Are You Ready For Some Football, Buffalo??

There are a lot of great Buffalo sports blogs out there, and I am definitely not one of them. While I feel very confident in my ability to talk sports on a high level, I am a fan first and foremost. I have an allegiance to my teams, win or lose, and while I'm known to rattle off swear words at my television during games, I'll almost always defend my teams in public. 

I very rarely report on local sports even though Buffalo's sporting venues are where much of my free time is spent. As a season ticket holder for both the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, I invest a lot of my time and money in these two entities.

This Sunday, the Buffalo Bills will kick off the season away against The New York Jets. It's just a "game" people tell me on a daily basis, but the Bills are more than just a team in Buffalo, they are a way of life. 

Like so many people in this area, my love of sports was passed down from previous generations. Both my Grandpas and my Dad were die hard fans, and it didn't take long for me and my brothers to follow suit.  Sundays were always spent in front of the television and the Super Bowl was more than a game, it became a holiday where special food was purchased and we were allowed to stay up late. 

Every season I start out with a pretty high level of what I like to call "reserved optimism". There were years when I honestly thought they wouldn't be good, but my optimism carried me through, at least the first half of the first game. Being a Bills fan is a roller coaster of emotions. Over the past few seasons there have been times when we started out great: 5-0 one year, then beating the New England Patriots to take us to 3-0 early last season, and most of Buffalo had us playoff bound (myself included). Slowly as things started to spiral out of control both of those years, and in other recent years, the "same old Bills" attitude many Buffalonians have came out from hiding. 

This season feels different to me. As I listen to player and coach interviews, I get a different vibe from this team. They sound like they are more comfortable with the system. They talk as though they are more confident in themselves and their teammates. Management has invested in the team and made key acquisitions throughout the off season. During the preseason games there were glimpses (very short ones) of some incredible plays and drives and it leaves me extremely hopeful for this season. Even some nationally known media personalities have picked the Bills to make it to the playoffs this year. 

So while I won't make any bold predictions on the season, here are my Bills expectations for 2012:
I expect them to win more games than last year. 
I expect Fitzpatrick and Stevie to give us more moments where we rewind our television sets to see passes/catches over and over again. 
I expect Freddy to break through tackles and find the holes en route to a Pro Bowl season.
I expect the defense to be top 5 in the league.
I expect the offensive line to continue to drive me crazy.
I expect the cornerbacks to have difficulty.
I expect they will be playing "meaningful" football far into the season. 

As I wake up Sunday morning, my life will feel complete again. For the next 17 weeks (at least), I'll wake up on Sunday and know that I get to spend a few hours watching the team I love, with the people I love. I'll reconnect with friends I haven't seen enough over the summer and won't be able to keep up with the amount of text messages I receive/send. I'll reach out to the ever growing Bills Mafia family and make new friends as I tailgate away at The Ralph and tweet during the games. I'll laugh, I'll cheer and I'll probably cry too!

So here's to another football season in Buffalo! Let's Go Bills!!

Bills Home Opener 2011

Sports and Buffalo

I live sports, and in particular, Buffalo sports. I have season tickets to the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres that I plan on having until the day I die, and no matter what financial constraints I may find myself in, the ticket payments come first. Which has meant, on numerous occasions, that Ramen Noodles were my choice of meal for weeks at a time.

I can thank my Grandpas (both who have passed away) and my Dad for instilling in me such a passion and devotion for Buffalo sports. They had season tickets as I grew up, and it was always a battle between my brothers on who got to go with my Dad to games. I can remember the first time I walked into the Memorial Auditorium, when I was in Kindergarten, and I'll never forget the year my Dad bought me a Dale Hawerchuk jersey from the Sabres store on my birthday when I was young. So many of my favorite memories growing up involve Buffalo sports teams!

I'm one of those people who gets really angry when someone says "it's just a game", and I am one of those diehards who will sit up in bed the night before and after games strategizing on what the team should do (because clearly they are going to come to me for advice) and reliving plays over and over again.

So when I walked into The First Niagara Center on April 3rd with my boyfriend, I expected to make another great memory, but when I walked out of the building after the Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime 6-5, I not only had a set of memories to someday share with the next generation of Sondels, but a new appreciation for the city of Buffalo and the people of Buffalo.

I had a hard time falling asleep last night, since I was so wound up about the game, so I started really picking apart each period. The more I thought about it, the more the game became a metaphor for the city of Buffalo, and the people of Buffalo.

See, to me, most people count out Buffalo (at least people who don't live here) as a city that can have an impact nationally or as an option on where to live. So when the Sabres went down 3-0 in the first period, I'm sure nearly everyone counted us out.

One line, the young line of Stafford, Ennis and Foligno, reminds me so much of the younger generation in Buffalo. These three guys came out every single shift and played their hearts out. They gave of themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally, and you could tell they really wanted to win. As I'm immersing myself even more in the Buffalo culture, and organizations in the area, it is clear that the younger generation of Buffalonians, love the city and Western New York, and wants to make sure we create an even better Buffalo in the years to come.

With just a few minutes to go in the third period a crazy scrum occurred in front of the Leafs goaltender, and because of a little patience, and a lot of heart and grit, the Sabres buried the puck and tied up the game. The people of this city roll up their sleeves and aren't afraid to get a little dirty to make things happen. The people of this city are hard workers, who have hope. The people of this city will high five strangers, pat you on the back and buy you a beer to celebrate.

In overtime, the veterans stepped onto the ice and won the game for us on the power play. It was one of those moments that happened in slow motion for me. I couldn't talk. I couldn't even scream. I hugged my boyfriend, high fived the people sitting around me, and took in the crowd noise. The players, their emotions on the ice as they celebrated, and the buzz in the air as we walked out were incredible. Incredible. It's a feeling I've felt numerous times throughout my years as a sports fan, and the feeling that gets me through the bad games, or some years, bad seasons.

I was proud to be a Sabres fan last night, but more importantly, so proud to be from the city of Buffalo.

I guess, the moral of the story is, don't count Buffalo out. Not in the playoff race just yet, and certainly not when it comes to revitalizing the city. We have a ways to go (and I'll be the first to admit so do the Sabres and Bills), but if we can tap into the energy inside First Niagara Center last night, we are certainly on our way to great things.

So, Let's Go Buffalo!