Madison Square Garden last summer, during a quieter, less exciting time.

If you know what that title refers to, good for you.

30 years ago it was all over the place this time of year.

I can’t remember if it got played on Z100 or PLJ - maybe both.

I was a huge Knicks fan 30 years ago.

I was a huge everything fan. Knicks, Rangers, Jets, and Mets. Lived and died with all of them.

Who knows - if I had continued to live in New York all these years maybe I still would be die-hard.

But being away and not being able to watch every game certainly impacted my fandom. And labor strife turned me off. I could never turn my back on baseball - I love it too much - but I definitely took some of my MLB strike aggression out on the NBA when it had its lockout in 1999.

My NBA fandom was never the same.

But whenever the Knicks make the playoffs (an insanely rare occurrence over the past couple of decades), I’ll tune in.

There are few sporting events more exciting to watch than a Knicks playoff game at Madison Square Garden, seeing the celebrities all turn out and the old Knicks cheering courtside.

That’s how it will be tonight for a big Game 6 in their second round series against the Celtics.

I don’t know that this time I am investing in the Knicks right now will be worth it. A loss tonight dooms them to a road Game 7 where I don’t love their chances.

I don’t know how disappointed I’ll be if they lose - I am certainly nowhere near where I was 30 years ago when it was heartbreak after heartbreak.

1993 with Charles Smith missing layup after layup. 1994 with John Starks missing shot after shot. 1995 with Patrick Ewing missing a huge layup.

Those were killers.

This one would be a minor disappointment on that scale.

I wouldn’t call myself a front-runner here. I think of a front-runner as someone who changes allegiances based on what teams are winning.

I’m definitely more of a fair-weather fan.

And lately, that weather has been pretty fair. And I think I paid my dues back in the 1980s and 1990s.

This edition is a fun team to watch - Jalen Brunson by himself would be fun to watch, but they have a fun supporting cast too.

So tonight - and however long after tonight the season lasts - I’ll have two TVs going - the Knicks on one, the Mets on the other. (Mets-Yankees, in tonight’s case.)

And, just like 30 years ago, I’ll be pulling for the Knicks in a key elimination game.

Go New York, Go New York, Go!