Back to Business

It's time to get back to business - on so many levels.

After a summer of job-hunting and resume-writing, I've finally settled down at a job I love: writing and editing educational books for children. Now that I feel settled in this crazy new life, I'm ready to get back to making this blog the best it can be.

After tonight's preseason game, it looks like the Sabres are ready to get back to business too.

A 9-3 rout of the Flyers was exactly what I needed to get back into the swing of blogging. It may have only been a preseason game, but it felt close enough to the real deal. The crowd was chanting, "Sweet Caroline" was playing, and it felt good to be back at the arena after an offseason that felt too long once again.

The best part of the game wasn't Stafford's highlight-reel goal. It wasn't even Kaleta's fight - as thrilled as I was to see my first fight of the season. It was getting to share it with two of my best friends and watching one of them experience a game at the arena for the first time. Explaining all of the best parts of the game I love so much and sharing the fun of seeing a game like that in person reminded me of why I love blogging. Writing this blog is another way of sharing all of the parts of the game I love with some pretty fantastic people. It's a way to celebrate games like tonight's and commiserate together over the bad games that are sure to come.

As I left the arena tonight, the goal chants still ringing in my ears and the smile still on my face, only one thought was left in my mind. It wasn't which defensemen were going to make the opening night roster, and it wasn't whether or not Stafford has turned a corner. It was: Is it Friday yet?

It felt good to be back. It felt a lot like coming home.

Intensity

It started like this...

featured a player playing like this...

Photo curtesy of Yahoo Images

and ended like this on the ice...

Photo curtesy of The Buffalo News

...and off the ice in high-fives, hugs, car horns happily honking, and chants throughout the parking lots.

I'll have more to say tomorrow; I'm emotionally and physically drained from such an amazing night. The intensity in that game - from both the teams and the crowd was something I had missed so much over the last few seasons. The playoffs are truly a different animal, but I think we showed tonight (in the first and third periods at least) that we can face that animal head-on.

Fifteen more to go until the ultimate goal is reached. For tonight, though, I'm only thinking about one - one game, one win, and one unifying moment for the city.

Never Fails

I knew it was coming.

It seems like every time I go to the arena and see an ex-Sabre play, the find some way to rip my heart out. The last time it was Marty Biron shutting them out with the Flyers nearly a year ago.

Tonight, it was Max Afinogenov who responded to those harsh boos with a goal that left everyone around me saying the same thing: "Did that really just happen?"

Did Max really just successfully complete a rush without losing the puck?

Where was that the last couple of years when he was playing for us?

I honestly didn't expect it to happen. After Stafford scored, I was so busy hoping for the chance to pull the goalie that I forgot about that guy wearing #61 who is still fast and actually pretty decent at hockey. What's bad isn't that I didn't see it coming - it's that the Sabres didn't see it either.

I am officially 0-4 in first games I attend for the Sabres. I should have known this was coming. And I should have known it was Max who would keep my streak of bad luck alive. For all the frustration and pained shock that he put us all through the last few seasons, it was almost like poetic justice to feel those things again - only with him wearing another team's jersey instead.

Love him now, Atlanta fans - it's only a matter of time before those rushes become nothing to get worked up about...Until he goes to play for another team...

Closing Time

Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end..."

This line from Semisonic's "Closing Time" perfectly captures the feeling in HSBC Arena during Buffalo's 6-1 win over Boston. Sure, the win was great, but there was a palpable feeling in the air that something was ending, something bigger than even the regular season.

Maybe it really was just the feeling that another season was ending, this time before my eyes. I've never been to the last game of the season before, so maybe this is how it feels when a playoff-less year concludes on home ice. However, there is no denying that big changes seem to be in store for this offseason, and the tension was evident all around the arena.

Last season, there were a myriad of excuses that both the team and fans gave for missing the playoffs - learning new roles, changes in how the game was being played, growing up...

This season, those excuses will fall on deaf ears if anyone is naive enough to even try and use them. There are simply no excuses for what happened this time around; if they aren't grown up by now, I have a feeling what we're facing is a case of terminal adolescence.

