For Section 114, losing is tough, but camaraderie makes it easier

The New York Times, the newspaper of record, has taken notice of “The Block,” home of the Brooklyn Brigade. Kelly Whiteside ventured into Section 114 to gauge how the rowdiest of rowdy Nets fans are doing.

Despite the record, she found all is (relatively) well.

Various members sport neon pink goatees, long red beards and shutter shades. They razz opposing players and shout singsongy chants like “Jo-ey Buck-ets” for Nets forward Joe Harris and “Fear the Fro” for center Jarrett Allen.

And she noted, the Nets as a team and an organization have taken notice.

“I like what they do,” Allen said. “They’re always bringing energy, no matter if we’re winning or losing.”

“My goal for that section is, from the moment the doors open, to be like a Duke game,” said Paul Kamras, Paul Kamras, the Nets’ vice president for game presentation. “The second Coach K walks in, it’s a madhouse. We wanted to take passionate fans and have something we can count on each and every night, to be the fire starter for the rest of the arena.”

And Brigade members are grateful ... and hopeful.

“They want to encourage a fan base from the grass-roots level, and this is what they hope most of the Barclays Center will look like in a couple years down the line,” Nicholas Tishuk, an early member of the Brigade and the executive director of a charter school in Bedford-Stuyvesant, told Whiteside.

The chants in particular get noticed. They are usually timely, supportive of the Nets, not so much the opposition.

And they take joy whenever they can...

Whiteside spoke of the Block’s origins (right here on this site), crediting Bobby Edemeka for founding and financing its early days and interviewing several members, most notably Shane Gayle, an early member of the Brooklyn Brigade and a stand-up comedian who does not make Nets jokes.

“It’s too painful,” he said.

• New York’s N.B.A. Teams Don’t Have Much to Celebrate. These Fans Cheer Anyway - Kelly Whiteside - New York Times