For those who don’t follow basketball, last Saturday the New York Knicks won their first NBA championship title since 1973. That’s a pretty long dry spell, and the team is being given a ticker-tape parade by New York City on Thursday to help celebrate.  

Ticker-tape parades in the city are a big deal and are reserved for stunning achievements. It’s the first time the Knicks have been so feted, and their parade will be just the fourth such event to occur in the 2020s, including a celebration of healthcare workers after the COVID crises (2021), the New York Liberty’s historic clinching of the WNBA title in 2024 and Gotham FC’s winning the NWSC in 2025. 

To help diehard fans attend Thursday's historic championship parade, Ad agency Mother New York has launched “Take A Knick Day,” a tongue-in-cheek initiative giving New Yorkers a “medically approved” excuse to skip work, call in sick, and celebrate with the rest of the city. 

Through the Take A Knick Day website, fans can generate a personalized medical certificate from a registered doctor, diagnosing them with a serious case of “Knicks Fever,” officially recommending they be excused from work duties for the duration of the parade. Symptoms include “excessive smiling at strangers, difficulty concentrating on non-basketball-related tasks, sudden urges to wear blue and orange, and a persistent belief that anything is possible,” according to the agency.