The sagging Knicks were not the first New York team to show up for a big game dressed in all black. The Giants did it for their cross-country trip to Phoenix before Super Bowl XLII and when they deplaned into the Arizona sunshine nearly the entire traveling party was wearing black suits.
At the time, linebacker Antonio Pierce, one of the team captains and supposed mastermind of the all-black look, simply said the matching color-scheme was "team unity, that's all'' and simply business attire for a business trip, but the underlying message was obvious. The Patriots were 18-0 to that point and were overwhelming favorites to complete their perfect season.
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Years later, Pierce told The Post "We were dressed to go to a funeral to end all that stuff. There was so much talk about the whole perfect season and Tom Brady. It was supposed to be a dream season for them but we dressed in all black to give them a nightmare ending. It was fitting.''
There wasn't any criticism of the Giants for wearing all black. The funeral look became part of the lore of the Giants' historic 17-14 victory, a stark contrast to the way the Knicks fell flat on their faces after wearing all black before their Game 5 playoff loss to the Celtics.
paul.schwartz@nypost.com
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