Lifting spirits: Tell us about your best sports day!

[RochesterExpat]

Weirdly the final day full-ice scrimmage during high school hockey tryouts when I was a freshman. No one took me seriously at all because I hadn’t seen the inside of a gym until that summer when I started attending the captains workouts and I didn’t really know anyone on the team. I was also the nerdy kid who was a year ahead academically. Not quite a fit.
 

Ended up scoring a hat trick and getting two apples in a 6-2 meaningless win, but I more proved to myself I belonged and made the team. 

[Thorner]

10 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I think Briere scored our third goal in that game (before Kotalik) on a breakaway. I remember thinking at that point, it was our year 

Ya this one 

[Thorner]

The demolishing of Philly in game 2. This might as well be a different sport. This is nothing, nothing like Sabres hockey today. The atmosphere, Rick, all of it.

This is the heart of it 

Listen to the crowd ROAR just because we *got a 2 on 1*. It’s just different 

[Porous Five Hole]

I’ve seen some stuff.
I was at the good end of the arena when Derek Plante beat Tugnutt in game seven OT. I was a teenager and it was like heaven seeing that. Euphoria walking out of the MMA with my Sabres brethren.  
 

The rest aren’t Sabres. 
 

I saw Wade Boggs 3000th hit at the Trop, and he was the first one to have that hit be a HR. He got on all fours and kissed the plate. 
 

I saw Randy Johnson’s 300th win.  
 

But tops for me is the Red Sox reverse the curse ticker tape parade on the duck boats in 2004. A deep breath 86 years in the making. Best day of my life…and I’ve had two wedding days (the second might slightly edge this out).  

[nfreeman]

3 hours ago, Thorny said:

Ya this one 

Briere scored their 2nd and 3rd goal that night.  He was fantastic during those 2 great seasons.  Such an unforgivable hockey sin to let him and Drury leave.

The moment I was thinking of was at 52:58 of that video.  It was Lydman who laid out a Hurricane, followed immediately by Kotalik's goal and the crowd reaching peak euphoria and noise levels.

 

3 hours ago, Thorny said:

The demolishing of Philly in game 2. This might as well be a different sport. This is nothing, nothing like Sabres hockey today. The atmosphere, Rick, all of it.

This is the heart of it 

Listen to the crowd ROAR just because we *got a 2 on 1*. It’s just different 

That was the perfect match of a thrilling team with peak RJ, plus a great coach and an adoring, raucous crowd.  Taken from us far too soon, but two years of great memories.

[thewookie1]

15 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Briere scored their 2nd and 3rd goal that night.  He was fantastic during those 2 great seasons.  Such an unforgivable hockey sin to let him and Drury leave.

The moment I was thinking of was at 52:58 of that video.  It was Lydman who laid out a Hurricane, followed immediately by Kotalik's goal and the crowd reaching peak euphoria and noise levels.

 

That was the perfect match of a thrilling team with peak RJ, plus a great coach and an adoring, raucous crowd.  Taken from us far too soon, but two years of great memories.

Robert Esche has lost it!

 

I miss those days of greatness, vets playing at their peak, rookies immediately fitting in and an uncanny ability to win.

Edited December 2, 2023 by thewookie1

[Eli Cash]

Game 3, ALDS, 2021, Fenway Park.  

At the last minute, I bought two tickets to a Sox playoff game in 2021.  Boston Public Schools had finally fully reopened.  The Boston Marathon was that weekend.  And, for the first time in over a year, the City felt like it had a heartbeat again.

When my son and I first sat down, our seats were right behind a pole in the grandstand.  Terrible seats.  In the third inning, I wondered how long we could last in such insanely bad seats.  I then looked at our tickets and realized we were sitting in the wrong section.  While our new section wasn’t amazing, we weren’t sitting behind a pole.  

Crowd was electric all game.  Christian Vasquez hit one over the Monster to win it in extras.  My son jumped into my arms, and Fenway exploded.  

We walked home that night.  As we made it back to Charlestown, we walked by the finish line on Boylston.  When we got home, we watched the Bills beat the Chiefs on Sunday night football.

Best sporting day of my life.

[Doohicksie]

Were you there, @Spoonman?  Or did you miss that one?

Thanksgiving Day 2019:  Bills at Cowboys.  Massive Bills Mafia tailgate.  Buffalo Bros. provided free Sahlen's hot dogs by the hundreds.  Josh Allen shined as the Bills stomped the Cowboys.

Josh Allen converting the fumbled 4th and 1 was probably the best play of the game.  This should be cued up to that play.

