deals with corporate bodies.
All the 16 venues at this World Cup have a corporate sponsor, though Fifa will discard their names for the duration of the tournament, save for BC Place in Vancouver.
The stadium has maintained the same name since it was opened in 1983. It is known as BC Place because it was funded by British Columbia’s provincial government. It has a capacity of 54,500 and will host seven matches, including two involving Canada.
It features the largest cable-supported retractable fabric roof in the world.
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Taxi fare way higher here, most locals drive themselves
In any of the East African countries, a dial-a-cab price of Sh1,000 would take you a distance of more than 20km.
Not so in the USA. Cab fares for 20 to 30 minutes trips could be equivalent to the daily wages of a middle class resident of East Africa.
For instance, from Midland in Newark to the Newark Penn Station, a distance of about 8.5km, by Uber, would cost you between $23 (Sh2,975) and $40 (Sh5,174) depending on traffic. From Newark to MetLife Stadium, a distance of 24km, you would need to part with between $45 (Sh5,821) and $60 (Sh7,761), depending, again, on traffic.
No wonder most Americans opt to drive themselves around and only have to worry about where to park.
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