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To the Buffalo Sabres:
It would be obvious to say we, your fans, love you, that our hearts are with you, that we’re proud of you.
Because you’ve earned it in so many ways. You’re an inspiration, both with your tremendous skill and your character.
There’s no team in sports quite like this one. Just a few years ago, this franchise was at the darkest point in its history. On top of a poor performance on the ice, we suffered the national humiliation of our owner being led away in handcuffs. Another potential ownership deal fell apart. The existence of the team was in jeopardy. We went a whole season without hockey.
So to say this team came out of nowhere last season is an understatement. You came out of hell.
That’s one thing that makes the Sabres easy to love.
It’s always a challenge for anything in Buffalo to be granted respect, or even attention. And even in that context, no one noticed the band of young, fresh Sabres that hit the ice the season after the lockout. Outside of our hockeytown, who knew about Jason Pominville or Derek Roy or Brian Campbell?
But you didn’t care what anyone thought. You believed in yourselves, and you believed in each other. You poured your heart into every game. You dumbfounded the experts. You went out and took what no one was willing to give you.
That’s also what makes this team easy to love.
No one’s ignoring you now. Not only have you rescued this franchise from the brink of extinction, but you’ve taken it to heights of prominence that have rarely been breached here before. Three starters in the All-Star Game. A top-10 scorer. The most goals in the league. Our first-ever President’s Trophy.
But we don’t have to tell you that all of that is rubbish compared with what now stands before you.
Being Buffalo sports fans, we understand the hesitation to even mention the ultimate goal. Not only have our teams failed to capture the greatest championships, but too many times defeat came in the most heartbreaking ways.
However, this Sabres club makes me unafraid to put my heart on the line once again. I trust you with it.
We’re so proud of you, and nothing I say can capture the gratitude for what you’ve given us these past two years.
Thank you, Mr. Golisano, for saving the franchise and giving us local ownership that cares about our region and the fans here.
Thank you, Darcy, for making the right moves to build this spectacular team, both through the draft and from around the league.
Thank you, Lindy, for taking a loaded hand and knowing how to play it, for helping instill the blue-collar ethic that defined you as a player, and for holding the team accountable when they deserved it.
Thank you, Chris Drury, for your unparalleled leadership and bringing a champion’s experience and mentality. No one can prepare a team for a run at the Cup more than someone who’s hoisted it before.
Thank you, Daniel Briere, for your prodigious skill that makes everyone around you better, and for proving the cliché that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog.
Thank you, Maxim Afinogenov, not only for your dazzling, jaw-dropping abilities, but for not resting on them. You’ve worked hard to improve and become a more complete player.
Thank you, Thomas Vanek, for learning from the trials of your rookie season and taking the next step to stardom.
Thank you, Ryan Miller, for your quick glove, saber-like stick and steely resolve. Just try and beat this guy on a breakaway. Denied.
Thank you, Tim Connolly, for your perseverance in overcoming a scary injury that has ended careers.
Thank you to all the other Sabres who assure our opponents that they’ll have their hands full for 60-plus minutes.
Thank you to Randy Cunneyworth and the Rochester Americans for tuning this engine during the lockout and continually turning prospects into solid NHLers, even when we scraped the bottom of the barrel this season.
Thank you.
In the Buffalo area, the Sabres have been the little brother of sorts. The Bills draw crowds many times larger, they make more money, they play in the mighty NFL. But it’s appropriate that the Sabres are now the ones who can win it all, because this is the city of the underdog, the little guy, the unspoiled working man. The humble Sabres represent us more than anyone else.
There is no one more worthy of achieving the greatest moment in the history of Buffalo and western New York. No one more worthy of having their names engraved in immortal silver – and on the soul of this region forever. Just think, you’d be the first ones to do it here. The ones who broke the curse. Legends among legends.
The Sabres have charmed us and thrilled us before. We love you no matter the outcome.
But now the Holy Grail is in sight, sixteen wins away. NO ONE can stop you, IF you play the way you’re capable of playing and do it from start to finish. You just have to want it enough.
The Stanley Cup. The Stanley frikkin’ Cup.
This is your time. For us, for yourselves, for this area, for those who came before you and for the generations to come … GO OUT AND TAKE IT!