Edited December 2, 2023 by Doohickie

[OverPowerYou]

I was sitting in the second row right in front of where Chris Neil hit Chris Drury. The 25 minutes of chaos that ensued are forever etched into the fabric of my being 

[Thorner]

2 hours ago, nfreeman said:

Briere scored their 2nd and 3rd goal that night.  He was fantastic during those 2 great seasons.  Such an unforgivable hockey sin to let him and Drury leave.

The moment I was thinking of was at 52:58 of that video.  It was Lydman who laid out a Hurricane, followed immediately by Kotalik's goal and the crowd reaching peak euphoria and noise levels.

 

That was the perfect match of a thrilling team with peak RJ, plus a great coach and an adoring, raucous crowd.  Taken from us far too soon, but two years of great memories.

Ya watching Kotalik’s goal I remembered how I felt when he scored it. Stuff of legend, man 

[Spoonman]

7 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Were you there, @Spoonman?  Or did you miss that one?

Thanksgiving Day 2019:  Bills at Cowboys.  Massive Bills Mafia tailgate.  Buffalo Bros. provided free Sahlen's hot dogs by the hundreds.  Josh Allen shined as the Bills stomped the Cowboys.

Josh Allen converting the fumbled 4th and 1 was probably the best play of the game.  This should be cued up to that play.

@Doohickie As you know oh head of the chicken, I was not able to accompany you and our Buf Bro MH to that kick A game, nor the pre-tame festivities. I made the call to NOT abandon my family on Thanksgiving, unlike some others! That said I DID watch the game with my BIL and nephew (cow fans), and brother (a born again Bills fan) and played the Shout Song on my phone multiple times, until I was on the edge of being kicked out of his house! 🤣  This however, while awesome, was not may best sports day. More to come there.....

[Spoonman]

My best sports day. October 29, 1989.

Quick context: From Buffalo/Cheektowaga, I moved with parents to TX for dad's job back in 1983, and was challenged with watching Bills and Sabres back in the 80'-90's, until NFL Ticket (had to BUY the DirectTV dish back then) and NHL Centre Ice (nod to my fam north of the border, and better spelling) came online.

Prelude: I worked for Delta Airlines as the time, and planned an inexpensive (I was a young fella w limited fundage) trip back to Buffalo. I hung out with my older cousins, who took me to their local establishment, where they introduced me to the denizens there and I ended up with a handful of swizzle sticks while playing darts. Informed that these represented drinks purchased for "my cousin from TX", I only remember being told it would be rude to not accept purchased drinks, dart board getting blurry, and being deposited at my aunt's house and crawling up the stairs to bed.

Sunday 10/29/89 - my youngest cousin Bobby (who was not legal yet and not with me the night before) comes to get (way too early), this hungover guy, drive to Rich, and offer me a beer. UM, hair of the dog, no. This is where the day got much better.

• Part 1: Bickering Bills (remember that?) squished the fish 31-17 behind Frank Reich (6 of 9/TD), Thurman (27 for 148, TD) and Larry fricken Kinnebrew (21 for 121, TD). Reich in as Kelly hurt in week 5 v Indy, blaming Howard Ballard. Thurman and Jimbo were at it back and forth in public that year.

            https://www.footballdb.com/games/boxscore/miami-dolphins-vs-buffalo-bills-1989102907

• Part 2: Bobby, who works at the Aud at the time, says lets go watch the Sabres. We get to the Aud, he gets us in a back door, and we walk up ramps to the Oranges (Free is good!). Who is playing? Sabres hosting the bruuinzzz. So fun. Two scraps in first 5-6 min of the game,  Sabres score 4 goals in 2nd, a rookie Rob Ray has (maybe) his first NHL scrap in the 3rd. Sabres beat best Andy Moog and the bullies from bean town winning 4-3 in front of Clint Malarchuk. 

           https://www.hockey-reference.com/boxscores/198910290BUF.html

I got to go back home to Buffalo, get "stirred up" with swizzles (perhaps Spoonman born that night?) by my cousins, then go to see my Bills and Sabres beat our two bitterest sports enemies! 

[bob_sauve28]

Dave Hannan's ot winner vs Devils in 1994. 

[LTS]

Lots of good ones.. let's see.. in person though.

Jan 23, 1994 - My GF and I bought tickets to the Bills/KC game sitting very high up. The crowd singing at the end of the game for what seemed like an eternity. Sadly the Bills followed up that great moment with a dazzling defeat in the SB. That said, my GF then is my wife now, so it offsets the Bills SB loss.

March 29, 1996 - Attending the Sabres game with a mixed group of Flyers and Sabres fans sitting off the right of Garth Snow's crease when Barnaby goes down. Going nuts during the ensuing madness on the ice and watching Snow tap Barnaby with his stick and having Barnaby go absolutely medieval on Snow. I don't like Barnaby, but I loved that moment. My group was yelling back and forth at each other, then we all high-fived.

