Mark Madden: Madison Square Garden has undeniable buzz, but resident teams almost never win

NEW YORK — Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier once said you can feel the electricity of New York’s Madison Square Garden as soon as you walk into the building.

Not sure if Messier said that after captaining the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup in 1994 or after not making the playoffs in his last four seasons with the team.

Messier is renowned as hockey’s greatest captain. Perhaps, in his declining years, he forgot how to lead.

Such is the contradiction of Madison Square Garden, the world’s most famous arena since Maximus shut down the Roman Colosseum by killing the emperor. (Well-booked finish but bad for business.)

MSG has undeniable buzz. It’s my favorite place to watch a game besides Liverpool’s Anfield. Said buzz even carries over to concerts. You can feel the place crackle.

It’s smack-dab in the middle of America’s biggest city. Its resident teams have all the resources and marketability that go with that.

But they almost never win.

The NHL’s Rangers have won four Stanley Cups in 97 years, none since 1994. That’s their only championship since World War II. The Knicks have two NBA titles in 77 years, none since 1973.

Each team has retired nine numbers. You’d think that many great players would have won more championships.

When a team has a lot more retired numbers than it does rings, that’s fictionalizing tradition.

Billy Joel, Harry Styles and Phish have banners hanging at MSG to commemorate attendance milestones.

Each is more deserving than, say, the Rangers’ Adam Graves, a decided mediocrity best remembered for breaking Mario Lemieux’s hand with a slash during the 1992 playoffs. Whoever decided to retire Graves’ No. 9 must have been as high as Phish.

The failings of its tenants aside, MSG is awesome.

I’m in the middle of a four-night run at the Garden: Rangers on Wednesday, Knicks on Thursday, Kiss on Friday and Saturday. These are Kiss’ last two shows ever until their next last two shows ever. I have sidebar stops at St. James Theater for Monty Python’s “Spamalot” and two Liverpool FC games on TV at legendary LFC pub Carragher’s.

Then I return home to talk endlessly about Kenny bleeping Pickett.

A walk around MSG’s concourse yields lots of displays chronicling the arena’s rich history. An exhibit commemorating the first WrestleMania brought a tear. It featured a photo of the late Roddy Piper and his boots from that event. Great man. Gone too soon.

Willis Reed limping, Sonja Henie skating, Stephane Matteau scoring, John Lennon’s final concert appearance, Wayne Gretzky’s retirement, Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy, Led Zeppelin filming and recording “The Song Remains the Same”… it all happened at MSG.

Lemieux scored five goals against the Rangers at MSG in 1993 and got the most grudging standing ovation ever. It started reluctantly but hit a chaotic crescendo.

That’s the beauty of the Garden: The people. It brings New York City inside. Especially the 400 level, the “blue seats.” That’s the beating heart of New York’s sports scene.

Celebrities get shown on the scoreboard at MSG. Chris Rock was at Wednesday’s hockey game. But the real stars are the regular New Yorkers. Unbridled passion.

Hockey Hall of Famer Denis Potvin hasn’t played for the New York Islanders since 1988. But Rangers fans still chant “Potvin sucks.”

One of my biggest sports regrets is never attending the old Big East basketball tournament at MSG. I also regret that the old Big East no longer exists. That was real basketball. Pitt basketball. Tough basketball. New York basketball.

Here’s my MSG takeaways from this trip so far:

The Rangers are legit at 16-4-1. Great depth. Energy throughout the lineup. Pittsburgh native Vince Trocheck is better on the power play than anybody the Penguins have. He executes the bumper spot perfectly.

I’m no basketball expert, but Jalen Brunson has fans at the Garden chanting “M-V-P! M-V-P!” But the Knicks barely scraped by 2-17 Detroit on Thursday.

NY Pizza Suprema, located right next to MSG, remains undefeated in the by-the-slice division.

You really can feel the electricity at Madison Square Garden.

But there’s only one less championship banner hanging at PPG Paints Arena, and that’s spotting the Garden an extra team and a lot more years.