The place sounded more like a hospital ward than an arena, and let's be real: You lose your mojo when you're playing in a hospital ward.

``The old GAHHHDEN was noisy,'' went the chorus. ``Everyone was up on their feet cheering. The place rocked. It was so loud you thought your eardrums were going to explode. It was definitely an advantage for the Bruins and Celtics.''

And so on.

There's just one problem with this line of thought. It was wrong. Put another way, the problem wasn't the building, it was the tenants. It so happened that the Bruins and Celtics were in the midst of slow, steady declines just as they were moving those precious nine inches from Old Garden to New. The Celtics' Big Three was long gone, of course, and the tough, feisty Bruins of the '80s and '90s were not far behind.

The point was this: Put some good teams and good games into the Garden, and, oh, the noise you'll hear. This lesson was brought home on January 18, 1997, when the UMass men's Basketball team emerged with a stunning 90-78 victory over 19th-ranked Boston College.

Anyone who was there will tell you: The place DID rock. And it served to remind one and all that, oh, it's not the building after all.

Rock and roll

Now, of course, we all know. The Celtics are defending NBA champions and this season have jumped out to one of fastest starts in league history. They have an 18-game win streak and a 16-1 mark at home that includes 11 straight.

The Bruins, after years of (at best) mediocrity, have returned to elite status in the National Hockey League. Talk about a home-ice advantage: The Bruins have won 13 straight home games after dropping their first two.

Combined, the teams have lost just three times in 32 games at the Garden, and one of those was a Bruins shootout loss in which they still garnered a point.

And surprise, surprise: When either the Celtics or Bruins are at home, there are moments when the noise is so loud you can barely talk to the guy standing next to you.

``There has definitely been a change,'' said Celtics superfan Mike Rotondi, owner of prized floor seats at the Garden and a season-ticket holder since Larry Bird's rookie season.

``The old Garden was much smaller and it could get really noisy,'' he said. ``The new Garden is a lot bigger, but these days it's just as loud. It's been incredible the last couple of years.''

Celtics guard Ray Allen, now in his 13th NBA season, has seen the good and the bad when it comes to Garden crowds. During his two seasons with the Celtics he has experienced nothing but bedlam. During earlier visits while playing for the Seattle Sonics and Milwaukee Bucks ... not so.

``It wasn't very loud,'' he said. ``The fans were always here, but it was different from other arenas. Everything was just mellow in here. The electricity wasn't on that 10th level like it is now. When they start the game now, you look at the Jumbotron, there's so much excitement, so much to catch your eye. There wasn't a lot of that here before.''

But while Allen concedes that better Celtics teams have led to noisier Celtics crowds, he also points out to a change in the National Basketball Association in general.

``If you go back in the NBA 15 or 20 years ago, there were no game operations,'' he said. ``Now you've got game operations. Everybody has mascots, the high fliers during timeouts. There's so much to keep people involved and entertained, watching not only Basketball but the spectacle around Basketball.

``For most NBA teams, you have to stay with that growth curve,'' he said. ``You want to keep your fans excited and you want to keep them involved ... you want them to walk out saying they had a great time.''

It is certainly true that in-game entertainment has changed over the years for both the Bruins and Celtics. Time was when the only entertainment being offered beyond the games themselves was the late, great organist John Kiley banging out show tunes during stoppages in play. Kiley, who also performed during Red Sox games at Fenway Park, is the answer to one of the greatest trivia questions in Boston sports history: Who is the only man to play for the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins?

Now? Look down to the parquet during a timeout and you're likely to see Celtics mascot Lucky, aka Damon Blust, put on a performance that is just as athletic and entertaining as the game being played.

Yet all the cheerleaders, mascots and funky contests in the world aren't going to fire up the masses if the team isn't playing exciting Basketball. And that was a problem for the Celtics and Bruins - especially during the lean years when neither team was even qualifying for the playoffs.

Cold, hard facts

Between the first and second periods of the Bruins' Garden matinee against the Carolina Hurricanes this past Saturday, 43-year-old John Consolo of Rutland was strutting around in his brand-new Milan Lucic sweater, which he is proud to say he purchased at bostonbruins.com for $ 180.