April 24, 2006 - Suite tickets to the Sabres vs. Flyers Round 1 game. Having the Sabres destroy the Flyers 8-2 in the game.  Sitting next to the suite that had relatives of the Flyers players (wives included) and just watching their absolute deflation at the Flyers that day. I don't think I had a voice for a very long time afterward.

Mar 5, 2020 - My son's 16th birthday and we are going to the Sabres vs. Penguins.  One week before the NHL suspended play due to COVID. We brought along 3 of his friends to the game. On the way in they get approached by Sabres personnel to be the first intermission entertainment in bubble hockey. Having them wear the bubble "suits" and laying each other out on ice during the intermission was incredible.  It provided a lasting memory for what was about to become a very rough time for everyone, especially teenagers.

Lots of other memories too... so many non-professional with my kids and their sports or even my own days.

 

 

[mjd1001]

I was at the comeback game against the Oilers years ago. Yes I am one of the 100,000's of people that claim to be at the game but was actually there.  The thing is, we would have left early at halftime. Me and the friend I had discussed it, but we drove with someone else who sits in a different part of the stadium, and thought "If we leave and go to the car and the don't, we'll just be standing out there" so we stuck it out.  Good thing there were no cell phones back then, if there were we would have called or texted them, probably all agreed to leave and not been there for the end.

I told myself I would never forget that game. And I remember the 'feeling' of being there, but I honestly can't remember any of the details anymore.  I was in my late teens for that game and am in my late 40s now. But whenever I see highlights of it, I remember being 'there' for it, but when I see the highlights most of the plays aren't something specific I remember.

But if I am honest with myself, the 'best' games to me, the 'most fun' games to me aren't the Bills games I was at in the past...they aren't the Sabres games where they have a big win.  They are Bandits games...just because I love the atmosphere and I just have a better time there than I do with the Bills and Sabres games in person.

Edited December 2, 2023 by mjd1001

[mjd1001]

14 hours ago, Eli Cash said:

Game 3, ALDS, 2021, Fenway Park.  

At the last minute, I bought two tickets to a Sox playoff game in 2021.  Boston Public Schools had finally fully reopened.  The Boston Marathon was that weekend.  And, for the first time in over a year, the City felt like it had a heartbeat again.

When my son and I first sat down, our seats were right behind a pole in the grandstand.  Terrible seats.  In the third inning, I wondered how long we could last in such insanely bad seats.  I then looked at our tickets and realized we were sitting in the wrong section.  While our new section wasn’t amazing, we weren’t sitting behind a pole.  

Crowd was electric all game.  Christian Vasquez hit one over the Monster to win it in extras.  My son jumped into my arms, and Fenway exploded.  

We walked home that night.  As we made it back to Charlestown, we walked by the finish line on Boylston.  When we got home, we watched the Bills beat the Chiefs on Sunday night football.

Best sporting day of my life.

I could add another one related to yours.

I lived in Boston for many years after college, and I was there in the late 1990's and 2000s.  It wasn't a Red sox game for me, as I wasn't a Red Sox fan, but the day before the All star game my boss at my new job offered me a ticket to go with him to the home run hitting contest. Sosa and McGwire were there. I honestly do not even remember who won, just the whole day was a great time.

Sometime when you are too invested in a team, it becomes more 'stressful' and 'less fun'.  When you can just take in an event without too much being invested in any player or a team, those are great days to be a fan of sports.

Edited December 2, 2023 by mjd1001

[Thorner]

5 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Dave Hannan's ot winner vs Devils in 1994. 

This is one for me too. My Dad taped it on vcr and had it all set up for me to watch in the morning complete with a note detailing the events 

Edited December 2, 2023 by Thorny

[bob_sauve28]

12 minutes ago, Thorny said:

This is one for me too. My Dad taped it on vcr and had it all set up for me to watch in the morning complete with a note detailing the events 

I stayed up late and watched the whole thing, then when to class at UB the next morning, raced home and watched it again. I was jumping all over the living room the second time he scored as much as the first time. 

[phil_soisson]

The 1969-70 Buffalo Bisons Hockey Club winning the Calder Cup their last year in existence in the AHL; from GM Fred Hunt, HC Fred Shero, Trainer Frank Christie, Zamboni and skate sharpener, Shorty Lalonde, Trottier, Ouelette, Kassian, Jones, Rivers, Knibbs, Hextall, Ingram, Hamilton, Blackburn, Villemure, et al., with special memories of beat reporters, Charlie Barton, of the Courier, and Dick Johnston, of the BEN, and of course, WGR Voice of the Ice Bisons, Phil Soisson.

[Marvin]

Does drinking a small cup of brandy count as lifting spirits?

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, Marvin said:

Does drinking a small cup of brandy count as lifting spirits?