Rant #1,388: The Final Match?

Later this year, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum here on Long Island will be no more.

Or, at least it will take a break while it gets rebuilt.

I have heard that demolition will begin in August, and then this arena, which opened in the early 1970s and one which I frequented during its entire history, will be no more, only to rise from its ashes as a new, refurbished venue in 2017 or so.

Players complained that their accommodations were inadequate; fans complained that he walkways and other amenities were behind the times.

For me, if the place turned into a dump, it was my dump, and I liked it just the way it was.

I particularly liked that the arena--which was literally a political football for years, hence the Islanders' move to Brooklyn beginning next season--was as close to my house as could be, just about 20 minutes away.

So if I had to bid adieu to the arena, I did it with my son this past Sunday when the WWE came to town again with a house show, a performance that really had little to do with the TV and pay per view comings and goings of the WWE, but was still somewhat fun.

And if you live in this neck of the woods, you know that Sunday was somewhat horrid, being that we received another snowstorm that dumped about six more inches of snow onto what we already had. The forecasters had predicted maybe two inches, and we got six.

Anyway, the entire day I was checking out the Nassau Coliseum's site, trying to find out if the event was postponed or canceled. I even called the Coliseum, but to no avail.

"The show must go on," as they say, and since this is our modern day circus, the show did go on, but few people got to see it.

What with the weather, the fact that the show was being held when the next day was school, and another fact, that house shows simply do not draw the masses, the place was pretty empty on Sunday evening.

It took us about 45 minutes to get there, normally a 20 minute ride, but my nephew came in from Suffolk County, and it took him and his wife probably two hours to get there.

Don't go by the photo I posted, that was early on when we just got in, but the arena had maybe 5,000 people in attendance that night, when it can hold probably nearly 20,000 for wrestling.

The card wasn't that great, the performances were mediocre at best, but many of the WWE superstars were there, including John Cena, Big Show, Roman Reigns, Jack Swagger and the like.

It was a fun show, nothing very memorable, but we were hoping to hear that he WWE would be coming back to the arena again for maybe one last show.

We were told by the ring announcer, "See you again soon," and that was about it.

That doesn't mean they won't come back in the next couple of months, but it gave no reassurances that they would come back there.

So, for all intents and purposes, at least right now, that event was probably the final event at the Nassau Coliseum that I will see live before the venue is torn down and rebuilt into something else.

I remember being led into the arena for the first time as part of a program they had to have all the high schools come and see the new arena back in 1972 or so.

I subsequently saw dozens of Nets games there, a few Islanders contests, but also professional lacrosse and World Team Tennis, as well as arena football.

I saw my daughter graduate high school there, and I saw a concert or two there too.

And yes, I saw numerous wrestling shows there, both as a kid myself and with my son.

But by August, it will be gone, and this event might be my swan song at the arena.

If it is, I will more remember the horrible driving conditions that existed on Sunday than I will remember the card or who won or lost, but I will still remember the last time I went to the original Nassau Coliseum as a spectator.

It didn't ever have the allure of Madison Square Garden, but when it opened more than 40 years ago, it demonstrated that Long Island had arrived as a major destination to live and work and play.

Long Island still is that, but it will be missing a major piece of the puzzle when the Nassau Coliseum closes its doors.

Sure, there will be a replacement, but to me, it just won't be the same.