"Best arena in the league," recalls "Mr. Islander" Bob Nystrom. "Fans are close and it's loud - you just can't ask for anything more."
VIDEO: 'The best arena in the league.' Bob Nystrom reflects on Nassau Coliseum
"The hair on the back of my neck was standing up," Hall of Famer Clark Gillies says of Game 6 from that first Stanley Cup run.
VIDEO: 'A warm place in all of our hearts.' Clark Gillies remembers the Coliseum
"The UBS Arena at Belmont is absolutely magnificent," says Gillies. "It's going to be an event taking your family to that place."
THE BARN ROCKS AGAIN IN THE 2000s
Nassau Coliseum was the place to be in the 1980s, but some lean years followed that weren't as prosperous - but things would begin to change at the turn of the millennium.
"It wasn't just cold - it was desolate and it was depressing in every sense of the word," longtime play-by-play announcer Howie Rose says of those dark years in the late '90s.
"When there's no fans, not many fans anyway, and you look up and you look at all those banners up there - it's hard to believe that could happen," says former Islanders captain Michael Peca.
VIDEO: History & tradition - Michael Peca reflects on the Coliseum
But the Barn began to rock again in the 2000s as a new iteration of Islanders returned to the playoffs.
"To go from an arena in the late '90s, which wasn't the busiest venue, to rocking it the way we did in the early 2000s - you know, you can feel it," recalls former Islanders grinder Steve Webb.
In 2002, the entire league could feel the roaring series between the Islanders and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"I'm surprised [the Nassau Coliseum] withstood all the vibrations from the noise and the fans," says Peca.
"You really felt like you might be wearing the ceiling in the next few minutes, because you just felt like it was going to collapse," jokes Rose.
Game 3 of that Toronto series saw Webb take on the Maple Leafs - all by himself.
"Things were pretty surreal that day," remembers Webb. "Being a fourth-liner and having the impact that you have, and the fans appreciated it."
VIDEO: Steve Webb reflects on the connection with fans at the Coliseum
"Webby played the game like there was no puck on the ice," says Peca. "I think the opponents knew that and they paid the price regardless."
As the Islanders get set for Belmont, they hope to bring some of that Coliseum charm and grit to the new arena.
VIDEO: Former coach Jack Capuano recalls Coliseum atmosphere
Paul Cartier began his run as the Islanders organist in 1979, just as the Islanders' Stanley Cup run was starting. His music has been part of the Coliseum ambiance ever since.
"This is home, and I'm sure any old time Islander fan will tell you the same thing," he says.
Cartier's keystrokes have helped bring life to the Barn. He says the fans aren't just an audience - they're family. And the Coliseum, warts and all, is his Carnegie Hall.
"Some people say it's a dump, but what do they say? It's our dump," he says.
Cartier says nobody can take away the Nassau Coliseum memories from the Islanders faithful.
"If you're here and a true hockey fan, and that's all you're worried about, there's no better building to watch a professional hockey game," he says.
Nassau Coliseum is beloved by fans for its sightlines. And those sightlines have offered Islanders broadcasters a unique view and a different perspective for the on-ice action.
As the longest tenured play-by-play man in team history, Howie Rose's calls are etched into the history of the Islanders and the Coliseum.
"The calls, frankly, are better for the excitement in the crowd," Rose says.
VIDEO: Howie Rose looks back at the Islanders' time at the Nassau Coliseum
He called the Coliseum his home away from home, for better or worse. "There can be some revisionist history about the 'charm' of the Coliseum - there was never anything charming about it other than over the years when it became kind of your cute old grandfather."
Rose says his favorite Coliseum call was actually not the famed Shawn Bates playoff penalty shot - it was the night the Islanders clinched a playoff spot in 2002.
"It was very emotional for me," says Rose. "That's what I had hoped for when I signed on."
Brendan Burke took over for Rose in 2016, bringing a new sound to Islanders games as the Coliseum underwent physical changes.
Burke didn't have much Coliseum experience when he took on the job.
"Before I got the job, the only experience I had at Nassau Coliseum was actually a Barenaked Ladies concert in 1999," says Burke.
VIDEO: Islanders announcer Brendan Burke shares thoughts on the Coliseum
But now he sees the unique setting the Coliseum provides for a broadcaster.
"From my vantagepoint, the most unique thing is my vantagepoint," says Burke. "It's a great spot to call a game from. You don't normally get this close to the action. I think that's the thing that will stick with you as being the one thing that you don't really want to let go of, is this small intimate environment because you're not going to ever see it again."
In a season full of goodbyes at the Coliseum, the Islander's last regular-season game was a big one. They beat the Devils 5-1 in what was the Isles' 1,737th game at the Old Barn.
"When the playoffs start, we don't know when it's going to end. So, this is really the finale," said Jackie Senn, a fan since the team's glory years, about why she needed to be at the game.
Some fans compare the Coliseum to a second home. And for those who don't have tickets for the playoffs, this game was a chance to say goodbye.
"It's like the end of an era, it's moving on," one fan shared.
Northport's Vicky Dee has some grand hopes though for a little more action at the Coliseum. And she's not alone.
"I would love to close out this building with a Stanley Cup," an emotional Dee said.
Nassau Coliseum has been home ice for the Islanders, but it has just been home for many longtime season ticket holders.
A few of those Islanders faithful shared what they'll miss about the Coliseum once the Islanders move to Belmont. For many, coming to see the Islanders provided an escape from reality.
"I grew up in this building," says Patrick "Sign Guy" Dowd. "My daughters grew up here, my wife...probably most of Long Island grew up here."
Karen Sauvigne's family has had Islanders tickets since the 1970s.
"We've had tickets since '73," she says. "I grew up in this building. My children have now grown up in this building."
Even with the Coliseum's shortcomings as far as amenities or the years without upgrades, it's been a place Islanders fans felt was their own.
"This was our home. I don't care if people didnt like it. We liked it," says Gean Giambalvo, season ticket holder since 1987. "Everyone took pride this was their building. This was their dump. It's everything. It's the smell of this place. The crappy paint job. I tried to convince my fiance to have my wedding here. I was vetoed, but this place has a special place in my heart."
This final goodbye is bittersweet for many, looking back on decades of personal memories.
"Everything about this building has a history, and the history that I've had with it in my family has been part of our life," says Dowd. "And now we're about to say a final goodbye."
"It's like moving out of your first house, you'll always remember it," says Giambalvo. "It's sad, but you know what - all things do come to an end. You have the memories that we'll never forget, but we'll create new ones."
"It's going to be tough to say goodbye because I know we're not coming back," says Sauvigne.
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