The great, not-so-great and sometimes silly Izod Center (nee Brendan Byrne Arena, aka Continental Airlines Arena and The Swamp) moments, from 1 to 16W
1. Devils’ First Stanley Cup
The one-time “Mickey Mouse” Devils came full circle and swept the Red Wings to capture the Cup with a 5-2 victory in Game 4 on June 24, 1995.
2. Nets Swept by Lakers
Jason Kidd led the Nets to the 2002 Finals after winning 26 games the previous season. But the Nets got swept by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, who led a 113-107 Game 4 win in The Swamp.
3. Messier’s Guarantee
Move over Joe Namath. With the Devils up 3 games to 2 in the conference finals, Mark Messier guaranteed a Game 6 Rangers victory. “We’ll Win Tonight” blared The Post’s famous back page. The Rangers won 4-2 with Messier scoring a natural hat trick in the third period on May 25, 1994.
4. Nets beat Pacers in double OT
“It’ll be on Classic Sports tomorrow,” Aaron Williams said moments after the Nets eliminated Reggie Miller’s Pacers, 120-109, in the first-round-deciding Game 5, May 2, 2002.
5. Have another doughnut
After a Game 3 conference finals loss to the Bruins on May 6, 1988, Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld confronted referee Don Koharski as he left the ice. Koharski fell and blamed Schoenfeld. “You fell, you fat pig. Have another doughnut,” Schoenfeld shouted as part of a bizarre incident that led to officials boycotting Game 4.
6. Devils’ Third Stanley Cup
The Devils claimed the Cup on home ice for the second time (third overall). They won all four games of the 2003 Finals vs. Anaheim at Continental, including a 3-0, Game 7 shutout by Martin Brodeur. More than 20,000 went to the Devils’ parking-lot parade.
7. Nets Sweep Detroit in Eastern Finals
Jason Kidd overcame a fourth quarter sprained ankle and helped the Nets run their 2003 playoff winning streak to 10 games as they followed a sweep of Boston. The magic ended against the Spurs in the Finals.
8. Drazen Petrovic Night
After their star guard died in a car accident on the German Autobahn June 7, 1993, the Nets retired his No. 3 in an emotional ceremony before the first game the following season, Nov. 11, 1993.
9. Kentucky Beats Syracuse for NCAA Title
Tony Delk scored 24 points, but it was the defense of coach Rick Pitino’s Wildcats that stymied the Orangemen, 76-67, on April 1, 1996.
10. Tate George’s Shot Lifts UConn Over Clemson
Maybe this was the real “Miracle of the Meadowlands.” With one second on the clock, Tate George took a court-long inbounds pass, turned, shot and scored to give UConn a 71-70 win over Clemson in the NCAA East Regional semifinals on March 23, 1990.
11. Seton Hall goes to 13-0
On the way to the NCAA Championship game, the Pirates stamped their validity by beating Georgetown, 94-86, on Jan. 3, 1989, before the largest Meadowlands college crowd to that point.
12. Jason Kidd’s Bowling-Ball Pass
If one moment typified Kidd with the Nets, it came Feb. 22, 2002, when he rolled a pass, hooking it around and between defenders, to Lucious Harris to complete a fastbreak against the Knicks. It was one more moment in the rivalry that usually saw more Knicks fans than Nets backers at the Meadowlands.
13. Christian Laettner’s Other Shot
Everyone remembers the shot Laettner hit to stun Kentucky, but two years earlier, on March 24, 1990, Laettner hit a double-clutch 14-footer at the buzzer to give Duke a 79-78 victory over UConn and the Eastern Regional championship. Duke won it all that year.
14. Club 334
They came, they stayed, they saw — despite a 20-inch blizzard. On Dec. 22, 1987, the Devils beat Calgary, 7-5, before just 334 fans, the smallest crowd ever for an NHL game. Everyone was invited to a future game.
15. It’s How You Say It
Stephon Marbury and Chris Morris beat the current Nets’ marketing whizzes when it came to message space. During the 1994-95 season, Chris Morris wrote “Trade Me” on one sneaker, “Please” on the other. Marbury warmed up Nov. 30, 1999, with “All Alone 33” on his ankle tape.
16. Mickey Mouse Response Game
After calling the Devils a “Mickey Mouse organization,” Wayne Gretzky retracted the statement after the Devils scared the Oilers, 5-4, on Jan. 15, 1984.
W. Whatever
In honor of all the other teams that called the Meadowlands home, including the Rockets and Cosmos of the Major Indoor Soccer League; the Rockin’ Rollers of Roller Hockey International, the Red Dogs and Gladiators of the Arena Football League; and the Saints and Storm of the National Lacrosse League.