What's your overriding emotion on this momentous day of Rick's last call?

[Stoner]

I can't put my finger on where my head is. I keep coming back to denial. It feels a little like when my mom and dad were dying. They had hours to days left. I was close by, but the full impact of it wasn't hitting me. It didn't make sense. How can this be? They both came back for a very brief moment to give me one final gift. I think that's how it'll be tonight. Down the tunnel, Rick will see the light. It'll probably be flashing red. (All that said, see the poll I'm about to create. I'm really curious what y'all feel about life after death.)

[Taro T]

Until his final walkout onto the ice for the final ovation, it'll just be another season ender.

Expecting the full barn & playing a team they "know" they're better than and wanting to have 1 final hurrah to savor as a team (knowing after stall cleanouts the team won't be back in this incarnation & they all seem to truly love each other as a family) will cause them to win this one emphatically.

It'll be fun.  But the true emotion will hit at the end.

They're asking people to stick around after Rick James is no longer blaring from the speakers.  That's when it will get misty.

Rick has lost a step.  He doesn't always know who has the puck, but he still has his cadence & you almost have to be listening for it to hear the drop off.  So, in a very real way am glad that he is going out now while still very good.

Ted Darling's disease made his last days memorable for the wrong reasons.  Van Miller was a shell before he hung it up.  Both had significantly diminished.  RJ's not SIGNIFICANTLY diminished.  Can't wait to hear him call the game when we get back home.  It'll be glorious.  It's the right time.

It's sad that he's leaving just when the Sabres are starting g to come back.  But he'll always be in this kid's heart.  Just like I still get goosebumps thinking of Van's "it's pandemonium, it's fandemonium, it's faaan-tas-tic" or a smile thinking about the Sabres upcoming shhedule or the lady from Eden who got a souvenier, will always have a special place for Jeanneret in my heart.  He wasn't always the Sabres to me - that was Ted, but he's become it so much.

Don't know how it'll be, just know tonight in it's own way will be, in Van's words, fan-tas-tic.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Taro T
M'f'n' autocorrect. NOT schedule, schhhhedule.

[Brawndo]

A sense of nostalgia, mixed in with anger that the Final 10 Years of Rick calling games have been the worst hockey played franchise history 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Brawndo

[K-9]

Gratefulness. 

[Zamboni]

10 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Gratefulness. 

[mphs mike]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Until his final walkout onto the ice for the final ovation, it'll just be another season ender.

Expecting the full barn & playing a team they "know" they're better than and wanting to have 1 final hurrah to savor as a team (knowing after stall cleanouts the team won't be back in this incarnation & they all seem to truly love each other as a family) will cause them to win this one emphatically.

It'll be fun.  But the true emotion will hit at the end.

They're asking people to stick around after Rick James is no longer blaring from the speakers.  That's when it will get misty.

Rick has lost a step.  He doesn't always know who has the puck, but he still has his cadence & you almost have to be listening for it to hear the drop off.  So, in a very real way am glad that he is going out now while still very good.

Ted Darling's disease made his last days memorable for the wrong reasons.  Van Miller was a shell before he hung it up.  Both had significantly diminished.  RJ's not SIGNIFICANTLY diminished.  Can't wait to hear him call the game when we get back home.  It'll be glorious.  It's the right time.

It's sad that he's leaving just when the Sabres are starting g to come back.  But he'll always be in this kid's heart.  Just like I still get goosebumps thinking of Van's "it's pandemonium, it's fandemonium, it's faaan-tas-tic" or a smile thinking about the Sabres upcoming shhedule or the lady from Eden who got a souvenier, will always have a special place for Jeanneret in my heart.  He wasn't always the Sabres to me - that was Ted, but he's become it so much.

Don't know how it'll be, just know tonight in it's own way will be, in Van's words, fan-tas-tic.

Couldn't have said it better myself, especially Ted and the lady from Eden getting a souveneir. It simply reminds me I'm not a 10 year old listening to the transistor radio in bed as a west coast game starts against the golden seals!  

[msw2112]

44 minutes ago, Taro T said:

It's sad that he's leaving just when the Sabres are starting g to come back.  But he'll always be in this kid's heart.  Just like I still get goosebumps thinking of Van's "it's pandemonium, it's fandemonium, it's faaan-tas-tic" or a smile thinking about the Sabres upcoming shhedule or the lady from Eden who got a souvenier, will always have a special place for Jeanneret in my heart.  He wasn't always the Sabres to me - that was Ted, but he's become it so much.

