tom webster Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 http://wgr550.com/Portraits-of-an-Old-Pal/3176020 Everything from being mugged at a Golden Gloves Event, to getting sprayed from the sweat of Ernie "The Big Cat" Ladd to Jo Jo White's free throws after the end of regulation and Don Luce missing an empty net after Doug Favell threw his stick from the bench, thanks for the memories old friend.
LabattBlue Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 I want the tour! :angry: This is one time I wish I had some connections. I'd love to roam the halls one last time.
ROC Sabres Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 http://wgr550.com/Portraits-of-an-Old-Pal/3176020 Everything from being mugged at a Golden Gloves Event, to getting sprayed from the sweat of Ernie "The Big Cat" Ladd to Jo Jo White's free throws after the end of regulation and Don Luce missing an empty net after Doug Favell threw his stick from the bench, thanks for the memories old friend. For the strangest reason the only thing I can remember was going to Disney on Ice back in 1990 I think it was. I think I was too young to remember the games I went to before that but it was still one of my more memorable things to this day of the Aud.
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 I still remember a game were Eddie Shack brought out a stretcher and was making a loud siren sound. I also received an OJ autograph when I turned around at a game and found him, reggie and cant remember who sitting right behind me.
bflobls Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 I now live in Mobile Alabama, and have a large picture of the inside of the aud during the last game played there hanging in my office. I spent so many great times of my youth there, I remember the aud club, Punch's seat right behind ours, crying like a baby the day after Tim Horton was killed, and the chant of "thank you Sabres ofter a playoff loss. Even though I now live so far away, I'm sad its coming down. RIP My friend!!
Two or less Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 I want the tour! :angry: This is one time I wish I had some connections. I'd love to roam the halls one last time. Amen. I've only been at the Aud once. Rest was on TV. God i wish i could go back one more time.
Trey Posted October 21, 2008 Report Posted October 21, 2008 For a few years my father had season tickets in the Orange. He hated the traffic after the game, so we would sit there and wait for the place to empty out. I was only 7 or 8 at the time. I would get bored and go around finding all the beer cups left laying around and turn them up so I could stomp on them. It made a great noise, but an even better memory. Especially the one time I slipped and fell 3 rows before catching myself. It was steep up there!
Eleven Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 Three words: "PEEEEEAnuts, Cracker Jack." If you remember, you remember.
SMIRNOFF Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 That is a very nice article. Thank you for posting that. I have only seen a couple of games at the Aud (both losses to the Rangers). I saw AC/DC and RUSH there on two separate occasions. It is cool, though, that it is coming down to help try and make the city a little more attractive.
former goalie Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 That is a very nice article. Thank you for posting that. I have only seen a couple of games at the Aud (both losses to the Rangers). I saw AC/DC and RUSH there on two separate occasions. It is cool, though, that it is coming down to help try and make the city a little more attractive. My memories (we had Bisons seasons tickets and Sabres season tix in the early years): 25 cent hot dogs at the Bisons games, the lady would always give me a freebee at the Sunday night games. Fries with vinegar. Foot hockey games using stomped on beer cups in the hallways between periods. Chicken wire, not glass, used to stop pucks above the boards during the Bisons years. Being able to stand in the hallways and be right next to where the players entered the rink and watching both home and away teams stroll by. "Hockey News here!!" being shouted out just after you went through the turnstiles. "Courier, morning Courier!!" being shouted out when leaving the building.
R_Dudley Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 Thanks Tom, brings back lots of memories....... The Concerts with the best seats on the floor (Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Stones) but my very first trip to the Aud was for a Jethro Tull concert........ and after that many, many SABRES games.....The playoff games with standing room in the oranges, the blues seats under the overhang with the little TV's, and the best seats always the golds.
That Aud Smell Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 as my screen name suggests, the thing that makes me the most nostalgic for the place is that distinct aroma that wafted up as you started ascending the ramps toward the oranges -- as others here have more ably described, it was some combination of the boiled dogs, stale beer, staler popcorn, tobacco, roasted nuts and body funk. it remains for me the most complicated and treasured smell i've ever experienced. i can't actually claim to have been in the aud for any historical games or plays -- at least none positive (i was working there when malarchuk was injured). seeing u2 on its joshua tree tour right around this time of year, probably 20+ years ago now, was probably the coolest thing i ever saw at the aud. I was only 7 or 8 at the time. I would get bored and go around finding all the beer cups left laying around and turn them up so I could stomp on them. It made a great noise, but an even better memory. nice. there's a decent chance we were doing the exact same thing at the exact same time. Especially the one time I slipped and fell 3 rows before catching myself. It was steep up there! amazingly so - i miss that bygone design for sporting venues - the ones that effectively put the crowd right on top of the game. apropos of that, i used to go to bills' away games at foxboro when i lived in boston -- that place was a dump, but it could get nice and hostile for the visiting team -- i went to a game at gillette last year -- it was not unlike watching the game at a mall food court.
vasabresfan Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 For a few years my father had season tickets in the Orange. He hated the traffic after the game, so we would sit there and wait for the place to empty out. I was only 7 or 8 at the time. I would get bored and go around finding all the beer cups left laying around and turn them up so I could stomp on them. It made a great noise, but an even better memory. Especially the one time I slipped and fell 3 rows before catching myself. It was steep up there! I have very similar memories. My dad would take me to a couple of games a year, with a pretty even split between the Oranges, the Blues and the Reds (I don't recall ever sitting in the Golds, rich ba$tards!). I once saw a hefty lady take a tumble down the Oranges due to the sharp decline. She looked like she was okay though! One of the best memories was, once a game, we would go down to the Golds and stand next to the acordian gate and watch the Sabres come out of their locker room. I remember when HSBC opened that I was a little sad that kids wouldn't have the same chance to see their guys walk out like we did at the Aud. And like you Trey, my dad hated the traffic. Sometimes we would leave with a few minutes left (over my objection), but if I was well behaved, we got to stick around to see the Three Stars come out and give their salute. I always thought it was cool when players from the other teams came out if they were named a star. I thought it showed a lot of class and sportsmanship. I'll always have fond memories of the place. It it woven into the fabric of my childhood. However, I am glad to see that it will be taken down and the land used for a purpose. Whenever I came back to see my folks and go to a game, I always thought it reflected poorly on the city that it was still standing even though it was not being used and had no plan for use. The old girl was just taking up space.
