It’s a sad day for me as a pro lacrosse fan, as my hometown Rochester Rattlers are moving across the lake to Toronto. I cover the move, as well as the folding of the Philadelphia Barrage and the possible loss of three more teams from the Major League Lacrosse league, in my latest for the Examiner. I was lucky enough to get some thoughts on the situation from current Boston Blazer and a member of last year’s championship Rattlers team, Jack Reid.
Category: Rochester NY (Page 3 of 5)
Dear My Canadian Family/Ma famille Canadienne,
Let Rochester become a member of "The Eh Team." (T-shirt available at Noisebot.com)
Last Sunday, Western New York let you borrow the Buffalo Bills for a game. You gave them the Rogers Centre, a dull and lifeless home. They, in turn, gave you a dull and lifeless football game. I apologize for the unproductive exchange. Maybe when we have a quarterback, a new coach, and uninjured defense, this will go much better.
Because you were probably pretty bitter at the inferior goods we sent to Toronto, you decided last Monday to express interest in purchasing the Buffalo Sabres. Not all of you exactly, but the CEO of the best thing to come out of Canada since Tim Hortons Coffee, Research in Motion (RIM), which manufactures Blackberries. (I love my Blackberry like a second cat.) If they were for sale, RIM’s CEO reportedly is interested in buying the Sabres with a stipulation that some of their home games be played in Hamilton, Ontario.
Well, Canada, it seems that you are interested in all things Western New York. So do I have a deal for you.
Take us all.
I am a glutton for punishment. Last year, the partner-in-crime and I thought it would be a great idea to venture out to UMass Amherst to see the Boston University men’s hockey team face off against the Minutemen. We wore our BU jerseys and all, and I was nearly jumped on my way to the ladies room.
Well, this year, the partner-in-crime and I have decided to join a few colleagues of mine at tonight’s BU – BC matchup at Conte Forum, one of the few Hockey East arenas that I haven’t been to at this point. Heaven help us.
Don't worry, Rian Lindell - I'm still thankful for you.
This Thanksgiving day, I have a lot to be thankful for. In the spirit of many blogs today, I will now provide a laundry list of all the things – sports related, that is – that I am thankful for:
I am thankful that the Buffalo Bills are still in Buffalo.
I am thankful that Dick Jauron has resisted the urge to throw in JP Losman when Trent Edwards has gone through his growing pains.
Reluctantly, I am thankful for Rian Lindell, because for every 47 yarder to win the game he misses, he blasts 50 other field goals and extra points through the uprights. (And I still don’t understand why more people are not naming their sons Rian with an i.)
I am thankful for the Buffalo Sabres’ third jerseys, because they remind me of my childhood. Continue reading
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.