My father, before he passed, was from Brooklyn. The way he talked about the City, it was like he was talking about an amalgamation of the City from what it was in the 20s, the 50s, the early 70s, etc. And it was funny because he moved away after Vietnam to Long Island with his family and then in the mid-70s to LA where he met my Mom. But anyway, the reverence, the mysticism, the "everything is better", "everyone moves faster", "people aren't stupid", all that stuff was present in him until the day he died.
And again, he had been gone for a long time. Basically 45 years by the time he passed. It never faded. I always told him that the City had changed, that it still maintained those elements that he remembered, but the sheer influx of "outsiders" and some other sociopolitical things had changed it. He would have none of it. He'd give me the old, "Eh, yeah, you may be right," but said in a way implying I was full of shit. I was okay with that, though, because what he remembered the City as being was important to him, and I wanted him to have that.
It definitely has changed, though. Just in my lifetime.
I think the main reason MSG sounds kinda dead is just the acoustics. Even after renovations it's still not a hockey arena. It's a multipurpose entertainment facility. If they had a dedicated arena (forget the logistics of it) I think it would be every bit as lively as the other venues.
