Madison Square Garden

[Palatine]

Answering a question with a question. If MSG is not special, why is it called the Mecca?

 

[husky8273]

I know I am going to regret asking this, but can somebody please explain this almost fetishistic love foe Madison Square Garden among UConn fans? It is beyond strange. I’ve lived in other places, including some with Big East and New Big East schools, and I have never run into fans that have made MSG such a big deal. I can’t even conceive of a Marquette fan saying they would turn down an invite to an equal or superior conference because they don’t get to play their conference tournament in MSG. Clearly BC, Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville didn’t care. I lived in Providence ( well actually South County) for several years, and never heard a PC fan wax poetic about the place the way UConn fans do. They like playing there but it isn’t a fetish like it is for UConn fans. It is just bizarre.

FWIW, I’ve been to the ACC tournament in Greenville and it dominates the town. Restaurant, bars, hotels…it’s all anyone talks about. I’ve gone to dinner 2 blocks from MSG, and there was more talk about the Rangers and Knicks and the Yankees than the tournament taking place down the street. So please, I just don’t get it. Jealousy? Am inferiority complex? Basking in reflected glory? Somebody explain it, please.

never gets old!!!

 

[businesslawyer]

Every other league is dying to put their championship in MSG. Ask them why.

Freescooter knows the answer -- because none of the people running other leagues understand things as well as he does.

 

[OkaForPrez]

How did freescooter get unblocked?

 

[Hey Adrien!]

"...fetishistic love foe," eh?

"Am inferiority complex?"

"ACC tournament in Greenville..."

As far as I'm concerned, please don't regret asking. I'm quite interested in reading the answers.

MSG is my favorite place to watch sports because I feel a, for lack of a better word, magic there.

Maybe because I grew up in an NYC suburb? Maybe because I was 8 in 1994 when the Rangers won the Cup and the Knicks were doing their thing?

My favorite part about MSG: I love the ceiling. That wood softens the tone where the loudest cheer has this analog warmth that gets me every time.

Also, something about taking the escalators up each level is fun, especially when looking out into Midtown.

Back to the main thesis most are saying: I’d rather not overthink it or try to explain it, it’s my favorite place to watch sports and also a damn good place to see concerts.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[huskymedic]

 

[DFW HOYA]

"New York likes to believe it is the Mecca for the game and the Big East tournament is its annual convention. Everybody who is everybody is there, swapping gossip, lies and occasional angry glares. They're surrounded by these packs of old guys who simply love the game, who come every year to take in every minute of the action, relive the old days and argue, forever, about some call in a 1958 Bishop Laughlin-Fordham Prep contest. It is that crowd, even more than the celebs, that helps make this the grandest stage for so many players. These are their people, and to perform accordingly here can make you a legend."

"It's what Boston College wishes it never lost...and what Syracuse, Notre Dame and the others know, deep down, that Greensboro or wherever can never match."

--Dan Wetzel, 2013

 

[ctkaiser]

So it’s a Connecticut thing, kind of like every town invented the grinder? The Big played there in 2018. They weren’t that impressed.

I’ve been there. It’s fine. Fun to go to Manhattan. But good grief. So far nobody can explain it. And it is honestly not viewed that way outside Connecticut. Maybe in North Jersey, but I don’t think so. South Jersey not so much. They prefer Philly. I’m guessing it is because CT doesn’t have a professional team, and hence a venue, of its own. So we have “adopted” MSG and made it more than it really is. But that’s my opinion. Interested to read others thoughts.

And maybe cause the XL being such a dump makes MSG all the more exciting.

 

[gsmooth]

Hurley and staff have to play this to recruits

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Jay Bilas provides a sincere answer to the question posed in the original post, and it's complimentary toward UConn fans.

It's enough to make a self-reflective person express appreciation for such an explanation, and perhaps behave better in this forum moving forward as a mature response to regret felt for acting in poor faith for so long.

 

[XLCenterFan]

The BE conference tourney is THE conference tourney. It is in the biggest and best city in America snd in the most popular arena. It is like a college basketball convention, or conference. Passionate and knowledgeable fan bases. When we (UConn fans) exist so close to it, many of us flock to it when we play there. The fact that our program has won a lot there, and more than other teams who equally could have, causes us to feel emboldened when we play there. It’s part winning, part history, part current day fun.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

I know I am going to regret asking this, but can somebody please explain this almost fetishistic love foe Madison Square Garden among UConn fans? It is beyond strange. I’ve lived in other places, including some with Big East and New Big East schools, and I have never run into fans that have made MSG such a big deal. I can’t even conceive of a Marquette fan saying they would turn down an invite to an equal or superior conference because they don’t get to play their conference tournament in MSG. Clearly BC, Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville didn’t care. I lived in Providence ( well actually South County) for several years, and never heard a PC fan wax poetic about the place the way UConn fans do. They like playing there but it isn’t a fetish like it is for UConn fans. It is just bizarre.

FWIW, I’ve been to the ACC tournament in Greenville and it dominates the town. Restaurant, bars, hotels…it’s all anyone talks about. I’ve gone to dinner 2 blocks from MSG, and there was more talk about the Rangers and Knicks and the Yankees than the tournament taking place down the street. So please, I just don’t get it. Jealousy? Am inferiority complex? Basking in reflected glory? Somebody explain it, please.

