“If I want to see clowns at the Garden, I’ll just go to a Knicks game”

New York City’s Madison Square Garden has hosted many different events, such as basketball’s New York Knicks and the Ringling Brothers Circus. American television talk show host David Letterman joked on the Late Show on March 23, 2005:
   
“But the circus will be at Madison Square Garden. And you know, I was thinkin’ about this. If I want to see clowns at the Garden, I’ll go to a Knicks game!”
 
The joke has been told over several poor New York Knicks’ seasons.
 
   
Wikipedia: Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often called “MSG” or simply “The Garden”, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Located in Midtown Manhattan between 7th and 8th Avenues from 31st to 33rd Streets, it is situated atop Pennsylvania Station. It is the fourth venue to bear the name “Madison Square Garden”, the first two (1879 and 1890) of which were located on Madison Square, on East 26th Street and Madison Avenue, with the third Madison Square Garden further uptown at Eighth Avenue and 50th Street. The Garden is used for professional basketball and ice hockey, as well as boxing, concerts, ice shows, circuses, professional wrestling and other forms of sports and entertainment. It is close to other midtown Manhattan landmarks, including the Empire State Building, Koreatown, and Macy’s at Herald Square. It is home to the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and residency to singer-songwriter Billy Joel.
   
Google Groups: alt.fan.letterman
Wed. 3/23 Big Show Synopsis
Brady
3/24/05
(...)
“But the circus will be at Madison Square Garden. And you know, I was thinkin’ about this. If I want to see clowns at the Garden, I’ll go to a Knicks game!”
 
Los Angeles (CA) Times
The Inside Track | MORNING BRIEFING
Those Who Can’t Do Can Talk About It
March 29, 2005 | Larry Stewart | Times Staff Writer
(...)
And finally: The New York Knicks, who play the Lakers tonight at Staples Center, have provided David Letterman with plenty of fodder. With the circus making its annual New York stop, Letterman said, “You know, I was thinking, if I want to see clowns at the Garden, I will just go to a Knick game.”
 
Google Groups: alt.sports.basketball.pro.ny-knicks
KNICKS ROLL WITH PUNCH LINES
Syfo-Dyas
1/25/08
BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
David Letterman’s opening monologue once included a line about the circus being at Madison Square Garden.
 
“If I want to see clowns at the Garden,” he added, “I’ll go to a Knicks game.”
 
Twitter
jch
‏@80HD_Theatre
@WatchNeilTweet If you wanted to see clowns you should have gone to the Knicks game today.
3:48 PM - 10 Jan 2015
   
The National (Abu Dhabi)
New York Knicks worth plenty of money but there is little value on the court
Gregg Patton
February 18, 2017 Updated: February 18, 2017 12:04 AM
If American comedian David Letterman still had his television talk show, he could use an old joke that may be more apt today than it was more than 10 years ago.
 
“The circus is at Madison Square Garden,” said Letterman. “If I want to see clowns at the Garden, I’ll go to a Knicks game.”