NBA refugee

[SwampD]

I went throught the 80's as a hard core Sabres fan. You'll have to excuse the lack of bright spots in my memory. :P :devil:

For me, the 80s was shooting the tennis ball at the garage door with the other rogues in the neighborhood while listening to the games on a little transistor radio (just using that term "transistor radio" makes me feel old). Even now, I think listening to the games is my favorite way to enjoy them (although it pains me to say that RJ's calls aren't as descriptive as they once were. You still get the energy of the game, just not the visual).

 

I missed the whole Lala and Mogilny era, as I didn't have a TV for about a decade. The only TV I saw was to go into the city to watch every Bills game and as many Sabres games as I could (mostly just the playoffs from about '97 on). I finally got DirectTV when the Towers fell and have missed only a hand full of games since.

 

Memories that make me smile:

 

-Hasek

-Geoff Sanderson's one handed goal, game 1 CFs against Toronto.

-Stu Barn's overtime winner, game 6 against Pittsburgh. Johan Hedberg was their goalie then and there was an entire section of Penguin fans next to us wearing the moose antler hats. I remember telling a guy that I was going to give him an antler enema and the older women he was with started cracking up.

-Drury's game tying goal and Max's OT game winning goal against the Rags.

-Campbell's hit on Umberger.

 

Memories that make me want to punch a wall:

 

-No Goal

-Hasek getting beat in the 6 hole (playoff game against Philly)

-Losing to Washington on what should have been icing (I also hate Sabre killer Peter Bondra)

-Anything that Eddie Olczyk said during Carolina series.

-Peca's holdout (we win that series against Pittsburgh if he's on the team)

-Hasek leaving for nothing

 

There's more but that's all I got for now.

[shrader]

I'm a bit surprised that you guys mention the not so great moments of the 80s and don't follow it up with May Day.

[nfreeman]

Welcome. I think there have been a bunch of great suggestions up-thread about getting acquainted with the Sabres. I would just add:

 

1. The key fact IMHO about the sabres now and at least the near future is that the team was bought 8 months ago by a guy who can literally (in the correct usage) be described as the kind of owner that God would bestow upon a team's fans if He were so inclined. The man sold his company for something like $3.5 billion in CASH and has come out and stated unequivocally that he wants to win multiple Cups and he doesn't care how much it costs. He's also a lifelong Sabres fan and is married to another one.

 

2. Couple other key facts:

 

- the Sabres have never won the cup and have only made it to the finals twice -- 1975 and 1999.

 

- the coach played for the Sabres for 10 years and captained the team and is now the longest-tenured coach in the NHL. I think he's a terrific coach but others disagree.

 

- the GM and the coach are the longest-tenured coach-GM combo in any sport (or maybe 2nd-longest). They've been through 4 different ownership groups together.

 

- after sitting on the sidelines during free agency for the last 15 years or so (other than losing good players) the Sabres finally jumped into free agency last summer with the backing of the new owner. In a summer without much in the way of free agency star quality, the Sabres signed the top defenseman and the #2 forward. Expectations are very high for this season

 

3. Hockey on TV is great, especially in HD, but there is nothing like seeing a game live, in a sold-out building. If you can get to, say, Chicago for a game against Detroit or LA or another good team -- you may never watch another NBA regular season game again (and I say that as someone who watches a lot of the NBA playoffs).

 

Enjoy!

[Corp000085]

Ok, rather than edit my original post, I will explain here. I posed that at 6am yesterday, so I was not fully capable of making complete thoughts! I meant to say "they literally almost died on the ice". To the NBA refugee, Clint Malarchuk and Richard Zednik are both alive and well. In short, Malarchuk almost died on the ice, got stitched up and came back a short time later. He has 9 lives though... Due to the incident, he nearly OD'd a few years later, but didn't die. Then he shot himself in the head with a rifle and didn't die. He's really lucky to be alive a few times over!

 

 

Sweet memories of philly PWNAGE:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm6L5tCoLyo

 

 

 

 

and the best of all:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlNHmgBzPwY

[LastPommerFan]

Not sure where in Indiana you are, but the Sabres play @ Columbus on the day after thanksgiving. Nationwide arena is a great place to see a game, and you'd get to avoid dealing with Black Friday Shopping.

[ozone]

OK, is this a major coincidence or are you the fan who posed this question on ESPN's Grantland:

 

Q: Help! No NBA, turning to NHL. Don't know what team to root for. I'm a Pacers fan, so I should root for what NHL team?? Thanks!

— Greg S.

 

And inspired an article that can be found here:

 

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7089200/how-pick-nhl-team

 

Anyways, whether or not it is you, welcome to the Sabres. I've been a long-time fan but am new to this forum. Nothing beats hockey like watching it live. It's one of the games that is actually visually enhanced watching it live as opposed to TV (not just the game experience but actually watching the puck/plays developing, etc). Catch a playoff game--playoff hockey is the best atmosphere in sports. I'm a huge NBA fan though--much longer than I have been hockey. If only, Buffalo still had the Braves or Rochester the Royals...