There's no doubt that some changes will be made this summer; nothing stays the same in professional sports from year to year. The pain of this season had me asking a lot of questions about what I was seeing:

Did I just watch Teppo Numminen play in his last NHL game? If so, there was a great sign across from our seats that said "Thank You Teppo," and it brought a sad smile to my face. That man deserved a Stanley Cup.

Did I just see Lindy Ruff's last game behind the Sabres' bench?

Will those people in the section over from me be right with their "We want Darcy fired" chants?

Did I just see the last game in a Sabres uniform by Jaro Spacek? Henrik Tallinder? Jochen Hecht? Who will be here when this ice is laid down once again in the Fall?

No matter the letdowns, I've come to love the guys on this team since 2005. In my mind, tonight is the end of an era. My gut feeling is that some part of this team that I've come to love will be gone by next year. There's going to be a shake-up, and I feel like this game was the last time all of the faces I've come to associate with the Buffalo Sabres will be in HSBC Arena together.

Make no mistake, I want changes to be made. I would not be satisfied to see this same team trotted out in late September. This team needs a "new beginning," but I know that it won't come without a cost.

When the team saluted the fans after the game, I'll admit to getting emotional. Did they make me furious at times this season? Yes. However, you can't tell me that this team doesn't know and appreciate the fans here.

In 2005, it seemed like we were just at the beginning of a great journey with this new "core" of young rookies. In 2009, that beginning has ended, but we have no idea what the next one will hold.

Knighthawks Get a Bandit Beating

It almost wasn't fair...almost...

The Rochester Knighthawks were dominated in every possible way by the Buffalo Bandits tonight at the HSBC Arena. There are those games where people are prone to say "Well, the score didn't indicate how the game was played." This was not one of them. With a final score of 23-6, this was one of those games where a team smelled blood at the start and didn't let up the whole night. It was a truly exhilarating thing to see.

I've never been to the arena for a blowout. The only hockey wins I've seen have been close ones, the majority in overtime. It was so great to feel comfortable for a whole game, to see HSBC rocking like that. I think the crowd covered every chant - "It's all over!", the Habs "Ole" chant, the goal count, singing "Sweet Caroline." I haven't lost my voice at a sporting event in a long time, and I've missed that.

Looking at the shots on goal was a humorous experience. The Bandits were actually outshot 55-54, showing just how good goalie Ken Montour was tonight.

Offensively, the Bandits used speed and great long passes to gain a number of breakaways. Mark Steenhuis scored eight goals in the win. Yes, I said eight goals, two more than Rochester had as a team. There is a reason this team won the NLL title last season; they are able to crush the other team's will to compete. After the third quarter, I was actually starting to wonder if a team could just forfeit; it was that painfully one-sided.

Not only did Buffalo dominate offensively and defensively, they pounded Rochester into submission physically. Brandon Francis picked up a well-earned game misconduct after the absolute demolition of a Knighthawk behind the Buffalo net, leaving to a standing ovation. Ian Llord got into another good scrap, throwing punches over the referee to get to the Rochester player. Steenhuis even got in on the action, landing a great punch for a skilled player during a little scrum while Llord was fighting.

Banditland was a great place to be tonight, and, for those of you who haven't gone to a game yet, you need to go as soon as you can (the next home game is on Valentine's Day).

Tomorrow night the Sabres can pick up another two points on Carolina with a win at the arena. I'll be at Shea's to see the final tour of RENT, so, unfortunately, I will not be able to jeer the 'Canes like I so love to do. Look for a post tomorrow spreading some more Paul Gaustad love, but, for now, anyone who hasn't read it should go check out Ryan from The Roost's tribute to Goose's leadership.

Ryan Miller Love-Fest

I was looking through some of my past posts, and I've realized something very unfortunate.

I do not mention Ryan Miller nearly enough on this blog.

As I've said before, I feel extremely protective of our wonderfully quirky goalie. I love that he's our guitar-playing, picture-taking, deep-thinking goalie.

This weekend has provided me with the perfect opportunity to bring my love for Ryan to the forefront once again. He was a rock for us, stealing the shootout win over the Rangers and keeping us in it against the dreaded Red Wings until the very end. With 43 saves Friday and 45 on Saturday, Ryan deserves to keep the Pigeon of the Game for as long as he wants it.

