This is love.

This is what you signed up for as a kid who thought athletes were superheroes, why you continue to invest so many hours and so many years of your finite existence watching millionaires play a game.

The Knicks’ most thrilling postseason run since 1999 has made those who loathe crowded subway cars seek out mosh pits on Seventh Avenue. The Knicks have united the city in a way that no other team or entity — nothing short of tragedy — is capable of, with players’ names on street signs and Madison Square Garden truly feeling like the Mecca.

This is also the risk you accept for caring, for believing, for dreaming.