What is it about Buffalo Sabres fans and alcohol? For the second game in a row down here in Tampa, I’ve seen Sabres fans staggering through an arena before the puck was even dropped.
Granted, it was a Saturday night game, affording plenty of time for pregame warm-ups, if you will. And, I’d never begrudge anyone’s choice of beverages during a game, though I have yet to taste any beer worth $7 a glass. But, to show up at a game stinking drunk, weaving carelessly through crowds and sliding down walls is, in a word, stupid.
Not only does it embarrass themselves (though, in that condition, they probably are incapable of noticing), but it also embarrasses other Sabres fans, as well as the team, city and region. It’s one thing to exult over an overtime road victory, but to be drunk and crass, especially in front of younger fans, does little to disassociate the loser tag that’s unfairly bestowed upon Buffalo.
If memory serves me correct, I remember an incident in Columbus, Ohio, last season when a handful of Sabres fans also perpetuated the negative image. Unfortunately, alcohol was a contributing factor. At that time, too, it was the actions of a few that, unfortunately, led to a wide brush of condemnation being applied to all Sabres fans.
As a native of western New York, specifically the dot-on-a-map town of Machias in Cattaraugus County, I won’t do that here. I know too many good-hearted, hard-working Sabres fans, back home and down here in Florida, who share in my embarrassment.
It’s just a shame, though, that there are people who don’t take enough pride in themselves, their teams and their hometown.
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