LabattBlue Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/469840.html When Byron Brown was asked last month about what happened to a lot of the Aud memorabilia, he responded with something like..."it was already gone when I took office". :lol: What the city workers didn't cherry pick, was taken by the people who broke in because the aud was never secured properly(probably by the same city workers). :angry:
chileanseabass Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 my dad and i went to 15-20 sabres games a year at the aud (plus all the bandits first season) while we lived in amherst from 1988-1994. hands down my best memories from childhood are driving down to the aud, parking by the ships, going it through what seemed like the back entrance (hey that's pretty cool when you're a dumb kid), and then taking all the ramps up to the oranges. 2 cokes, a popcorn, and a bag of peanuts, and then sitting down for the rest of warmups and the game. 2nd row of the oranges, right behind the net (best seats in the house), and the chick that had seasons in front of us looked like a chia pet.
BetweenThePipes00 Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 Someone mentioning the "back door" reminded me we would often go in that side doorwhere the entrance to the Aud Club was ... turns out anyone could go in that door, you didn't have to be going to the Aub Club ... there was usually no line and it seemed we always saw a local celeb of some sort, usually one of the Bills ... I saw Shane Conlan over there several times. I also remember walking around the lower golds one time and Steve Tasker was standing outside of one of the First Aid rooms down there ... he was just minding his own business and all of a sudden some kid yells "Hey, that's Steve Tasker!" ... he ducked into the First Aid room before most people noticed him, but the kid about started a stampede. Without all the luxury boxes you never knew who you might see ... one New Year's Eve game, the one the Sabres beat the Rangers 12-6, Bills GM John Butler walked up to his seat in the blues shaking hands all along the aisle and patted my buddy on the shoulder and thanked him when he told him he was doing a good job. I think Mike Ramsey was hurt that night and was also sitting in the reds or blues on the corner ans spent the whole night signing autographs ... those things just do not happen anymore.
Hawerchuk Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 Three words: "PEEEEEAnuts, Cracker Jack." If you remember, you remember. HA! I remember that guy. He was sitting in a wheelchair outside the front entrance. Every game, no matter how lousy the weather was. My uncle had season tickets all thru the 80's. Man was I spoiled. I went to so many games. Goodbye Buffalo Aud! Great place to grow up going to games.
Rick Vaive Horse Collar Posted October 22, 2008 Report Posted October 22, 2008 We skated at the Aud a few days after the last game there...I just found the video tape a few weeks ago...it is pretty cool...
Bmwolf21 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/469840.html When Byron Brown was asked last month about what happened to a lot of the Aud memorabilia, he responded with something like..."it was already gone when I took office". :lol: What the city workers didn't cherry pick, was taken by the people who broke in because the aud was never secured properly(probably by the same city workers). :angry: Buffalo government at its finest. :censored:
sabresnutinphoenix Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 I went to many games and I'll always remember May Day!
Two or less Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 I went to many games and I'll always remember May Day! You were there for the May-Day game? Great stories guys. Keep em coming. I love reading that kinda history on this club from games when i was just too young or my parents were just too broke to take me. lol
rickshaw Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 I have never had an opportunity to go to a Sabres' game in Buffalo. Wish I could have seen the Aud and attended. One day, I hope to get to HSBC.
Claude_Verret Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 Great thread. I have so many great memories of that place. As a kid I'd usually only get to go to one game a year with my dad. It was usually in the blues with the obstructed view of the scoreboard. I can't believe I had forgotten about the peanut vendor in the wheelchair! He was out there every game I attended. Finally, I can neither confirm or deny my knowledge of the whereabouts of the awning with the vintage logo that the visiting teams entered and exited the ice under. ;)
BetweenThePipes00 Posted October 23, 2008 Report Posted October 23, 2008 How many others spent Stallions games playing soccer in the hallways with those mini-soccer balls they used to sell? The old radiators made really good "nets" ...
JCBoston Posted October 24, 2008 Report Posted October 24, 2008 My aunt rented her house to Larry Carriere on his second tour with Buffalo. I remember him asking me if I liked hockey, at which point I almost fell over :blush: He left two tickets at the box office for me and my dad - Sabres 13, Toronto 3. Still remember sitting in the blues that day, in the corner where the Sabres shoot twice... Took my then-fiance to Fan Appreciation Day in 1994. Sat up the oranges, saw the Sabres beat the Capitals 4-2. Didn't know it at the time but that was the last time I set foot in that building -- and I still have two of the travel mugs they gave out that day as souvenirs. Oh... and the time I won Braves tickets in a "lucky program" draw at a game I attended with the Cub Scouts. Got to go down to courtside to collect my winnings... man, that was so cool! And as long as I live, there will NEVER be a seat in a hockey arena better than those Reds. Best. View. Ever.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.