The Face of the Knicks-Celtics Rivalry Is a Long Island Battery Salesman

In 2021, a New York Knicks fan yelled “Fuck Boston” and did the “Take the L” dance from the popular video game Fortnite in a viral sidewalk interview following a double-overtime win at Madison Square Garden. Nearly four years later, Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns wore a shirt with the man’s face on it to the Yankees–Mets Subway Series, just two days after eliminating the Celtics from the NBA playoffs.

“Whenever they showed him on the jumbotron I got three or four people texting me, DMing me, like, ‘Oh my gosh, KAT’s wearing your face,’” 28-year-old Jason Dantona tells Front Office Sports. “Then Twitter did its thing and blew up, and I saw pictures and videos of him wearing the shirt. It wasn’t even like he was just wearing it, he was kind of flexing it, which was really cool.”

Dantona has achieved internet fame since his original video with Sidetalk, the New York street-style interview show that has gained a loyal following on social media. It rose to prominence with videos outside MSG during the 2021 Knicks–Hawks series and may be best known 2022’s “Coney Island Ski Club,” but the clip of Dantona dancing and saying “Fuck Boston” has become part of Knicks online fandom lore. New York mayor Eric Adams even tweeted “BUCK FOSTON” after the Knicks’ blowout Game 6 win last week.

In 2024, Dantona recorded a video for Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart’s podcast through a Sidetalk sponsorship.

Ahead of the Knicks–Celtics meeting in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Sidetalk and Dantona slapped his face on a shirt and put them on their website for $24.99. (Dantona said he can’t say how big of a cut he gets from the shirts, and Sidetalk did not respond to questions, but he said his mother bought five of them.)

“I didn’t know that it would be a thing people would want, because I’m kind of just a normal person,” Dantona said of the shirts.

Indeed, the Long Island native is a regular fan. His day job is selling batteries for his family’s company, and he likes to golf, go to church, and watch the Knicks. He says he’s been regularly going to games at the Garden since middle school, albeit with a quick break to play college lacrosse in, ironically, the Boston area. His fun fact for the school’s athletics page was that he “Enjoys Fortnite.”

Dantona attended Game 3 of the series between the Knicks and Celtics, a 22-point blowout by Boston. He said he paid about $1,000 for his ticket, and is planning on buying a resale ticket for one or two games of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers. The get-in ticket price for Games 1 and 2 in New York, sat around $750 Tuesday morning.

As far as a potential Finals opponent, Dantona says he would prefer to avoid the Thunder. “I think we have a better chance against the Timberwolves, but I also would be sick to my stomach if we traded them the pieces to end up beating us in the Finals.”

A self-described “nervous fan,” Dantona said he doesn’t like to celebrate until after a game is over. He said the Pacers have good “depth and speed,” but still feels confident the Knicks will win in five or six games.

“We’re onto Indiana, so I’m not thinking about Boston anymore,” Dantona says.

“Is it ‘Fuck Indiana’ now?” FOS asks.

“It absolutely is,” he replies. “With respect, but yes, we want to take them down.”