Buffalo - What a great hockey city!

[Table 5]

Man, maybe because it was Saturday HNIC night, or because the cold falling snow brought real ambiance to the game, but Buffalo sure is a great hockey town.

 

I just got back from my trip there to watch the Flames last night, and I have to say, I was mightily impressed. You guys have some of the most friendly and knowledgable fans in America. Whether it was on the way to the game, on the train, or at the hotel bar...it seemed like there where plenty of Sabres fans to sit and talk with. Apart from a couple of drunken gloating douchebags, everyone was amazingly friendly and just made things so much more fun.

 

HSBC arena is probably the best one I've ever been to for a hockey game...the place was always buzzing and the atmosphere overall was just immaculate. Sure my Flames lost (and going into OT, that was inevitable), but I got my ticket's worth and more. Great venue to watch the game....or that Rod Stewart concert they were mentioning every 5 minutes, haha.

 

I was really surprised by the amount of Flames fan at the game though, I haven't seen that many

anywhere outside of Alberta or B.C. Do you guys always get that many opposition fans from Canada, or was that a bit rare? I would assume you would get a lot of Leafs fan down here, but I didnt think the same was true for Western Conference teams.

 

One thing I question though. Why the hell do you have a sabre tooth tiger, and not a BUFFALO, as a mascot? I mean, Hello Mcfly, you have the perfect animal in your name already! That one really makes no sense to me....it felt like the Predators lent you their mascot for the game.

 

Thanks again for all the tips food and stay wise (I managed to hit up Schwabls for some beef on weck, and it was pretty tasty stuff). The trip was definitely worth it.

 

So here's to meeting in the finals! Thank god there are no shootouts....

[Rayzor32]

Man, maybe because it was Saturday HNIC night, or because the cold falling snow brought real ambiance to the game, but Buffalo sure is a great hockey town.

 

I just got back from my trip there to watch the Flames last night, and I have to say, I was mightily impressed. You guys have some of the most friendly and knowledgable fans in America. Whether it was on the way to the game, on the train, or at the hotel bar...it seemed like there where plenty of Sabres fans to sit and talk with. Apart from a couple of drunken gloating douchebags, everyone was amazingly friendly and just made things so much more fun.

 

HSBC arena is probably the best one I've ever been to for a hockey game...the place was always buzzing and the atmosphere overall was just immaculate. Sure my Flames lost (and going into OT, that was inevitable), but I got my ticket's worth and more. Great venue to watch the game....or that Rod Stewart concert they were mentioning every 5 minutes, haha.

 

I was really surprised by the amount of Flames fan at the game though, I haven't seen that many

anywhere outside of Alberta or B.C. Do you guys always get that many opposition fans from Canada, or was that a bit rare? I would assume you would get a lot of Leafs fan down here, but I didnt think the same was true for Western Conference teams.

 

One thing I question though. Why the hell do you have a sabre tooth tiger, and not a BUFFALO, as a mascot? I mean, Hello Mcfly, you have the perfect animal in your name already! That one really makes no sense to me....it felt like the Predators lent you their mascot for the game.

 

Thanks again for all the tips food and stay wise (I managed to hit up Schwabls for some beef on weck, and it was pretty tasty stuff). The trip was definitely worth it.

 

So here's to meeting in the finals! Thank god there are no shootouts....

 

 

 

You weren't the dude with the multicolored touque and old-school Fleury jersey in Sec. 307, were you?

 

To answer your question - yes -- Canadian fans flock here b/c they can actually get tickets at a reasonable price (unlike in Toronto). When Vancouver was in town a few weeks ago, literally thousands of Canucks fans made the trip from Toronto and beyond, and the place is almost half full of Leafs fans when we play Toronto...

 

Thanks for the kind words -- they've been few and far between lately from Carolina, Atlanta and Columbus fans who seem intimidated by Buffalo fans

[topshelfcookies]

Man, maybe because it was Saturday HNIC night, or because the cold falling snow brought real ambiance to the game, but Buffalo sure is a great hockey town.

 

I just got back from my trip there to watch the Flames last night, and I have to say, I was mightily impressed. You guys have some of the most friendly and knowledgable fans in America. Whether it was on the way to the game, on the train, or at the hotel bar...it seemed like there where plenty of Sabres fans to sit and talk with. Apart from a couple of drunken gloating douchebags, everyone was amazingly friendly and just made things so much more fun.

HSBC arena is probably the best one I've ever been to for a hockey game...the place was always buzzing and the atmosphere overall was just immaculate. Sure my Flames lost (and going into OT, that was inevitable), but I got my ticket's worth and more. Great venue to watch the game....or that Rod Stewart concert they were mentioning every 5 minutes, haha.

