Stars come here to become legends and legends come here to become part of Madison Square Garden history. The world's most famous arena lies at the center of the most diverse city in the world. The most storied building in New York city and the most renowned building in the world has hosted numerous unforgettable performances which have become instant classics.
From the heavyweight championship bout of Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali to the 1970 New York Knicks championship game in which Knick captain Willis Reed walked out onto the court and played a couple of minutes in the first quarter with one leg which would eventually lead to the Knicks first championship.
The Garden is more than just a venue, Spike Lee calls it a cathedral in his book "Best Seat in the House." People call it the Garden of dreams and no one knows it better than Spike Lee who used to attend Knicks' games and sit all the way in the nosebleed seats before he became a movie director. Lee, a hardcore Knicks fan is now a season ticket holder and sits court side at every Knicks' home game.
I myself have been a huge Knicks fan since I can remember. My father was the person responsible for introducing me to the game of basketball and the New York Knicks. Although we never attended a game together, we always enjoyed watching the Knicks on the MSG channel. I remember watching a birds eye view of MSG during the commercial breaks and I was in awe to see this immense building in which my favorite team played in. At the time the Knicks had a great team with Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Anthony Mason and coach Pat Riley being the stales of the team. My father was a great basketball player himself in his heyday in Mexico city, he has an abundance of championship trophies to prove it. His love for the games was passed down to me and I can relate my love for the game and the Knicks with Spike Lee., who preferred to go to the 69-70 Knicks championship game over his father's jazz concert. I still don't know though if he can compete with my father who missed 2 of my older siblings birth because he was playing championship games while my mother was in labor.
Madison Square Garden represents something different to everyone. My father lives vicariously through the Knicks because unfortunately he never quite made it there. To Spike Lee it represents the ladder he climbed to stardom, sitting on the Garden rafters before he was famous to sitting court side next to celebrities now as an established movie director. And to me it represents a dream. I once dreamed of watching the Knicks play live in the Garden which came true when I saw the Knicks play the Milwaukee Bucks at the Garden. Now my dream just like every Knicks' fan is to watch our team win a championship in the mecca of basketball. Let's go Jeremy LIn please make us live our dream just like you are living yours.