New York, NY - NYC

Don't ask us... Ask the ACC and Big Ten, A10 on why they all wanted to play their tournament in Madison Square Garden

 

[Kolumbo]

The BE conference tourney is THE conference tourney. It is in the biggest and best city in America snd in the most popular arena. It is like a college basketball convention, or conference. Passionate and knowledgeable fan bases. When we (UConn fans) exist so close to it, many of us flock to it when we play there. The fact that our program has won a lot there, and more than other teams who equally could have, causes us to feel emboldened when we play there. It’s part winning, part history, part current day fun.

UConn fans and players are starving for another Big East Title at MSG. It has been far too long. 13 years, most of them spent in the AAC gulag. No better time than now.

 

[HooperScooper]

I read this today and thought about the OP here from last month. This is coming from a guy who lives no where near NYC (he lives in Memphis) but covers college basketball nationally. This is why MSG is special. No other conference tournament gets this buzz.

Purdue-Michigan State will get things underway at noon. Colorado State-New Mexico won't end until about 14 hours later. In between, it'll be one thrill after another. But nothing, and I mean nothing, will compare to the scene inside Madison Square Garden, just before the sun sets over the Hudson River, when UConn and St. John's take the court for the first of two Big East Tournament semifinals. Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Rick Pitino will be on one side, future Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Dan Hurley on the other. In the secondary market, it's the most expensive ticket in American sports on Friday by far.

College basketball rankings: Rick Pitino leads resurgent St. John's into Big East Tournament semifinals

The Red Storm must defy the odds against UConn, the reigning national champions, on Friday

www.cbssports.com

 

[Stinger92860]

Answering a question with a question. If MSG is not special, why is it called the Mecca?

It’s called Gampel South. Can someone please fix the thread title?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Answering a question with a question. If MSG is not special, why is it called the Mecca?

Because Okafor played there for us.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

I read this today and thought about the OP here from last month. This is coming from a guy who lives no where near NYC (he lives in Memphis) but covers college basketball nationally. This is why MSG is special. No other conference tournament gets this buzz.

Purdue-Michigan State will get things underway at noon. Colorado State-New Mexico won't end until about 14 hours later. In between, it'll be one thrill after another. But nothing, and I mean nothing, will compare to the scene inside Madison Square Garden, just before the sun sets over the Hudson River, when UConn and St. John's take the court for the first of two Big East Tournament semifinals. Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Rick Pitino will be on one side, future Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Dan Hurley on the other. In the secondary market, it's the most expensive ticket in American sports on Friday by far.

College basketball rankings: Rick Pitino leads resurgent St. John's into Big East Tournament semifinals

The Red Storm must defy the odds against UConn, the reigning national champions, on Friday

www.cbssports.com

LOVE THIS!!!!!!

 

[ctchamps]

This thread came about from a post I made in the thread "OT: The Future of FOX and the Big East'

I wrote this in that thread responding to @freescooter :

An Argument for remaining in the BE

He was incredulous that MSG could be a factor, never mind a strong factor, for remaining in the BE. free is a UConn sports fan and supports mens bb with season tickets. Unlike the majority of posters in this forum he is a football first fan. I remember the posts where he expressed animosity that UConn is perceived as a basketball university. He trolls this forum because it's the epitome of that perception. It's a ridiculous activity imo. But not uncommon. Many posters in this forum do variations of trolling to make themselves feel better. When things are going well he accomplishes nothing. When we're struggling he succeeds. In the past he only posted when things were going poorly. This is new for him.

What free has inadvertently done in creating this thread is validate my assumption. I want to thank everyone here that expressed the value of MSG. The best sports experience I had was being behind the basket when Taliek made that three point shot in the win over Pittsburgh at MSG. I wrote an IOU to a Nova fan to get those tickets for my son and myself. Robbed that morning, I begged a group of fans and this guy decided to take a chance. Gave me his address and I sent him a check the moment I got home. Best father and son event ever.

 

[Kolumbo]

if not posted elsewhere

Date set for UConn men to play Gonzaga in Hall of Fame Series at Madison Square Garden​

The date has been set for the return game between UConn men’s basketball and Gonzaga next season.

It was announced Friday that the game will be played at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 14, 2024, as part of the Hall of Fame Series.

UConn recently made the trip to Seattle for a semi-road game against the Bulldogs on Dec. 15 for what was, at the time, a top-10 matchup. The Huskies established an early lead and never trailed, winning the game 76-63 behind 21 points and eight rebounds from sophomore center Donovan Clingan.

 

[HuskyNan]

Some Syracuse envy. The video below is from that thread

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I read this today and thought about the OP here from last month. This is coming from a guy who lives no where near NYC (he lives in Memphis) but covers college basketball nationally. This is why MSG is special. No other conference tournament gets this buzz.

Purdue-Michigan State will get things underway at noon. Colorado State-New Mexico won't end until about 14 hours later. In between, it'll be one thrill after another. But nothing, and I mean nothing, will compare to the scene inside Madison Square Garden, just before the sun sets over the Hudson River, when UConn and St. John's take the court for the first of two Big East Tournament semifinals. Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Rick Pitino will be on one side, future Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer Dan Hurley on the other. In the secondary market, it's the most expensive ticket in American sports on Friday by far.

College basketball rankings: Rick Pitino leads resurgent St. John's into Big East Tournament semifinals

The Red Storm must defy the odds against UConn, the reigning national champions, on Friday

www.cbssports.com

I’m gonna be LOUD there. My voice will be lost by halftime

 

[ecasadoSBU]

19,812

 

[firstnline]

It's 3:30. Is the Garden infested with UConn fans yet?

 

[ecasadoSBU]

MSG Partnership Extended to 2032!!!!!!! LETS GOOOOO