Category: Buffalo New York (Page 3 of 4)

A Fellow Western New Yorker Weighs In (A Sorta, Kinda, In A Way Guest Post)

15 November, 2008 / Kat

I am always surprised at the reaction my now-year-old post, Obviously, Massachusetts Schools Neglect to Teach Geography of Areas outside of New England (or No, Western New Yorkers are not Yankees Fans.), still gets. The most viewed and most commented post ever on this blog, the discussion it’s encouraged is great!

Jon emailed me earlier this week with a comment too lengthy to be posted as a comment, and I thought it was cool enough to be my first sorta, kinda in a way guest post ever. I’ll also link to this in the comments section of the original post as well.

Thanks, Jon for such a well thought out response to the article, and for another view into being a Western New York sports fan. The comment, which includes one of the best descriptions of why Western New Yorkers tend to flock to Boston, after the jump. Continue reading

They Hate Me: Western NY’s Toxic Back and Forth Relationship with Basketball

31 October, 2008 / Kat

Pravin commented earlier this week on my treatise on New York State sports fandom with a great question on basketball in Western New York:

And where does basketball fit into all of this? Is there a particular team that people in Western New York prefer to root for? I’d imagine that the Knicks–not even factoring in their past seven seasons of futility–represent everything that upstaters hate about downstate. There is the connection between the old Buffalo Braves and L.A. Clippers, but not even the most ardent fan of the A.B.A. would retain that kind of loyalty.

Now, I have been in quite a few relationships in my day, including some of those of the on-and-off, back and forth, toxic variety. (Who hasn’t in their day? The degrees of severity vary, but everyone’s had at least one.) But none come close to the toxic back and forth relationship that professional basketball has had with my home region of Western New York. Professional basketball took Western New York and toyed with its emotions – “You want an NBA Championship? Here you go. Oh, wait – you aren’t “big enough” to support professional sports! Sorry, let’s move the team away.” – until a whole generation and their children decided enough was enough, and ceased following the NBA all together.

Dear Sports Media: The Bills Are 2-0 and Possibly Deserving of Some of Your Attention.

15 September, 2008 / Kat

Dear National Sports Media,

This morning, while sipping my delicious Brighton Cafe iced coffee (which is more like coffee tinged sugar cream, which is just the way I like it), I snagged a look at ESPN.com. I glanced through the Boston.com sports headlines. I read through my numerous NFL blogs on Google Reader. I was left with one glaring question:

Did the Buffalo Bills play a game yesterday? Were they maybe the game that got postponed? Continue reading

Dear Sad Pats Fans: The Buffalo Bandwagon is Open For You.

8 September, 2008 / Kat

Sad, Pats fans? Forget about Brady, and come join Robert Royal and the best fans in football.

I can’t believe it. I just heard Cris Collinsworth say he “now likes Buffalo in the AFC East this season.”

What the littlest tap on a shin can do to an entire NFL division. After the absolutely wimpiest knock on a leg since my little brother ran into my leg with his Big Wheels when he was three years old, the entire AFC East, and to some extent, the entire NFL, seems to be turned on its head. Tom Brady is injured, the Patriots don’t have the dominant defense they once did (thanks free agency and old age), and thus this marks the end of the world. Well, maybe not, but you would think it was the way the local Boston stations are covering Brady’s injury as I type. “A disapointing start to what was to be another dream season for the Patriots,” led off Channel 7’s late news. Wow, Channel 7, I didn’t know that the season’s result was predetermined. Usually a team has to play games to determine if a season is a “dream season.” Continue reading

I Drool Over the Olympics Like Homer Simpson Drools Over Donuts

18 August, 2008 / Kat

The Olympics are, hands down, my favorite sporting event. It started when I was two, and my mother, an Olympics junkie if you’ve ever seen one, pretty much forced me to watch the 1984 Summer and Winter Olympics instead of doing normal two-year-old things. This caused me to mimic Mary Lou Retton by diving head first off my couch when my parents weren’t looking, which then resulted in my first of two childhood concussions when I went flying into the window. (The other came while roller skating when I was four, back before helmets were all the rage.) Since then, I drool over the Olympics like Homer Simpson drools over donuts.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to follow the Bejing Games as much as I would like. I have been traveling for work, and haven’t been able to catch the games. I have been trying to stay up for the late night replays, but have been passing out whenever I see a bed. I have missed so much of the gymnastics, and I feel out of the loop. However, here are the observations regarding the little bit I have seen: