\u201cYou\u2019re definitely working off the Italian food from last night,\u201d said Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time, nobody warned me,\u201d added veteran Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson, who played on the Lakers, Cavaliers and Jazz before coming to New York. \u201cI remember I was just like, \u2018What the hell is this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Yellow bollards line one wall, and a yellow barrier guards the other. It opens up at the event level. The Zambonis are kept next to the ramp, and sometimes, after hockey games, leftover ice scrapings sit at the summit.<\/p>\n
From Michael Jordan to Wayne Gretzky, all the greats who have visited Madison Square Garden have walked the same concrete path as athletes today. One tall tale says legendary defenseman Bobby Orr hurt his knee coming down the ramp after his final game as a Bruin, which took place in November 1975 at Madison Square Garden. Reached through an intermediary, Orr said the legend isn\u2019t true but joked that it shouldn\u2019t get in the way of a good story.<\/p>\n
There are plenty of other good (and true) stories. Once, a man sued film producer Darryl F. Zanuck, who co-founded 20th Century Fox, because of the \u201coverstrain\u201d he said he suffered while pushing Zanuck \u2014 whose leg was in a cast \u2014 in a wheelchair up the ramp, according to multiple newspaper reports in 1970.<\/p>\n
Then there are the elephants. Performing animals with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus also had to walk up the ramp to get to floor level. A 1971 Star-Ledger article documented 19 elephants\u2019 stroll through Manhattan and up the ramp, and it mentioned that 29 horses, 11 ponies, two llamas, two camels and two jackasses were also in attendance. The circus left plenty of, well, souvenirs behind. In 1990, a syndicated Gannett newspaper article said the circus was holding an elephant dung giveaway at the base of the ramp.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mega manure is being offered as a biodegradable benefit to gardens in the New York metropolitan area,\u201d the piece read.<\/p>\n
The Ringling Bros. shows at the Garden stopped in 2009. Athletes these days are bigger attractions than animals, though the building still plays host to the rodeo, so horses and bulls still go up the ramp. For human first-timers, the entrance can come as a shock. Plenty of NHL and NBA rookies have experienced that this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018When is this going to end?\u2019\u201d said first-year pro Ike Howard, who came to MSG with the Edmonton Oilers earlier this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish our bus could\u2019ve just driven up it!\u201d added San Jose Sharks rookie Michael Misa, the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft.<\/p>\n
These are professional athletes, so the physical strain of walking up the ramp doesn\u2019t have much impact on their play. \u201cIt\u2019s just a funny hill,\u201d Penguins forward Anthony Mantha said. It can, however, get into their heads. Ex-Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley posted a photo of the ramp on his Snapchat during the 2025 playoffs with the caption \u201cThis ramp sucks\u201d. Martinook said he\u2019ll sometimes notice if his legs feel heavy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalking into the game, sometimes you can tell if you have the legs or not,\u201d Stars forward Mikko Rantanen said. \u201cIf you get tired on that hill, you\u2019re screwed.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-904222846-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n College basketball players from the University of Kentucky slog up the ramp at Madison Square Garden for a game in 2017. (Al Bello \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Rangers forward Sam Carrick, who previously played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Anaheim Ducks and Oilers, took a more positive approach. He said the ramp provided a nice opportunity to get his heart rate up and blood flowing before warmups.<\/p>\n
Still, most Rangers and Knicks who had to make the walk with their former teams don\u2019t miss it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a kind of challenging two minutes,\u201d said Rangers defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, who came to New York from the Los Angeles Kings as a free agent over the summer. \u201cLegs get burning. I needed to catch my breath after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a hike,\u201d added Knicks wing Josh Hart, who went up the ramp while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers.<\/p>\n
Veteran forward Taylor Raddysh, a newcomer with the Rangers this year, was so used to walking the ramp that he began climbing it ahead of his first preseason game. Around 15 steps in, a Rangers staffer called him back to the base and pointed out the elevator. It\u2019s a little bit of a home-ice advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake the road team walk a little bit,\u201d New York defenseman Carson Soucy said with a smile.<\/p>\n
Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger first walked up the ramp as a college player with Boston University, which had a game at the Garden against Cornell in 2017. That day, he wished the team bus could\u2019ve taken him up, but now he has an appreciation for the ramp. He views it as a final test before games, one he and his teammates have to earn their way through.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you get over that,\u201d he said, \u201cyou\u2019re in the best rink on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 James L. Edwards III contributed to this story.<\/strong><\/p>\n