I only wish the team could have gotten at least a point for Ryan's effort in Detroit because he had so many family members and friends there.

I guess I'd rather not talk about last night's game because I'll have fits if I try to articulate my anger at being unable to hold on for 2 minutes.

Instead, I'd like to talk about Friday's exhilarating win over the Rangers. If ever there was a time to use everyone's favorite cliche of "poetic justice," it was the second that Chris Drury grabbed the puck at center ice and began skating towards Miller.

Photo courtesy of The Buffalo News

There it was, right in front of us - the man who left versus the man who stayed. The man who turned his back on an adoring city versus the man who has embraced Buffalo with all of his heart. For one night, the Buffalo guy came out on top. The quietly intense goalie who said he'd give up all of his money for a Stanley Cup in Buffalo proved that, if only for a moment, karma could work out in our favor.

My best friend and I went to practice on Friday morning, and we could tell then that Ryan was going to have a good night. It was the loosest I'd ever seen him. He was shooting pucks into the boards to startle everyone watching, practicing puck-handling with Goose, and playing faceoff judge between Goose and Pommer.

The Trio huddles with James Patrick to discuss how awesome they are.

The best part of practice, though, was when Ryan decided that he was actually going to take draws against his fellow Trio members. Goose and Pommer looked like they didn't believe him at first, but Ryan proved just how multi-talented he truly is by actually winning a faceoff (Does that just mean that Goose and Pommer were really bad at draws?).

In conclusion, Ryan Miller is getting a lot of credit right now, and I would just like to say that it is completely deserved. On that completely unoriginal note, I present two final pictures of Millsey from Friday's practice (if you want to see the rest of my pictures, click here for my Facebook album):

Even though last night's loss still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, I'm looking forward to Wednesday's game in Chicago. If Ryan Miller is in goal, I like our chances against just about anyone right now.

Monday Musings

Did you ever just have one of those days, a day when you wish the Sabres were playing because you can't wait to see the next game?

Today is one of those days for me. There's been no hockey since Saturday's demolition of Boston's winning streak, and it's been too long for me. When the Sabres are winning, I want to see them continue winning. I want to see their heart and effort on display once again, and I can only hope that they have decided (finally) that they like playing this way as much as we like watching them play this way.

I'll admit that I'm a little nervous for tomorrow's game against the Senators. Yes, I know that Ottawa is 1-4-1 on their current road trip. Yes, I know that they are in the basement of the Northeast Division. Yes, I know that this Sabres team I'm nervous about is the same team that just beat up on the leaders of the Eastern Conference in their arena.

However, I also know that this Ottawa team has already embarrassed us once at home this season when we thought we were playing well. I know that this Sabres team has a tendency to play down to their opponents rather than crushing them as they should. I know that this Sabres team likes to get complacent after a few victories, forgetting the hard work that led to them.

With those points in mind, I was very happy to read Paul Hamilton's report on WGR's website today. To summarize his points:

*Captain Craig is set to return to the ice tomorrow. I can only hope that means he's ready to join Goose in a beat-down of Chis Neil because I've been waiting for the day his fist meets Neil's face since we signed him. Seriously, though, having their Captain back should give them an added incentive to play all-out tomorrow (even though they should be playing this way all the time).

*With Teppo battling an illness, Chris Butler has been kept up with the team. I don't want Teppo to be sick, but I really want Butler to stay up with the big club. Even if he is feeling better, give the veteran a rest tomorrow and keep the youngster in. I like everything about Butler's game right now, and I don't want him to see Portland ever again (even though it's pretty much a given at some point).

*Max is out for a stretch, but Timmy is coming back. I never wish for anyone to be hurt, but letting Max rest for a while may be the best thing for this team. Plus, with Timmy coming back, our offense should be riding high soon (hopefully). We are in desperate need of another center (no offense, Jochen), and Timmy provides play-making opportunities that should lead to even more scoring chances for other guys and an even stronger powerplay.

