The Loop

Patrick Ewing and a cheerleader once pulled off an epic April Fools' prank on a New York sportswriter

April 02, 2020
Portland Trailblazers  vs. New York Knicks

Brian Drake

Understandably, people weren't as into April Fools' Day this year considering the past month feels like a gigantic and tragic practical joke gone wrong. But in a world looking for levity anywhere, an old tale from a former New York sportswriter involving Patrick Ewing and a cheerleader did the trick.

Then with the New York Times—and when the Knicks were actually still good (sigh)—Wise was approached by a Cleveland cheerleader before a Cavs-Knicks game on April 1, 1997 (Wise got the date wrong in his original tweet, something we can't blame him for after such a traumatizing experience). And well, we'll let him take it from there:

Well played, Patrick. And everyone else involved, including this mysterious cheerleader. Wise provided more details on the prank and then turned to help from Twitter in tracking her down. A year after sharing this somewhat embarrassing story, he believes he's found his blond 23 years later after their initial meeting:

Hey, there's never been a better time to give someone a call than this FaceTime/Skype/Zoom Era we've all been forced into lately. So shoot your shot, Mike!