With all of the RJ hype of late, I had fogotten that Ted Darling was pretty good in his own right.  When I watched Ted Darling broadcasts as a kid, I always thought "How does he know that guy is from North Tonawanda?"  Looking back, I realize how funny that was.  What I also remember about Ted was whenever he talked about tall players (Andreychuck, Adam Creighton, etc.) and their "loooong reach."

Back to RJ, he's truly one of the all-time greats and will be missed.  I'll be sad that we won't get to enjoy his calls anymore.  I don't think he's at that point yet, but I lived in Chicago at the end of Harry Caray's career.  For Harry, it was definitely time to hang 'em up.  He was getting players' names wrong (Ryne Sandberg was "Ryan Sandborn" and such) and forgetting basic facts about the game.  I don't think RJ is anywhere near that level of decline, but as others have said, it isn't bad for him to go out close to the top of his game.  We'll miss you, Rick!

Edited April 29, 2022 by msw2112

[RangerDave]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

RJ's not SIGNIFICANTLY diminished.

True.  It's just a shame that the product he was announcing has been so diminished over the last decade.

Fans only seeing/hearing RJ over that time may not be able to truly appreciate how special he is when the game he is calling matters and is exciting.  We got only a glimpse of that toward the end of this season.

[JustOneParade]

A couple thoughts:

When I hear Rick has been doing this for 51 years I think, 'Man, that's a long time'. But it's just a number. Then I think, 'RJ has been doing this since I was 15 years old. Holy sh*t, that's a LONG time!'. Seems much different in the latter context yet the same number of years. Incredible run for RJ.

As to his impact ... my wife has been watching most Sabres' games with me over the past couple years. On a scale of 1 to 10 her knowledge of hockey is probably a 4 (mine a 7 or 8). When I tell her 'the Sabres are playing tonight' she doesn't ask me who they are playing. The first question out of her mouth is 'Is Rick calling the game?'.

Tonight will be a tough one knowing its his last call. I'll be raising a glass to him when the game ends.

[PerreaultForever]

Kind of already processed it with the tribute night so this is sort of anti climactic. 

It's an ending, but given the optimistic position the team is now in I prefer to view this as the end of one era but also the beginning of a new one.

[mjd1001]

I'm happy for him. After all those years, it has to be hard to leave doing the game, but at the same time, it might be nice for him to step back and have someoen else do all the prep work and just be able to sit back and do what he wants with his time, and probably watch any of the games he wants, how he wants form where he wants, and just enjoy it without the hours and hours of preperation.

[Carmel Corn]

A strong feeling of loss....knowing that even a legend must eventually ride into the sunset.  We've been transitioning to Dan for a while now, but now I must finally let go.

[thewookie1]

Sadness, heartbreak and and disbelief for me while happy for him.

RJ has been the only announcer I've ever heard as I was born in '92 and my first conscious memory of hockey games on TV were around '97. For me his voice is almost intrinsic to hockey as the puck or ice is. When I was a kid I would use his many colloquialisms when calling my own chess piece hockey games I did on paper rinks I made. Hell even today when I do scorekeeping at Leisure I will quietly do my best RJ impression of the game I'm watching because it just feels more like hockey that way in my head. Additionally I always refer to Overtime, in its many ways, as Ovvvvveeeerrrrrrtiiiimmmeeee. So for me its almost like a gut punch to lose new goal calls every year; because even as he has aged and his voice has noticeably weakened, his passion still shines through. Lastly I'll miss being able to follow a game on the radio; Dan isn't anywhere near the artist in regards to painting a picture in your mind of what's happening on the ice. I'll miss his spur of the moment ingenious goal calls, again Dan seems to have some skill at it but also doesn't seem to have the confidence that RJ always had. All in all I wish him a great retirement and hope the Sabres get to the playoffs next year so he can return for a period or something. Even more important would be a Cup win so he can give us a commentated message.

I had the honor of meeting him when they did the play by play from 716 with the Sabres in Sweden. Got a picture with him, shook his hand and thanked him for all his work and joy he's brought me and the rest of the fans. In person, reminded me of my late Papa, which made me want to hug him to be honest.

 

So onward to a great future which can make RJ proud!