*The best thing about Hamilton's report, though, is what he said about the nature of the practice today:

"Ruff put the troops through a hard hour today in the Marina. He wants to make sure he stays on top of them after two very good efforts in Toronto and Boston"

This is exactly what I wanted to hear. This team needs constant reminding that they cannot rest on their laurels. I understand that this shouldn't be necessary, but it is. This is a group of hockey players who know that they are talented and think that should be enough. They need to be force-fed one of my favorite quotes: "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." Two wins do not signify a turnaround, and I'm so glad to hear that Lindy is pushing them the same way as before; hopefully it will have the same results.

This is Lindy's happy handshake. I want to see more happy handshakes in the future, please.

I would be remiss if I closed this post without mentioning that the Bandits won their home opener in impressive fashion, beating the Philadelphia Wings 15-11. The view from our season ticket seats is amazing - seven rows up from the penalty boxes. If any of you ever go to a game this season, stop by Section 117, Row 7, Seat 10 and find me!

Why Am I Only 20?

I really don't care much about not turning 21 until August. I'm not much of a drinker or a party girl, so it usually does not bother me that I still have eight months until I reach the legal drinking age.

Except today - today it bothers me a lot.

You see, today Ryan Miller announced the third annual Catwalk for Charity, which you have to be 21 in order to attend.

Look at this video and see exactly why I would want to attend:

There are about a million reasons why I need to go to this, especially this year, but I'll narrow it down to a few:

1.) I'm obsessed with the 1920's. Really, it's a problem. I wrote my first 20-page paper on the influence of flappers in American culture, which I'm thinking of writing my college Honors thesis on as well. My favorite book is The Great Gatsby. Ryan, you couldn't wait one more year for this theme?

2.) According to Sabres Edge, there will be a costume contest for best 1920s look. I was a flapper for Halloween last year and found an even better dress this year (at Target of all places). Maybe I'll just shell out the $35 bucks and wear it around my house pretending to be cool. It wouldn't be the first time...

3.) Also on Sabres Edge is the reveal that all of the guys will be taking part in this dress-up game as well. The image of Goose and Pommer in pinstripes with fedoras is enough to make me feel lightheaded right here. If any of you reading attend, I better see pictures!

Honestly, this event is one of the reasons I am most excited about turning 21 (is that sad or what?). I would love to see all of the guys just goofing off and being themselves, and knowing that the money goes to a great cause doesn't hurt.

I hope some of my fellow bloggers or readers will be attending this year, for the reasons stated above. I expect to hear some stories about Ryan getting his runway diva on and Timmy trying to pick up a scantily-clad girl in fringe.

In other, real news, the Sabres called up Matt Ellis and Chris Butler for tomorrow, with Nate Gerbe being placed on injured reserve. I can't wait to see Butler out there; he could be no worse than Paetsch was last night. Chris was also really nice to my little cousin on the red carpet, joking around with her and taking the time to sign her shirt.

Welcome to the big club, Chris (great hockey hair, by the way)!

Finally, yes, dear readers, I did go to the game last night, but I've decided to put as much effort into my recap as some of the guys put on the ice last night.

*The seats were great - Section 118 Row 13 (thanks again, Uncle Keith), and it was nice to be surprised by seeing so much of my wonderful family there.

*Kaleta scored, my father couldn't have been happier. Then, Goose scored, I couldn't have been happier. That was the first time I've ever seen either of them score in person, so it was pretty cool to see my favorite find the net right in front of me (well, on the other side of the rink...)

*My unsung hero for last night is Goose because he scored, he always looks like he cares, and the seats I had allowed me to see just how much directing he does out there. He really is a leader; he has a great mind for the game (if only his hands and feet could catch up - but I love him anyway!).

Game Day Notes

I really thought that the semester's end would signal an intense revival of the blogging spirit, but I've been so busy Christmas shopping and working extra hours to pay for said shopping that I haven't kept up my part of the bargain. Sorry about that...

Tonight the Sabres face the Devils for the third time this season and the first at HSBC. I will be there tonight, thanks to my fantastic Aunt and Uncle (Uncle Keith, I know you read this, so thanks again!).

