Awesome blog Paul. Nick Fotiu was a Ranger legend, growing up in nearby Staten Island & going to MSG as a kid, he really was like one of the fans. Tough SOB, he didn't back down from anybody.
As far as the Garden itself goes sadly we have lost that home ice advantage it once was. Way too many corporate suits occupy the seats there & with the renovation a few seasons back & the dismantling of the old "blue seats" (the toughest of the tough & best Ranger fans only sat there) really changed the atmosphere at MSG. Still a cool arena & the fact it sits right in the heart of Manhattan will always make it an attraction but its just not the same anymore there.
- B2B76
As an outsider I find a lot of the garden promotion to be kind of silly. It's not on Madison Square. It's not the world most famous arena (hello, Roman Coliseum), the architecture is 1960's outside which isn't a great time for design and they tore down a truly beautiful Pennsylvania Station to build it.
The renovation was certainly impressive as far as materials used and had some good changes but the short upper most tier that was removed really took something away. The sky bridge makes folks sitting up there feel like 3rd class citizens and agree the atmosphere isn't the same. I have a buddy paying 80+ per game up there and he can't even see the scoreboard.
That said, what the Garden does have is tons of passionate fans ponying up lots of cash to see their favorite team. That is good for game and good for the garden and good for the Rangers.