[Scottysabres]

Sadness, and a profound sense of wanting to be a part of it, as an audience member.

Tonight doesn't just close the longest running chapter in my personal experience as a Sabres fan, it closes a chapter on the Sabres themselves. This will be a historic night, 20 yrs from now I'll be telling my grandchildren, who will hopefully love hockey as I do, that I lived the entire RJ experience, from start to finish.

[Marvin]

As I said in the GDT, part of me wants to cry.  The other part of me is even angrier at XGMTM and XGMJB for being so ****ing incompetent that RJ has to go out like this.  I really resent that a lot.

[FogBat]

Those will be some extremely difficult shoes to fill. Just like Jerry Orbach on Law & Order.

6 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

As I said in the GDT, part of me wants to cry.  The other part of me is even angrier at XGMTM and XGMJB for being so ****ing incompetent that RJ has to go out like this.  I really resent that a lot.

[LGR4GM]

I'm thankful. 

[spndnchz]

1 hour ago, Carmel Corn said:

A strong feeling of loss....knowing that even a legend must eventually ride into the sunset.  We've been transitioning to Dan for a while now, but now I must finally let go.

Maybe a strong off-season for Dan will get him up to snuff just like the rest of the players.

sit at home and watch hockey and call it. Seasoning 

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, spndnchz said:

Maybe a strong off-season for Dan will get him up to snuff just like the rest of the players.

sit at home and watch hockey and call it. Seasoning 

He has it in him. He also has a lot of Darling's style in him.

[msw2112]

On 4/29/2022 at 2:40 PM, PASabreFan said:

He has it in him. He also has a lot of Darling's style in him.

I have been critical of Dunleavy in the past, but I will admit that he has improved.  He still has a ways to go, but I hope he can get there.

[Stoner]

3 minutes ago, msw2112 said:

I have been critical of Dunleavy in the past, but I will admit that he has improved.  He still has a ways to go, but I hope he can get there.

Was he holding back in deference to Rick?

[msw2112]

1 minute ago, PASabreFan said:

Was he holding back in deference to Rick?

I hadn't considered that angle.  Perhaps he didn't want to overly imitate or copy Rick while Rick was still continuing.

Rick has a highly unique voice that can't and won't be replicated, but Dan is at least developing into a solid play-by-play man.  He's also starting to make some "signature" calls.  Prior to this year, I felt like Dan was a minor league caliber guy at best.  Now, I see him as a middle-of-the-pack NHL guy.  Not great, but competent.  As I said earlier, perhaps he can continue to improve and get to the next level.

It's similar to what happened with the Bills.  At the height of his career, Van Miller was one of the best (although I don't think he was quite as much ahead of the class as RJ).  John Murphy, the current Bills play-by-play guy who took over from Miller, is competent, but just a middle-of-the-pack talent.  He's been at it long enough that if he hasn't taken the leap yet, he's not going to.  Dunleavy still has a chance....

[dudacek]

6 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Was he holding back in deference to Rick?

I think the twin burdens of voicing the worst era of Sabres hockey ever and replacing the best PBP announcer ever have conspired against Dan and magnified his flaws.

I don't love him, but compare him to the field. If you aren't listening on the radio he's fine.

[Stoner]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I think the twin burdens of voicing the worst era of Sabres hockey ever and replacing the best PBP announcer ever have conspired against Dan and magnified his flaws.

I don't love him, but compare him to the field. If you aren't listening on the radio he's fine.

Which leads me to... should the Sabres drop the simulcast and have a radio voice?

Is "radio play by play" even a job that will exist in 10 years?

[GoPuckYourself]

Everytime I hear or see greatness I always feel honored. Whether it's a player on another team, Wayne Gretzky traded to the LA Kings, Mark Messier guaranteeing a victory or the Russians being defeated by USA in the "miracle" game. Also our own memories like the May Day clincher, the Hasek triple OT and now the retirement of the best Sabres announcer of all the.

Although it's going to suck not hearing RJ anymore, I'll always remember those good memories and saying like "Top shelf where momma hides the cookies" which I use every time I score on my son up high 😂 or "Now do you believe" , I'll constantly YouTube him and when I was younger I made a bunch of 80s through 90s fight tapes with all sorts of RJ gems in them so I might just get that VCR tape converted into a DVD. I feel more honored than sad though.

Edited May 2, 2022 by GoPuckYourself