 

I was really surprised by the amount of Flames fan at the game though, I haven't seen that many

anywhere outside of Alberta or B.C. Do you guys always get that many opposition fans from Canada, or was that a bit rare? I would assume you would get a lot of Leafs fan down here, but I didnt think the same was true for Western Conference teams.

 

One thing I question though. Why the hell do you have a sabre tooth tiger, and not a BUFFALO, as a mascot? I mean, Hello Mcfly, you have the perfect animal in your name already! That one really makes no sense to me....it felt like the Predators lent you their mascot for the game.

 

Thanks again for all the tips food and stay wise (I managed to hit up Schwabls for some beef on weck, and it was pretty tasty stuff). The trip was definitely worth it.

 

So here's to meeting in the finals! Thank god there are no shootouts....

Table 5, thanks for the kind words regarding your experience here...Buffalo really is a great hockey city, and I'm glad you saw such a good game. Thanks for recognizing that a few drunken losers don't represent the entire city (a concept that fans in Carolina, Washington, Tampa Bay, Florida and Columbus apparently find it difficult to comprehend...haha).

 

I don't know why the Sabres don't have a Buffalo as a mascot, Sabretooth has been around since at least the late 80's (though they didn't give him a drum up until this season- I think it's a little hokey) and is generally speaking, a pretty solid mascot in my opinion. I know that little kids pretyt much adore him, which is probably the most important thing for a mascot, and his repelling trick at the opening of the game is pretty sweet. If you want a good example of why having a Sabretooth tiger is better than having a Buffalo, look no further than the Buffalo Bills mascot, which is probably the most awkward looking mascot in pro sports. I think only the mascots cities come up with for the Olympics every 4 years are worse.

 

Glad you a had great time in Buffalo!

[Orange Seats]

Thanks for writing, it's nice to hear from someone who knows hockey and can judge a fans enough to see though the "handful of douche-bags." Great to see that you liked the city, it really is a great hockeytown.

 

I think that buffalo mascots in Buffalo are a little tired. The team's name has always been the Sabres and so Sabre-tooth is the animal equivalent. I actually think that Sabretooth is the most recognizable mascot in Buffalo. No one really knows or cares about Billy Buffalo, and while people recognize the Bison's Bison (whatever his name is) he's not as high profile as Sabretooth.

 

Please come back for more games, although who knows when we'll play the Flames here again. Maybe post here next time and some folks can get together with you for a drink and some other Buffalo food.

[evil_otto]

Thanks for writing, it's nice to hear from someone who knows hockey and can judge a fans enough to see though the "handful of douche-bags." Great to see that you liked the city, it really is a great hockeytown.

 

I think that buffalo mascots in Buffalo are a little tired. The team's name has always been the Sabres and so Sabre-tooth is the animal equivalent. I actually think that Sabretooth is the most recognizable mascot in Buffalo. No one really knows or cares about Billy Buffalo, and while people recognize the Bison's Bison (whatever his name is) he's not as high profile as Sabretooth.

 

Please come back for more games, although who knows when we'll play the Flames here again. Maybe post here next time and some folks can get together with you for a drink and some other Buffalo food.

 

Hehe yeah, Buster Bison and his offspring just look creepy... like some kind of deformed pair of Minotaurs.

 

...and Table 5, glad you had a nice time in Buffalo! I wish we played the Flames more often, last night's game was really exciting to watch. I hope that I'll be able to make it out to Alberta someday. From either the Flames or Oilers games I watch on CBC, they look like incredible places to watch hockey games.

[All Along The Watchtower]

I think that buffalo mascots in Buffalo are a little tired.

I'm going back over 30 years now, but do any of the old-timers remember the Bills 'buffalo' mascot from around 1975-76? It was two guys in a buffalo costume, that usually 'roamed' the back end zone areas...the costume was very bad, looked liked the two guys made it in their garage...it was so bad, it was comical. The ass-end guy would stand up most of the time and the dang thing looked more like a camel!

[eball]

Table 5, you CLEARLY must have been too inebriated to realize you were ass-raped and mugged by the Buffalo faithful.

[shrader]

I'm sure the quality of the game helped, but the atmosphere came across so well on tv. The place was really rocking. That's the best part of having a bit of mixed crowd like that, unfortunately it doesn't happen very often at the pro level. Thank god for the college game, I'll be seeing some great fan interaction tonight.

 

Why is a Calgary fan questioning Buffalo's choice in mascots? Don't you have Harvey even though there's a horsehead on the shoulder patch (he's been around longer than that crest I'm sure)?

[Hawerchuk]

Table5. Glad you had a great time at the game. Buffalo is a true hockey town for sure. What a hell of a game too. Sabres have been great in Shootouts.

