Jimmy Fallon's 'The Tonight Show' Cold Opens With St. John's, Rick Pitino 'Sea Shanty' Spoof

Move over Knicks, the St. John's Red Storm are now "New York's [basketball] team." On Thursday, after NBC's late-night news, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon cold-opened with the host parodying "Sea Shanty" featuring Johnnies players as backup singers and finishing with St. John's second-year head coach Rick Pitino as Fallon's co-captain. 

Honestly, I didn't even watch this live. I was too tuckered out from watching the NBA's NY basketball team puke all over itself vs. another quality opponent as the Knicks blew a fourth-quarter lead in a 113-109 overtime loss to the LA Lakers. Yet, I'm a St. John's grad, so my college buddy group chat was going OFF and several people sent me the St. John's spoof. 

Pitino has been in Jamaica, Queens for less than two seasons. Still, he's already solidified himself as the second-best coach in school history behind the legendary Lou Carnesecca, who died last November. St. John's is the fifth program that Pitino has completely turned around in his second year on the job. 

The Johnnies are sixth in the AP top-25 poll with a 26-4 record entering their regular-season finale vs. #20 Marquette Golden Eagles. More impressively, the Red Storm are 2024-25 Big East Regular Season Champions for the first time since 1985. They could get a 2-seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a conference tourney win.  

The St. John's Red Storm pose for a photo after defeating the Seton Hall Pirates to win the Big East Regular Season Champiosnhip at Madison Square Garden. (Photo credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images)

Pitino has a legit chance to do something that the great Carnesecca hasn't: Win St. John's a national championship. Pitino is already the only college basketball coach to win national titles with two different schools. Winning a third with the Johnnies would put him on the NY basketball and college hoops Mount Rushmore. 

Obviously, I'm getting a little ahead of myself, and perhaps jinxing St. John's. However, can you blame me for being over the moon about my school? We were the laughingstock of the Big East when I went to St. John's from 2004-08. Over that span, the Johnnies were 52-67 and didn't sniff an NCAA tournament appearance. 

Now, the Red Storm has taken over New York basketball by land, air, and sea. And we have our Hall of Fame captain, The Godfather, Rick Pitino, to thank for that. 

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