Knicks Fans Are Feuding With The Spurs Over Elmo - Yes, Seriously

Elmo debuted on “Sesame Street” in 1980 and became the iconic Elmo we all know and love in 1985.

“Sesame Street” is named after the fictional Manhattan street on which its set, so Elmo has been starved for a New York Knicks championship longer than Timothée Chalamet has been alive.

That’s why Knicks fans were irate to see Elmo both-sidesing the 2026 NBA Finals between his theoretical beloved Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.

Before Game 1 on Wednesday night, Elmo’s official X account posted, “Elmo hopes both teams have fun! [four basketball emojis].”

This is the Knicks’ first Finals appearance since losing to the Spurs in 1999, so the betrayal cut especially deep. And the backlash was immediate.

“Coward,” write Ashley Reese replied, and The Knicks Wall also responded with, “PICK A SIDE COWARD.”

“Knicks in 4, Elmo,” political activist Harry Sisson wrote.

“Elmo, you’re from the city. Pick a side man,” the famous @ConnorEatsPants account replied.

There are thousands of more comments that read like that, and while the Spurs’ official X account called Elmo a “real one” and posted a photo of him wearing a Spurs jersey, Elmo was swayed by his fellow New Yorkers.

“KNICKS that last message! Elmo didn't mean to SPUR you on!” Elmo posted Friday afternoon.

With or without Elmo’s support, the Knicks have won 12 straight games and are in exceptional position to win the franchise’s first championship since 1973.

The Spurs seemed to be on the verge of halting the Knicks’ winning streak at 11 games, but New York stormed back to overcome a 14-point third-quarter deficit and stole Game 1 in San Antonio. In doing so, the Knicks have made Friday’s Game 2 in San Antonio a must-win for the Spurs.

According to FS1’s “First Things First,” the 1993 Phoenix Suns and the 1995 Orlando Magic are the only two teams in NBA history to lose the first two games of a Finals series at home. The ’93 Suns lost in six games to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, and the ’95 Magic were swept by Hakeem Olajuwon’s Houston Rockets.

You have to believe Victor Wembanyama won’t - and physiologically can’t - let the Spurs go out like that. But even if he is the most talented basketball player on the planet, he is still just 22 in his first playoff run. And the red-hot Knicks made Elmo’s red fur look pale in comparison.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 7:14 PM.