 

Did you get to try the food? Wings? Ted's Hot Dogs? Hopefully you didn't miss out on a great Buffalo tradition = FOOD!

 

I live out West now and I'm a big skiier. A former Buffalonian of 25 yrs. I hope to get to BANNF someday and possibly take in a Flames game. That would be stellar!!

 

We might have a Sabretooth tiger for the mascot, but I seem to recall you guys have some sort of hound dog with a big red tounge hanging out! Craig McTavish and him were best friends, right?! LOL.

 

Cheers!

[Taro T]

Man, maybe because it was Saturday HNIC night, or because the cold falling snow brought real ambiance to the game, but Buffalo sure is a great hockey town.

 

I just got back from my trip there to watch the Flames last night, and I have to say, I was mightily impressed. You guys have some of the most friendly and knowledgable fans in America. Whether it was on the way to the game, on the train, or at the hotel bar...it seemed like there where plenty of Sabres fans to sit and talk with. Apart from a couple of drunken gloating douchebags, everyone was amazingly friendly and just made things so much more fun.

 

HSBC arena is probably the best one I've ever been to for a hockey game...the place was always buzzing and the atmosphere overall was just immaculate. Sure my Flames lost (and going into OT, that was inevitable), but I got my ticket's worth and more. Great venue to watch the game....or that Rod Stewart concert they were mentioning every 5 minutes, haha.

 

I was really surprised by the amount of Flames fan at the game though, I haven't seen that many

anywhere outside of Alberta or B.C. Do you guys always get that many opposition fans from Canada, or was that a bit rare? I would assume you would get a lot of Leafs fan down here, but I didnt think the same was true for Western Conference teams.

 

One thing I question though. Why the hell do you have a sabre tooth tiger, and not a BUFFALO, as a mascot? I mean, Hello Mcfly, you have the perfect animal in your name already! That one really makes no sense to me....it felt like the Predators lent you their mascot for the game.

 

Thanks again for all the tips food and stay wise (I managed to hit up Schwabls for some beef on weck, and it was pretty tasty stuff). The trip was definitely worth it.

 

So here's to meeting in the finals! Thank god there are no shootouts....

Table,

 

I'm jealous. I haven't made it to Schwabl's in over a year. :(

 

Glad you had a good time. The crew up in 303 was definitely getting into it and was the impetus for several of the "Let's Go Buf-fa-lo" chants as we HAD to drown them (and the rest of you Calgary fans) out.

 

Pretty much anytime a Canadian team is in town we get a lot of "invaders". Since the rink is now sold out w/ 14,000+ ST's, we don't get nearly as many out of towners as we used to. Loaf fans would come close to outnumbering us, :( now there are only 3-4,000 of them. <_< The invaders are usually in the same locations, just wearing (or not wearing as was the case far too often w/ Vancouver and your crew) different colors (or body paint, whatever). So it looks like tour operators have ~1,000 of the ST's.

 

As an aside, WHY is it always fat, college age guys that do the body paint and NEVER hot, college age chicks. :angry: It's simply NOT right, especially considering it is finally legal for women to go topless in public in NYS (as of some time in the '90's).

 

As for why Sabretooth and not a buffalo, pretty much like the other posters said, we've got WAY too many other buffalo mascots in town. Sabretooth definitely stands out from the rest of the crowd.

 

And finally, thanks for the kind words about the city and the fans.

[niagara66]

I'm going back over 30 years now, but do any of the old-timers remember the Bills 'buffalo' mascot from around 1975-76? It was two guys in a buffalo costume, that usually 'roamed' the back end zone areas...the costume was very bad, looked liked the two guys made it in their garage...it was so bad, it was comical. The ass-end guy would stand up most of the time and the dang thing looked more like a camel!

 

 

Yeah..that was a BAD mascot. I barely remember it 'cause I was pretty young. I remember seeing it when my dad took me to a game against the Baltimore Colts (Bert Jones - #7), OJ scored on an electrifying 40 yd run but we lost. Typical for the time I guess.

 

I think its primary purpose was to entertain the fans by being a moving snowball target for late season games...especially since there was usually no hope for the season after about week three back then.

 

Table - Glad you enjoyed yourself. Good call on the Beef on Weck. We are renowned for wings but B on W is as much a "signature" food for us as anything else. For me, the secret is horseradish. You don't smear it evenly, that way there are "clumps" of it somewhere on the sandwich. Eating one that way is like russian roulette. You never know which bite is gonna REALLY clear your sinuses, but you know it's in there somewhere.

 

Anyway..come back and bring friends. I've never been to Calgary but have heard nothing but good things from those who have.