I'm taking my dad tonight, and this is the first professional sporting event we've ever seen together in person without the whole family to keep us restrained. I'm actually really looking forward to it.

My dad is insanely excited for this game because his favorite player will be making his return to the ice.

Patty's back!

My dad fully admits to having a "Man Crush" on Patrick Kaleta. He loves everything about what Patty does on the ice. Any time he crushes a guy along the boards or goads someone into taking a dumb penalty, my dad always responds with a loud "I love that kid!"

Patty better bring a ton of energy tonight because he is replacing someone who had a ton of his own. Poor little Nate Gerbe will be sidelined for about two weeks with an upper-body injury following a hit by Jamie Langenbrunner on Saturday. Get well soon, Nate, because I can't wait to see you score your first NHL goal!

I'm really going to miss seeing that tiny #42 jersey shooting up the ice or battling in the corners and usually coming out with the puck. He brought a lot of heart to a team that was lacking it when he got here. I can only hope that someone lets Langenbrunner know that what he did was not cool (I'm taking to you, Mair and Goose).

Speaking of Goose, does anyone else find it somewhat funny that he is "freak-accident boy" on the team. Seriously, if you look at his injuries, the only one who may rival him in absurdity is Timmy. Let's list a sampling, shall we: severed his tendon with his own skate, got hit in the eye so that it swelled enough that he couldn't get a contact in to play, injured his hand while fighting in the preseason, and, finally, got hit in the face with a puck when James Patrick was shooting it in during practice. Oh Goose, you were probably that little kid in school who sprained their ankle tripping on the pavement while walking to the bus (oh wait, that was me...).

In other Goose news, many thanks to my Sabre Sister Dani from Sabre Kallisions for informing me that Goose got into yet another flour fight this year while baking cookies with the kids from Camp Good Days. If anyone can find better pictures or video of this, please email it to me, so I can bask in the sweetness that is Goose helping kids:

Sorry for the terrible quality, I had to scan it from the paper, but I think the cuteness still comes through.

This year, Goose brought along Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville to help out. More Nap Buddy bonding time is always a good thing, and I love that Thomas is getting involved in the community more than ever this season.

Ryan Miller and Pommer were also helping out at the Carly's Club Christmas party this week. It truly does make me happy to see them doing such good things for kids who really need it. We're lucky to have such great additions to the community on this team.

On that note, I hope you all are enjoying getting into the holiday spirit. Yesterday I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas and tomorrow I plan to sit down for the first of probably 5 viewings of It's a Wonderful Life (my favorite Christmas movie).

I'm not sure where I'll be sitting tonight, but if you see a short girl in a Goose jersey with a guy rooting especially hard for #36, that would be my father and I!

Game Night

Tonight marks the first trip for the Atlanta Thrashers to Buffalo this season. It also marks my first regular season game at HSBC in the 2008-2009 campaign.

This means that I get to see the mighty Jochen's return to the ice for the first time since the Islanders Game; it will be so nice to have his defensibly responsible self back out there with Pommers!

I hope to see a lot of this happening tonight

I also get to see Captain Craig's return to home ice after he proved that he is, indeed, Super(defense)Man in New Jersey. I swear, sometimes I think I see the shirt with the "S" sticking out under his jersey. The last game I went to, he kicked the tar out of Ryan Hollweg, and I really hope he does the same to someone tonight.

For those of you who have read this blog since the summer, yes, I did pick this game for a reason, and that reason is...Colby Armstrong!

I love Colby almost as much as Sidney Crosby does, so this is the first game I'm going to where I actually genuinely like a guy on the other team. It makes me really excited that I get to see him probably do nothing except get penalties (which is all he does on my fantasy team), but I don't care because, for some reason, he just makes me smile.

Hopefully before I get to the arena tonight, I will know whose lovely face I will not be seeing on the ice. Will it be Timmy still nursing his sore groin (which begs for comments about Chippewa that I will leave to your imagination)? Will it be Matt Ellis placed on waivers again (I hope not)? Will Drew Stafford be sent to Portland for his lackluster play? Personally, I think it's this last choice - sorry Drew.

