With the playoffs in the NBA and NHL getting set to start, Jerry and Gio were in a playoff mood during Friday's show, basking in the rare opportunity to see all five local teams competing in postseason play.
Before looking ahead, the two looked back on previous playoff experiences, which raised the simple question: what was the loudest sporting playoff environment you ever experienced?
Jerry went first.
"The three loudest buildings I've ever been in: Celtics and Nets in 2002, Conference Final, that would be third," Jerry said, referencing the series when Jason Kidd and company beat Boston in six games to advance to the NBA Finals against the Lakers. "Second would be Devils/Rangers at The Rock in 2012 [the Devils won that Eastern Conference Final in six games], and the first one, it sounds ridiculous, but it was a Patrick Division playoff game, Rangers and Capitals. I remember my head was gonna explode. The Garden was just on fire, it was so loud."
Jerry was likely referencing the 1991 Patrick Division Semifinal series between New York and Washington, which the Rangers lost in six games. Regardless of which series it was, it was playoff hockey at The Garden, so it was no doubt an electric atmosphere.
As for Gio, his choices included multiple sports in multiple cities, some not even involving New York teams.
"Number one, LJ 4-point play. Loudest I've ever heard," Gio said, referencing Larry Johnson's unforgettable shot in the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals. "Number two, game six of the 2004 ALCS, the start of that game with [Curt] Schilling and the bloody sock. The Yankee fan was absolutely insane at that game. I'd say Benny Agbayani's home run in the 12th or 13th inning against the Giants in 2000 [game three of the NLDS], that was a Shea Stadium one. The Pirates Wild Card Game against the Reds when they made the playoffs for the first time in 20 years, and Johnny Cueto was on the mound and the fans were chanting 'Cueto' and Russell Martin hit the home run, that was unbelievably round."
But his first choice, like Jerry, was also on the ice, at least in terms of the overall atmosphere. But including his personal experience with it, LJ wins it.
"Flyers and Penguins, first round of the playoffs," Gio said. "I had never feared for my life inside a building, but I was thinking if they somehow found out we were from Pittsburgh, we might be roasted in the parking lot on a spit like a pig. That was the loudest. But I wasn't enjoying that at all. the LJ 4-point play, that was the greatest thing I ever experienced."
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