OK, I can't really start this post on topic without saying hello.
All is well here, sorry I've been away so long. I managed to get rid of the internet some time ago, and found myself not missing it (to my shock and amazement). So much has happened over the last year. I got engaged (he moved in now as well), found an amazing old movie theatre where I spend an obscene amount of time (more on that later. I'll just say that they still show triple features, and still allow smoking in the balcony. The last of NYC's Grindhouse theatres essentially. Very few know it exists, and that's for the best as it would never stick around otherwise). And other than that, I've been reading a ton - which I suppose is what I mean by "so much", the reading has been so rewarding, and has provoked so much thought and contemplation that it has seemed a fascinating year for me. Anyway, if someone can fill me in on how to put more than one picture at a time in a post, I'll show some updates that way
Anyway, back to the Old Barn.
I am a die-hard Islanders fan, every since 1991. Sadly I missed the Dynasty of the 80's, and in my time as a fan have only seen them win one playoff series..... back in 1993.
About 1993, that year forever locked me in as an Islanders fan. I grew up in NYC, and to say the least, this is a Rangers town. In high school, when my friends found out I was an Islanders fan, the ribbing was relentless. When they made that miracle run to the conference finals after taking out Pittsburgh in 7 games without their only star (they were expected to be swept out in the first round that year as the 8th seed), well, I knew that this underdog was truly for me.... forever.
Anyway, I never actually went to a game until a couple years ago. My first was a playoff game against the Penguins, a win, and it was incredible. So, I bought season tickets the past two seasons and have had a blast (despite the losing).
This year is the last season to take place in the old Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island. Beginning next season the team is moving to Brooklyn (walking distance from my store actually), and despite the convenience, and the gorgeous new arena, I find myself inexplicably sad about the loss of the Coliseum. This feeling as it were had led to lots of spare time on the subway thinking about why a person would be sad about such a scenario. The team leaving a building mocked as the worst in all of professional sports does not feel like a victory, a building nicknamed the Nassau Mausoleum, a building slowly crumbling, its roof leaking, it feels like a loss. And it feels wrong somehow.
Why is the Coliseum considered the worst?
It is one of the 3 oldest arenas in the NHL.
It is the only one of the 3 to have never been renovated since it's opening in 1972.
The seats don't match.
The roof leaks.
The concourse has only the most basic food options, like hot dogs and beer.
It has very few luxury sky-boxes.
The scoreboard is terribly small and out of date.
The building looks like a monolith in the middle of nowhere.
It has no public transportation access.
Personally, I think most of the items on that list are a big plus in favor of the building. Know why? Because I go there to watch hockey. I don't need sushi while I watch hockey. I'll never be able to afford a seat in a luxury box. I don't watch the scoreboard, I watch the ice. I don't care what color my seat is. I don't understand why these luxury distractions are the merits upon which a hockey building Is judged, and I think something is wrong with that equation.
I'll tell you what the building does have, it is by far one of the 2 or 3 loudest arenas in the NHL. It is well known to have the best sight lines in the NHL. It doesn't cost much at all to attend a game there, amongst the cheapest tickets in the league. 4 Stanley Cups were won there, in a row. 19 consecutive playoff series were won there, a record unlikely to ever be broken. You know what else is unusual about it? It was intentionally built in the suburbs, it didn't need a city hub. I always liked that idea.
I'm not sure what else I need to enjoy a hockey game.
I attended the preseason game this year at our new home which the team moves in to next year, and I sat in the equivalent seat to the seats I have now to get a feel for where I want to sit in the arena and here is what I noticed:
The seats are twice as expensive. The ice was AWFUL. Over 4,000 seats in the arena have obstructed views where you cannot see all of the ice. The place had about 40 over priced restaurants serving every type of food you could imagine. The building featured pumped in cologne scent courtesy of Calvin Klein (I kid you not). And my seats (front row of the upper bowl) were twice as far from the ice as the same seats in the Coliseum. Let's just say that while the experience was just fine, none of these added attractions and featured added a single thing to the game taking place on the ice below.
I'll take the old barn any day. And this is the final season at the Coliseum. Once it's gone, there will only be two old barns left in the NHL, and both are scheduled to close in the next two years. I think that's a loss. The only bit of good news in all of this is that the Coliseum will remain standing, and is going to be renovated. In fact, the Isles will still get to play six games a year there - which is quite odd, a team having two homes. Perhaps this old barn will live yet again.
Anyway, here's hoping this team finds a way to buck the odds and send the old barn out with a fitting ending, an exciting playoff run. I'm gonna miss this old building when it's gone.
Let's go Islanders!
"You'll get used to my babbling, all the others have." - Anna Madrigal from "Tales Of The City" by Armistead Maupin
