The plane pierced through the gigantic cumulonimbus clouds and descended to a height where Manhattan Island became visible.
It’s nighttime now, but the lights of Manhattan’s CBD make it appear more magnificent and brighter than during the day.
Gan Guoyang couldn’t remember how many times he had flown to New York. Besides the once-a-season games he played here on away grounds, he spent many off-seasons in the summer in this city.
New York boasts the richest basketball resources on the East Coast, with numerous venues, ample training camps, and a plethora of basketball professionals, allowing players to train diligently and improve themselves during the off-season.
However, by the mid-1990s nearing the 21st century, with increasingly convenient transportation, these functions of New York were gradually being replaced by Los Angeles on the West Coast.
Los Angeles is warmer, with beautiful beaches and the Pacific Ocean, while New York’s facilities were becoming outdated, spaces more cramped, and many of its buildings were much older than people imagined.
The plane continued its descent, and Gan Guoyang saw the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the Twin Towers through the window — all iconic structures of New York.
The Statue of Liberty reached America in 1886, initially copper-colored when it arrived, but after over a hundred years of exposure and rusting, it transformed into the familiar green patina.
The Empire State Building was completed in 1931, once the world’s tallest building at the time, and the Twin Towers were completed in 1973, also holding the title of the tallest building then; they were New York City’s most iconic structures, a pride of the New Yorkers.
However, in terms of long history, these three iconic buildings cannot compare to Madison Square Garden.
Madison Square Garden could be traced back to 1879, located at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Broadway on 23rd Street in Manhattan, named after James Madison, the fourth President of America.
This was an oval arena capable of accommodating 10,000 people, hosting sporting events, concerts, and club activities. It was demolished in 1890, a second Garden Arena built, used until 1925, then demolished again, and the third Madison Garden Arena was built until 1968.
Now, the New York Knicks’ home court is the fourth version of Madison Square Garden, with a change in address, but it retains the name "Madison Square Garden," carrying on its long history, and it is the only arena that can be referred to simply as "The Garden."
Like most sports venues, Madison Square Garden is multifunctional, hosting sports competitions like basketball, ice hockey, boxing, and various large concerts.
Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and Michael Jackson, among the most famous pop singers, held concerts here. In 1939, German Americans even held a Nazi rally here.
However, Madison Square Garden holds the loudest reputation as the "Basketball Mecca," holding an unparalleled esteemed position among America’s countless basketball arenas.
Long before the NBA was founded, America already had a variety of miscellaneous basketball leagues, including both college and professional leagues.
In the era without televised broadcasts or commercial endorsements, the only way for these leagues to operate was to sell tickets, attracting spectators to arenas to watch games.
Back then, Madison Square Garden had the best ticket sales nationwide, possessing the most hardcore sports fans. Countless famous matches took place there.
For some leagues, especially those lacking corporate sponsors like college leagues, the best way to survive and boost their reputation was to have a match at Madison Square Garden.
As long as you played a brilliant and spectacular match at Madison Square Garden, New York’s audience and media would promote you, enhancing the fame of the league, teams, and players, thus establishing your place in American basketball.
That’s why Madison Square Garden is called the "Basketball Mecca," because, in the media environment of the time, Madison was the best stage for fame, being the most desired place for American basketball players to compete.
A league or association that hadn’t held matches at Madison Square Garden couldn’t be considered renowned.
Like the NIT, established in 1938, which dominated over the NCAA before the 1950s because NIT’s semifinals and finals always took place at Madison Square Garden, making it the most renowned.
Meanwhile, NCAA only held a final once in 1943 at Madison, struggling against NIT among various college basketball association organizations.
It wasn’t until 1951, after the New York State University basketball scandal struck a heavy blow to the reputation of college basketball in the New York area, combined with other driving factors, did NCAA gradually surpass NIT, eventually growing to become the most influential college basketball league across America.
Later, as television media emerged and spread, both NCAA and NBA expanded their reach across America and globally, as basketball flourished everywhere, no longer relying on word-of-mouth, and the title "Basketball Mecca" gradually became a legend among fans.
Many only know Madison Square Garden by its fame but don’t understand the allure of this arena, with its circular ceiling, unique shape, but outdated facilities and ordinary ambiance.
In reality, there’s no magic; Gan Guoyang held no illusions about the place, unlike Jordan, who had to score high every time he played at Madison Square Garden to prove himself.