The World’s Most Famous Arena

Editors Note:  Wes Brown is a junior at Marriotts Ridge High School in Marriottsville, MD. Wes is a long-time attendee of the Povich Center’s workshops and an aspiring journalism student. 

From the sights and sounds of residents and tourists, New York City is one of the most enticing cities. For sports fans, nothing is different. Madison Square Garden is a fan’s dream location to visit. Home of the Rangers, Knicks, Liberty and multiple other sports and concerts, the arena is always busy. The history behind Madison Square Garden just enhances the experience.

From the “Fight of the Century” in 1971 featuring Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, to the multiple Knicks, Rangers and Liberty Championships, Madison Square Garden has plenty of history. The Garden has played host to five NBA finals and three Stanley Cup finals. Also, two NHL, one NBA, and one WNBA All-Star Game have been hosted there. Concerts have also been a large part of the history.

From single artists to groups, concerts at The Garden have always been big. Notable performers include Duran Duran, Led Zeppelin, and Michael Jackson, among many others. In recent history, Madison Square Garden hosted a Hurricane Sandy Benefit concert. The event, featuring several famous New York artists who took time out of their schedules to perform, helped generate more than $50 million for victims of the storm. A trip to The Garden has always been a dream for any entertainment enthusiast.

It was a long night of endless anticipation. I was attending the National Invitation Tournament Semifinal games. The NIT has been held at Madison Square Garden since 1969. This year’s semi final included Baylor, Brigham Young, Iowa, and Maryland.  In 1989 the added the NIT Season Tip-off Tournament, which is also held at The Garden.

I woke up on the Tuesday morning, so enthusiastic for the trip to New York City. My father and I were heading to BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport to take the Amtrak to New York. We arrived two hours early and had to wait. The hours couldn’t have seemed longer, with all the people going in and out, as well as the train being 30 minutes delayed. At last, the train arrived to the station and we headed to the Café car.

The train ride up to New York seemed long and was rather unexciting. Looking out from the car I saw building after building, from Baltimore, to Philadelphia, to Wilmington, and Newark. The inner cities we passed through excited me for the arrival in New York. Once we were close enough to see the city was one of the most exciting feelings ever. After a wait in the station, we crossed the river and made it to Penn Station.

The station was busy with the hustle of everyday workers and wandering tourists. Excited to see the arena, which was above us, I headed for the quickest exit. With people heading in the opposite direction and the flow of people heading to the street I tried to blend in. Once I had reached the exit to the streets I looked up and turned around in amazement. It hit me then, I was at the world’s most famous arena.

To look up and see The Garden was an amazing feeling. As I walked up to it, I envisioned what a game day was like there. After all, there were games that night between Baylor and BYU as well as Maryland and Iowa. The wait to arrive there was over, but the wait for the games had just begun. I turned around as we headed for the hotel.

It was a windy day in New York City, but that didn’t matter because being there was amazing enough. From the fashion district and Seventh Avenue, we headed towards Eighth Avenue and the hotel across the block. As we walked around the arena we saw areas blocked off as part of The Garden’s transformation project. The construction zones went into the roads and cut off sidewalks, which made maneuvering throughout the city a bit tougher. After we made it around The Garden we were at The New Yorker Hotel.

The hotel had wonderful lobby and it provided a bit of relief from the busy and windy streets. We went to the front desk and got our key cards and headed up to our room. Just by luck, our room overlooked Madison Square Garden. The view gave me something I could do as I waited to leave for the games that night. I found myself looking out the window, at the arena, and the city in general.

At around 2:00 p.m., we headed towards Times Square. My father and I had to go pick up our tickets at the Marriot Marquis. We headed to the Crossroads Bar and Restaurant inside the hotel, where the email we received told us to pick them up. We found the representative from the Maryland ticket office and got the tickets. We were yet another step closer to getting to The Garden.

After wandering around Times Square for a bit we headed back to the hotel. The wait seemed to be endless as we sat in the hotel room watching TV. After several repeats of stories on SportsCenter and other shows we watched I began to look into when the arena would open. I found that it was one hour prior to game time which was normal for the arena. We headed over a little before six to make sure we got in early.

After arriving at the arena we overheard commotion about how they were not opening the gates until 6:30. We stood and waited in line as the anticipation grew. Looking around, there were fans of every team. Each fan was anxious to see their team play. Finally, the gates were open and they started scanning tickets.

As we settled into our seats we watch the Baylor versus Brigham Young game. I spent a lot of time looking around and taking in the fact that I was in The Garden. Envisioning all the historic events that took place there occupied most of my time. I was excited to see Maryland play Iowa.

The second game featuring Maryland and Iowa was the time where I truly watched the game. It was exciting to see my favorite school playing in Madison Square Garden. Dressed in my “Pride” lacrosse shorts and socks I showed off my school spirit. With all the looks I received wearing the outfit in the city it felt good to finally blend in a little bit. Maryland did lose, but it was still an exciting game.

I took the time between games to walk around the arena and take in the atmosphere. As part of the transformation they placed a timeline with significant events that have happened on each date in The Garden’s history. I was amazed how they could pick out 365 events that happened in history and create that display. The arena was very nice, with theater seating and a calm environment it was the perfect place to relax after work, like many people were doing. After both games had finished, it was upsetting that I had to leave.

We headed back to the hotel at around midnight when the games ended. I found out that the legend is true, the city never sleeps. The town seemed just as vibrant at night as it did during the day. The only major difference was the smaller amount of taxis driving around. We reached the hotel and I headed for bed.

The next day we walked around the city and wasted time until our train arrived in the afternoon. The city is exciting and finally visiting Madison Square Garden is something I will always remember. One more “Bucket List” moment had been completed. I wasn’t happy to board the train and head home, but I was happy I was there to visit. The world’s most famous arena is an amazing place, and this was a trip of a lifetime.