Top 10 New York celebrity sports fans

Celebrity fans are expected to be out in full force Thursday night at Madison Square Garden when the Knicks host Jayson Tatum and the Celtics. No city — not even actor-laden Los Angeles — can top New York when it comes to the number and quality of hardcore celebrity sports fans supporting their favorite professional team. We’re not just talking about celebrities who occasionally score a courtside or luxury suite seat in order to plug their latest project. We’re talking lifers who are willing to see their team — no matter what sport they play — through thick and thin. Below is a ranking of New York’s celebrity fans that considers, among other characteristics, blind devotion, years of fandom, a demonstrated history of attending regular season games and a willingness to suffer. Admittedly, this takes away some of the edge off of being a Yankees fan, but hey you can’t have it all.

10. Timothée Chalamet, Knicks

OK, we expect some pushback for this one. But, while 30-year-old Chalamet is a relative newcomer to celebrity row at Madison Square Garden, he’s been a hardcore Knicks fan for decades. In fact, after he earned his first major paycheck in 2010 for a commercial he did for Disney, Chalamet used the proceeds to buy season tickets up in the nosebleed section despite the fact the Knicks had just completed a 29-win season. Chalamet also gets props for converting girlfriend Kylie Jenner to a Knicks fan.

9. Christie Brinkley, Islanders

It was a bit of a shock when Long Island’s Uptown Girl started attending games on a regular basis at the old Nassau Coliseum in the early 2000s. Brinkley became one of the team’s most visible and unexpected fans by accident after her now 30-year-old son begged her to take him to an ice hockey game. Through a connection, Brinkley was introduced to owner Charles Wang and she and her son attended their first game as guests in his box. (Isn’t that how we all attend our first games?) Brinkley was hooked and soon began doing commercials and writing a blog for the team.

8. Margot Robbie, Rangers

Robbie may have grown up boar hunting and surfing in Australia, but became a devoted Rangers fan after moving to Brooklyn in the 2010s and has played hockey in a co-ed league. The actress and producer told Vulture that she cut short her audition tape for “The Wolf of Wall Street” in order to catch the beginning of a Rangers game. That’s dedication.

7. Tracy Morgan, Giants and Knicks

Gets points for being a visible and loyal fan of two New York franchises that have had plenty of down years this century. The SNL alum went to his first Knicks game in 1981, and now is a regular courtside presence. Shortly after the Knicks made the playoffs in 2021 after missing the postseason seven straight years, Morgan admitted that it was hard to adjust to success. “A lot of Knicks fans are traumatized, so we don’t even know how to respond to all this winning,” he said. Maybe someday he will be able to say that about the Giants.

6. Jerry Seinfeld, Mets

The Queens native is a lifelong Mets fan who made frequent mentions of the team on his sitcom and most famously featuring Keith Hernandez in a two-part episode. Threw out the first pitch at Citi Field on Jerry Seinfeld bobblehead night in 2019. His side-arm pitch was more on the money than the bobblehead doll, which looked a lot more like Donnie Osmond than Seinfeld.

5. Ben Stiller, Knicks

A staple on Knicks celebrity row, Stiller has taken his fandom to a new level with an X account that is almost exclusively devoted to being a fan of the team. In the first four days of April, Stiller posted about the Knicks 36 times.

4. Adam Sandler, Jets

Sandler was 3 years old when the Jets won their only Super Bowl and joked that he has endured a lifetime of misery since. The actor is often seen wearing Jets gear in media appearances and is a frequent sideline guest. He also has made multiple mentions of the team in his movies, most famously casting former Jets coach Rex Ryan as a Patriots fan in the movie “That’s My Boy."

3. Ralph Macchio, Islanders

Both Macchio and the Islanders were at their best in the 1980s with Macchio’s “Karate Kid” having been released in 1984, the year the Islanders' Stanley Cup title run ended. After winning four straight Cups, they lost in May of 1984 in the Final to the Edmonton Oilers. That was enough success for Macchio to stick with the team through some pretty lean seasons, including 2016-17 when the team tried to lure fans to Barclays Center with a bobblehead giveaway featuring Macchio in an Islanders uniform performing his iconic “Karate Kid” crane kick. (FYI, a signed bobblehead from that game is for sale on eBay for $449.96.)

2. Billy Crystal, Yankees

Granted, it is not that hard to be a die-hard fan of the most successful franchise in sports, but at age 78, Crystal has been around long enough to see the Yankees through some of their leaner years. Crystal is a regular at Yankees games and has frequently appeared as a guest on the YES network. Crystal signed a one-day contract with the team and appeared in a spring training game in 2008. He also directed the acclaimed 2001 HBO Sports drama “61” about Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris’ race to beat Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record.

1. Spike Lee, Knicks

Slam dunk here. Lee has been a season-ticket holder since 1985, first buying them the day after Patrick Ewing was drafted out of Georgetown. Lee moved to his current courtside seats across from the visitor’s bench in the early 1990s, where he famously engaged in trash talk with opposing players. His rivalry with Reggie Miller – which culminated in Miller throwing Lee a choke sign during Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals -- may be the most famous rivalry in sports that involves a non-player. Lee, who unlike many on Knicks celebrity row pays for his own tickets, also gets points for sticking with the Knicks through the many lean years.

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.