Just 5 days ago, speaking to TMZ, Zohran Mamdani hinted at introducing an executive order. On Monday morning at City Hall, alongside local schoolchildren, it was official. The NYC mayor even tweeted about this symbolic order, as the New York Knicks will need every fan cheering for them in their first NBA Finals appearance in 27 years.

The Knicks, despite their 11-0 run in the playoffs, remain the underdog against the San Antonio Spurs. The Silver and Black also have the support of the nuns, and now the Knicks are looking at young kids to stay up late, which the mayor approved. “Okay, my friends, the executive order is signed. Bedtime is repealed. All of you can watch the finals,” said Mamdani. The tongue-in-cheek symbolic executive order was signed, and even the schoolchildren endorsed the document with their handprints.

While the executive order holds no actual legal authority over household rules, fans online as a fun way to engage the city’s youngest generation of basketball supporters, widely celebrated the tongue-in-cheek gesture. It serves as a light-hearted celebration as the Knicks make their first Finals appearance since 1999. Since the Games begin at 8:30 PM Eastern Time, the kids can’t stay up late, so now they have the mayor’s orders to the rescue.

“Today, I signed an Executive Order temporarily repealing bedtimes in the City of New York so that kids of all ages can watch our team in the NBA Finals. As Mayor, you’re forced to make many difficult decisions. This was not one of them. Go Knicks,” Zohran Mamdani tweeted. Before signing, the mayor jokingly asked the assembled kids, “Who here was alive in 1999?” The young Knicks fans were ecstatic, maybe for the team or maybe just for staying up late. It was five days ago, while answering if he would attend the Finals with Donald Trump, Mamdani spoke about this order.

“Do you think if the Knicks win, so many people are going to take off work or school, would you make it a holiday?” asked the TMZ personnel. “We’re looking into an executive order to let the kids stay up late, but I’ll leave it at that.” He has signed it, the kids are delighted, and netizens are cheering on every positive move.

Fans are celebrating as the Knicks look to avenge the 1999 loss

The Knicks last won the championship in 1973; the decades of waiting could end after four wins. It will be in the history books for sure. A fan encapsulated it perfectly, “Haha man, only in New York 😂 Finally a mayor who gets it — let the kids watch the Knicks make history. Bedtime can wait till June. GO NYK!”

CBS News even interviewed Stacy Bartolota, a mother who was not really thrilled.” Oh geez. I mean that’s that’s tough for us because we’re trying to get everything fit into one day. And then for them to have a late night on a school night is pretty tough.” It’s definitely tough for the parents but the Knicks playoff run is taking precedence.

That’s what some of the fans replied with: “NY bedtime got subbed out… Knicks are running the city on playoff minutes.” And another added, “That’s peak New York energy right there 😭.”

By now, we have seen the takeover by the Knicks fans in away arenas. They did it in Atlanta, in Philadelphia, and even against the Cavaliers. It will be interesting to see if the fans make it all the way to San Antonio for Game 1 and 2. If they do, and there is another takeover, the kids watching at home can feel the energy. Understanding this, a fan wrote, “When your city is in the Finals, even bedtime becomes a negotiation 😂.”

So, the symbolic order is not just for the parents to allow their children, but even the teachers have to be ready. “Imagine telling your teacher you stayed up because the mayor said it was okay😂🏀,” noted another fan. It’s a rematch from the 1999 Finals, where Rick Brunson was on the team, and he lost. But now his son, the captain of the ship, Jalen Brunson, can turn it around for the sweet win.