Madison Square Garden

As mentioned yesterday, the purpose of our journey into Manhattan was to visit Madison Square Garden. The option of visiting Times Square instead was offered too, but the opportunity to have a guided tour of what they unashamedly call the 'World's Most Famous Arena' was too good to miss.

It's a bold tagline to attach to a venue, but by the end of the two hours it was clear that it wasn't a statement without justification. Anyone with a passing interest in sport or music has heard of 'The Garden', but I'll admit that I expected nothing more than something along the lines of Wembley Arena with a little added sport. This was a preconception reinforced by the building's modest exterior but completely shattered once we got inside.

We were led by a chap who, despite having led this tour countless times, was still clearly in awe of the place. He may have simply been good at his job, but he'd have had to have been an incredible actor to fake that kind of enthusiasm.

He took us on what he called a 'New York walk' around the arena, beginning with the food and drink stalls that surround any large venue. These echoed the kind you'd find at Wembley Stadium - overpriced and heavily sponsored, but what caught the eye was what hung above each one.

Running the long length of the stalls was a picture accompanied by a date from a particular year, going all the way from January 1st to December 31st. An event from music, sport or politics for every single day of the year. I struggle to believe that the same could be done even if Wembley Stadium and Arena were combined.

Also adorning the outer parts of the stadium were displays paying tribute to key moments in the Garden's history. As a New York Rangers fan, the one that caught my eye was a case dedicated to Wayne Gretzky's final game in the NHL. It included his famous number 99 jersey, a number they retired across the entire NHL at the end of his career.

Translating that into English terms, it's very hard indeed to imagine Manchester City and Liverpool agreeing to retire their number 11 shirts when Ryan Giggs retired at the end of last season.

Even the most casual hockey fan would have heard of Wayne Gretzky and his appeal was evident in the photo that sat next to his shirt. I can't remember seeing too many hockey players tuck their jerseys in completely, and when the guide referred to him as 'a gentleman' I was reminded of images of Bobby Moore wiping his hands on his shorts before shaking the Queen's hand in 1966.

There were also tributes to the concerts MSG had hosted, including gigs that had raised millions after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Sandy seven years later (for which Simon and Garfunkel came out of retirement). It was also interesting to hear the way the tour guide spoke of Elton John, who holds the record for the most shows played at the Garden - strange to hear how someone who grew up just a few miles from St. Albans is such a big part of this huge city's history.

Our first sight of the arena itself came via an exclusive lounge from which the view of MSG needs to be seen to be believed. I thought the lounge I worked in at Leicester Tigers was nice but the view from here was something else.

The strange thing about the Garden is the way it feels intimate yet enormous at the same time. The roof moves convexly from the top of the steep seating, down towards the GardenVision at the arena's centre, thus combining the Colosseum effect of a huge outdoor arena with the almost claustrophobic nature of an intimate theatre.

We were taken up onto the Bridge - seating that hung from the roof, suspended above what would be the court or rink. Once you'd gotten over the vertigo, the views were unique in that you were almost looking directly down upon the arena's focal point. It was just one of the technological miracles MSG had to offer, as the guide explained how the ice was created and then protected using fibre-glass to allow a basketball court or stage to be built on top of it.

Although the views were spectacular (even better than those you'd find at Clarence Park), it was the history of the place that provided the goosebumps. Banners hung from the ceiling commemorating Stanley Cup winning teams and musical records that had been broken at the Garden. The likes of Billy Joel, Michael Jordan and John F. Kennedy had all been the centre of attention at this famous arena.

Yet the tour guide spoke with most emotion as he described one particular New York Rangers game in October 2001, the first game at the Garden since the terrorist attacks of September 11th. As he described how Rangers captain Mark Messier donned the hat of fallen Fire Chief Ray Downey, you got the sense that this was not just the history of a sporting arena or musical venue, but the history of an entire city.