A lot of money for a hockey sweater, don't you think?

``I go back to the days of (Bobby) Orr and (Phil) Esposito, back when I was a kid,'' he said by way of an explanation. ``I grew up with this team.''

For a while, though, Consolo had to wonder if he'd grow old with this team.

``I was going to the games, but I was standing there doing a lot of yelling,'' he said. ``I didn't like the way they were playing. Now I'm not yelling any more. I'm cheering. I like the way they play.

``They're a team now. They make plays instead of dump and run. I used to hate that.''

When Bruins vice president Charlie Jacobs was apprised of Consolo's yelling vs. cheering comment, he said, ``I'd tell him, `I'm right there with you.' I couldn't be more proud of the team at this point.

``But I imagine there was a level of frustration at some point at the way the team was playing,'' he said. ``And now they're cheering because they're happy with the way the team is performing. You have to give credit to our fan base and how they've stepped up during this run.''

Consolo has noticed a distinct change in Bruins fans this season. Not only is the crowd more diverse - ``More women, more kids,'' he said - but it is a gathering of hockey scholars with intimate knowledge of the game.

``It had gotten to the point in recent years where a lot of people who showed up didn't really know the team or the players,'' he said. ``That's one thing that has definitely changed. You listen to people around you, and they know the players. They know the lines.

``That's why this place has gotten so noisy,'' he said. ``Because the team is good now, people have gotten to know the players. They're supporting players they know and like.''

Tom Walles, a 29-year-old tech support manager from Revere, did NOT pay $180 for a hockey sweater on bostonbruins.com. But that doesn't mean he's not as devoted a fan as Consolo, only a better shopper. For Walles was lucky enough to find a collectibles store that was going out of business, and he came away with a Phil Kessel sweater for the bargain-basement price of $80.

Walles, like Consolo, is a lifelong Bruins fan.

Walles, like Consolo, was beginning to wonder if he'd continue to follow a team that wasn't going anywhere. In fact, Consolo, once a season-ticket holder, stopped sending after the NHL's labor crisis wiped out the 2004-05 season.

``I lost interest in the Bruins,'' he said. ``I was still watching the games on TV, but I wasn't going to the games as much. It just wasn't all that exciting to be there.''

Consolo, now back on board with the Bruins - ``Their great play is what brought me back here,'' he said - has been buying in on a friend's season-ticket package this season.

And if they keep winning, he said, he plans to re-up with season tickets of his own.

``You WANT to be here now,'' he said. ``This is an exciting place to be when the Bruins are playing.''

The new Garden ... exciting.

Who knew?

BOX: IN WITH THE NEW:

The Celtics and Bruins have proven tough to beat at the TD Banknorth Garden this season, combining for a 29-3 record over the early part of the season. They are both on track for their best-ever records in the building they moved into in 1995. It wasn't always that way. In comparison to the Old Garden, the marks have not been as good for the teams at the new building. Here's a little peek:

NEW GARDEN:

This season:

Celtics 16-1

Bruins 13-1-0-1

CURRENT HOME WIN STREAK:

Celtics: 11

Bruins: 13

LAST LOSS:

Celtics: Nov. 14, 94-85 to Denver

Bruins: Oct. 23, 4-2 to Toronto

WORST SEASON:

Celtics: 11-30 (1996-97)

Bruins: 12-17-11-1 (1999-2000)

Overall record:

Celtics: 275-242

*Bruins: 229-173-59-31

OLD GARDEN:

BEST SEASON:

Celtics: 40-1 (1985-86)

Bruins 33-4-2 (1970-71 and '73-74)

LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK:

Celtics: 31: Dec. 10, 1985-April 13, 1986 (End of season)

Bruins: 20: Dec. 3, 1929-March 18, 1930 (NHL record)

OVERALL RECORD:

Celtics: 1,291-424

Bruins: 1,360-652-317

* Note: NHL added overtime after the 1998-99 season.

- COMPILED BY DAN DUGGAN