The Case against Buffaloonians

I hate Buffalo, NY. Well, I don't really have anything against the city, but I can't stand the people that hail from that part of the Rust Belt. I am speaking totally from personal experience here. In every single one of my encounters with a person from Buffalo at a Hurricanes game, I have yet to see anything remotely close to a person who is good-natured. This aversion all started in 2006 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Canes fans embrace the Southern Hospitality Mantra of the South. We are nice to the opposing teams' fans. We offer them a beer when we tailgate. We look the other way when their team scores and they yell in joy. However, you will never see a Canes fan act the way the Buffalo Sabres fans did (and still do) when some of them came to town for Game 1 of the ECF in '06.

This was 2hours before the game started:

And this was directly after the game:

Notice the little girl trying to take care of her dad after he was jumped and beat up by two Buffalo fans. We actually called 911 for this incident. And this was after the Buffalo Sabres WON the game. This scene was repeated all around the RBC Center parking lot that afternoon.

Here is an article stating that half the number of people arrested for the entire previous season, were arrested during this one game.

My own group almost got into a fight because two Buffalo fans thought they were tough and and started poking and shoving my fiance'. All she had said was for them to just "get out of here." Those words do not demand a reaction of physicality on a woman.

Ever since that one game, the Raleigh PD has had to increase their force at any Buffalo game by a degree of magnitude. Instead of having 3 cops for the entire 3rd level, when the Buffalo Sabres come to town, there are 2 officers for every entrance to the 3rd level!

That's over 40 cops.

Just for the 3rd level.

This happens for no other team that comes to Raleigh.

If you are a Buffalo Sabres fan and are reading this, I challenge you to change my mind. Show me that you are decent folk. I challenge you all collectively to act like civilized people. There is not a fine line between being passionate about your team and being completely classless jackasses.

Related, the Canes play the Slugs tonight, in Buffalo. I fear for the safety of any Canes fan being there.

My only prediction for this game is that it could swing either way for the Canes. They will either snap out of their funk and kill the Sabres 4-1, or they continue with their current ways and lose 5-2.

The Canes got an earful from Mo yesterday in practice, let's see if it helps.