As dusk neared in Manhattan’s Sara Roosevelt Park on a Wednesday evening, the hoopers were putting up their last shots before the light vanished.
Swish. The chainlink net rattled as someone made a bucket. The Chrystie Street Courts on the northside of the park are home to three versus three basketball games. The asphalt is painted in deep blue and orange, slightly resemblant of the hometown New York Knicks.
Brian Martinez, 34, a lifelong Knicks fan, had just finished playing pick up. He was getting a few more shots in by himself.
Martinez, a thin man from the Bronx, now lives in the East Village. He works in hospitality in the West Village, but makes time to frequent his beloved home court on the corner of Chrystie Street and Houston.
He played basketball and baseball in high school. But how important was it that a former high school coach — Gov. Tim Walz — was now in the running for vice president?
Walz started his professional career as a high school geography teacher, lunch aid and notably defensive coordinator for Mankato West High School’s football team. He helped lead the team, which had lost 25 games in a row, to a state championship in his first season as defensive coordinator, school records show.
Walz’s coaching resumé had little impact on Martinez’s thoughts.
“Doesn’t really matter to me at all,” Martinez said as he shrugged and took another shot. “I wasn’t planning on voting at all.”
Martinez hasn’t voted in any election since 2012.
Eric Rado, 30, wore a black nike dri fit, AirPods in. Rado, a software engineer from the Miami area, moved to New York a year ago. He started playing basketball at 14 years old but always played in an informal setting. He too held little reverence for Walz’s history as a former coach.
“He can gather people and hopefully a good cause,” said Rado. “But, that’s a smaller group, right? Different from leading a whole nation. So I don’t really see that as a wow factor. It doesn’t convince me that he’s ready.”
Rado expressed concern by the lack of perceived awareness of technology and artificial intelligence on display during Walz’s performance in the Oct. 1 vice presidential debate.
“I would prefer someone a bit younger,” he said, fumbling the basketball in his hand. “It would be nice to have a candidate who has a good grasp on it. Especially during the TikTok hearing, some of these politicians didn’t know the basic terminology of tech.”
(Photo by Owen Rothman.)
At the northernmost Chrystie Court, the rims shook from missed shots. Cory Cousart, 30, hustled off the court.
Cousart, an eight year professional in the tech field is from Horshem, Pa. He came from a background in sports, running track in high school, though he said he did not consider himself an athlete. He now plays regularly at these courts, ranging from three-on-three to full court games. His sports background influenced his thoughts on Walz.
“Walz seems like he could rally a team around him,” said Cousart. “You have to get people bought into the vision.”
