With all the talk about the end of Nassau Coliseum, it sort of slipped by quietly in the news that the Izod Center is closing. Outside of Devils fans, it seems like fans of the Izod Center were more likely to be those who enjoyed the irony in its old name, the Brendan Byrne Arena. Brendan Byrne was the governor of New Jersey, and decided to name the arena after himself. In the same way, it was just a coincidence when the Democratic former governor's name came down while a Republican was in office.
For me though, it was both the first place I saw a hockey game live (Devils vs.