Sincerely,
A Sabres fan
:oldskool:
It would be obvious to say we, your fans, love you, that our hearts are with you, that we’re proud of you.
Because you’ve earned it in so many ways. You’re an inspiration, both with your tremendous skill and your character.
There’s no team in sports quite like this one. Just a few years ago, this franchise was at the darkest point in its history. On top of a poor performance on the ice, we suffered the national humiliation of our owner being led away in handcuffs. Another potential ownership deal fell apart. The existence of the team was in jeopardy. We went a whole season without hockey.
So to say this team came out of nowhere last season is an understatement. You came out of hell.
That’s one thing that makes the Sabres easy to love.
It’s always a challenge for anything in Buffalo to be granted respect, or even attention. And even in that context, no one noticed the band of young, fresh Sabres that hit the ice the season after the lockout. Outside of our hockeytown, who knew about Jason Pominville or Derek Roy or Brian Campbell?
But you didn’t care what anyone thought. You believed in yourselves, and you believed in each other. You poured your heart into every game. You dumbfounded the experts. You went out and took what no one was willing to give you.
That’s also what makes this team easy to love.
No one’s ignoring you now. Not only have you rescued this franchise from the brink of extinction, but you’ve taken it to heights of prominence that have rarely been breached here before. Three starters in the All-Star Game. A top-10 scorer. The most goals in the league. Our first-ever President’s Trophy.
But we don’t have to tell you that all of that is rubbish compared with what now stands before you.
Being Buffalo sports fans, we understand the hesitation to even mention the ultimate goal. Not only have our teams failed to capture the greatest championships, but too many times defeat came in the most heartbreaking ways.
However, this Sabres club makes me unafraid to put my heart on the line once again. I trust you with it.
We’re so proud of you, and nothing I say can capture the gratitude for what you’ve given us these past two years.
Thank you, Mr. Golisano, for saving the franchise and giving us local ownership that cares about our region and the fans here.
Thank you, Darcy, for making the right moves to build this spectacular team, both through the draft and from around the league.
Thank you, Lindy, for taking a loaded hand and knowing how to play it, for helping instill the blue-collar ethic that defined you as a player, and for holding the team accountable when they deserved it.
Thank you, Chris Drury, for your unparalleled leadership and bringing a champion’s experience and mentality. No one can prepare a team for a run at the Cup more than someone who’s hoisted it before.
Thank you, Daniel Briere, for your prodigious skill that makes everyone around you better, and for proving the cliché that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog.
Thank you, Maxim Afinogenov, not only for your dazzling, jaw-dropping abilities, but for not resting on them. You’ve worked hard to improve and become a more complete player.
Thank you, Thomas Vanek, for learning from the trials of your rookie season and taking the next step to stardom.
Thank you, Ryan Miller, for your quick glove, saber-like stick and steely resolve. Just try and beat this guy on a breakaway. Denied.
Thank you, Tim Connolly, for your perseverance in overcoming a scary injury that has ended careers.
Thank you to all the other Sabres who assure our opponents that they’ll have their hands full for 60-plus minutes.
Thank you to Randy Cunneyworth and the Rochester Americans for tuning this engine during the lockout and continually turning prospects into solid NHLers, even when we scraped the bottom of the barrel this season.
Thank you.
In the Buffalo area, the Sabres have been the little brother of sorts. The Bills draw crowds many times larger, they make more money, they play in the mighty NFL. But it’s appropriate that the Sabres are now the ones who can win it all, because this is the city of the underdog, the little guy, the unspoiled working man. The humble Sabres represent us more than anyone else.
There is no one more worthy of achieving the greatest moment in the history of Buffalo and western New York. No one more worthy of having their names engraved in immortal silver – and on the soul of this region forever. Just think, you’d be the first ones to do it here. The ones who broke the curse. Legends among legends.
The Sabres have charmed us and thrilled us before. We love you no matter the outcome.
But now the Holy Grail is in sight, sixteen wins away. NO ONE can stop you, IF you play the way you’re capable of playing and do it from start to finish. You just have to want it enough.
The Stanley Cup. The Stanley frikkin’ Cup.
This is your time. For us, for yourselves, for this area, for those who came before you and for the generations to come … GO OUT AND TAKE IT!
Sincerely,
A Sabres fan
:oldskool:
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