[TheMatrix31]

I too share this same story. Over the last few years, I've been supremely dismayed with the NBA. Just the way the players are, the way they present themselves, how unintelligent the fans are, the priorities of the league, ignoring blatant referee corruption, etc.

 

So I decided to take up hockey. Always had a passing interest, but it was time to get serious in knowing the league, the rules, the styles, etc. This is most definitely still a major work-in-progress. I couldn't properly analyze anything at this point. Will take me 15-20 years to know hockey like I know basketball, baseball, or football.

 

Anyway, I did a little writeup at another forum that had a "which hockey team should I root for?" thread, explaining my story and reasons. Might be worth a read?

 

If I were you, I'd watch as much as possible and see if any team grabs you.

 

I "chose" Buffalo back in 2007, 2008.

 

I figured they've got some decent tradition but have never won the big one, have been in contention relatively often, been screwed in big spots, are a northern city that actually appreciates hockey, etc. Lots of parallel to my Phoenix Suns.

 

I used to use Buffalo all the time in old hockey games, with Mogilny and LaFontaine. I tuned into a few of their games and noticed a speedy offense with and a strong goaltender. Also helped that Lindy Ruff is the picture of stability, having been head coach for so long.

 

I've been falling in love since. With the team and the sport. Rick Jeanneret is an awesome announcer that really helps get you excited while watching games.

 

A cool thing happened along the way, something that is pretty much foreign to me. A multi-billionaire bought the team and rescued them from financial doldrums of a weak ownership. The billionaire, Terry Pegula, has been a lifelong Sabres fan. Now imagine a lifelong billionaire fan buying a team you root for. The way he spoke at the presser introducing him was truly amazing. Said no resource would be unavailable in order to turn Buffalo into hockey heaven. And boy has he delivered.

 

The dude changed things IMMEDIATELY. President of the team, Ted Black, has been so instrumental and so involved. They've listened to fans, upgraded the arena and ice, locker rooms, media coverage, etc. The level of interaction with the fans is unreal. They had a suggestion box on the team website and actually listened to AND implemented suggestions. How cool is that?

 

Just an unbelievably well-run team now. Last year, the team woke up once this news of his purchase started to trickle in. Turned into a meddling team to a team that went on fire to make the playoffs and take the Flyers to 7. And what happens in the offseason? Acquire three potentially crucial pieces that can/should really help going forward.

 

I've been thoroughly impressed. And I feel like I can truly call myself a Sabres fan now. One that is still most definitely trying to understand the game and appreciate the history of the team and league, but a fan.

[FogBat]

I'm a bit surprised that you guys mention the not so great moments of the 80s and don't follow it up with May Day.

Since you mentioned it, I'll post that one for you:

EDIT: What gets me is that while you complained about no one mentioning May Day, you didn't even post a video about that. With all due respect, did I miss something there?

 

 

Also, back in the days of Ray, May, and Barnaby (although Barnaby's not in this one):

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZTJxlCv7wo

 

cfinklea50, you should also be aware of are some of the rather, well, interesting stories with this franchise. The rivalries can get very nasty. Our beef with Toronto goes all the way back to the days of Punch Imlach. We had one going with Boston for a while because they had our number (until May Day). Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Ottawa goes back to when Chris Neal laid a blindside hit on co-captain Chris Drury and a brawl ensued on the following play. Oh, and let's not forget this little ditty: Taro Tsujimoto.

 

While you're at it, pick up a copy of Slap Shot to get a little bit "indoctrinated" into the game, but understand that the NHL is nowhere near as bush league as the Charlestown Chiefs were. Also the film is NSFW in some spots.

[Weave]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Ottawa goes back to when Chris Neal laid a blindside hit on co-captain Chris Drury and a brawl ensued on the following play.

 

In my mind, our rivalry with Ottawa goes back further than that. When Ottawa first came into the league they were an awful, awful team. And they compensated by gooning it up. That vid above with Ray and Vial is a good example of what went on in games with Ottawa. Oh, and an Ottawa player was responsible for one of Pat LaFontaine's concussions too.

 

Neil is just the most recent of a lineage of Ottawa thugs that got Buffalo fans riled up.

[FogBat]

In my mind, our rivalry with Ottawa goes back further than that. When Ottawa first came into the league they were an awful, awful team. And they compensated by gooning it up. That vid above with Ray and Vial is a good example of what went on in games with Ottawa. Oh, and an Ottawa player was responsible for one of Pat LaFontaine's concussions too.

 

Neil is just the most recent of a lineage of Ottawa thugs that got Buffalo fans riled up.

IIRC, this was also the time when our guys led the league in penalty minutes. They may not have had the most stellar lineup at that time, but those men made other teams earn their victories instead of being pushovers.

[Weave]

IIRC, this was also the time when our guys led the league in penalty minutes. They may not have had the most stellar lineup at that time, but those men made other teams earn their victories instead of being pushovers.

 

As a fan I am not required to admit that my team was lousy and gooned it up too. :lol: :P