So if anyone else is going to be there tonight, stop by Section 307 and look for a really short girl wearing a Goose jersey.

PS: To whoever found this blog by looking for "best grinder ever hockey" I believe the answer you're looking for is Paul Gaustad.

Pinstripes and Point Shots

I don't know how much longer my fragile heart and even more fragile psyche can handle these comebacks. I don't have many more nails to bite.

First the Sabres come back from a 2-goal deficit with a little over two minutes left in the game to win just into overtime. Then, the Bills come back from what I was sure was going to be a classic fall in a "trap game" to win convincingly over the Rams.

All of this makes for a very nice Sunday night in Buffalo. Edit: The Sabres did just lose 3-2 in a shootout to the Wild, but I'd still say this was a pretty successful weekend even with the loss.

As for the game yesterday, I present a mini photo diary of the day's festivities (all of the pictures can be found here; I hope the link works for those of you who don't have Facebook).

Goose was looking studly as always, and took time to talk to a lot of the little kiddies:

Ryan Miller proved that absence does make the heart grow fonder - I have never seen him look better: Nate Gerbe looked great, and I'm not saying that just because he's my favorite Facebook friend:
Pommer got the biggest ovation of the night; it was like the Jonas Brothers and Zac Effron combined:
Danny Paille signed my cousin's shirt, and proceeded to tell us "Thanks for coming!" I swear, he is almost beating Pommer for Most Snuggly Sabre (a title they would both be very proud of, I'm sure): As for the game itself, until the last two minutes, I was afraid that my cousin's first game was going to be a total disappointment. I mean, I thought the Rivet fight was worth the ticket price alone, but she has yet to appreciate mucking and grinding like I do.

That all changed, though, when Roy scored. He's her favorite player, so of course we were going nuts together. Then, she was excited because my favorite player scored. At the start of overtime, she looks at me and asks, "Where's Kotalik? I haven't seen him do much tonight." Then he scores. I told her she needs to come to more games with me.

Now that was a great way to spend a Saturday night.

I'll probably be blogging even less than usual this week. In addition to the 4 papers I have due, I'm also doing my first interview for the Canisius paper. It's with the men's basketball coach, Tom Parrotta, and I'm both very excited and very nervous. Hopefully, I'll write a few times before the weekend, but if not, know that I'm just buried under mountains of books and notes.

Fantasy Hockey Time

I had my first ever fantasy hockey draft on Wednesday, and I am pleased to report that I did come out of it with at least some of the guys that I originally hoped for (which is more than I can say for my football teams).

I present to you, the roster for the 2008-2009 edition of Sweating Like Soupy:

• My Centers are from three teams that Sabres fans usually hate on principle (though do we really still hate Dallas?): Mike Ribeiro, Scott Gomez, and Mike Fisher. My best friend and I both love Scott Gomez because he scored the game-winning goal during the first hockey game we ever saw on our Senior trip to NYC (The Devils beat the Canadiens), and I have this strange attraction to Mike Fisher, which I know is wrong but, frankly, I don't care.


• Ilya Kovalchuk was my first pick at #10, and I'm very excited that I'm actually getting to see him (and Colby Armstrong) at HSBC on November 7.


• Since I didn't get to pick Goose, I figured I'd pick the guy who robbed him of the Masterton Trophy, Jason Blake (keep your friends close, but your enemies closer...). Really, though, Blake is one of the only Leafs I actually like and respect.


• My goalies are Miikka Kiprusoff from Calgary and Rick DiPietro from the Islanders. I really wanted Marty as my second goalie, but I guess Pretty Ricky will do (at least I have an excuse to look at him).


• The Sabres are represented on my roster with both Jochen Hecht and Jaro "Spacho Man" Spacek figuring to play important roles.


• I got my dream pick (and dream husband-to-be) in Pat Kane. This was by far my happiest pick in the draft.


• Since I figured it would be wrong to neglect my team's namesake, I took Brian Campbell in the 3rd round. Let's hope there's more scoring and less spin-o-ramas this season, or else I will be forced to post this video every week:


• The rest of my roster includes Brian Gionta from NJ, Jay Bouwmeester from Florida, Kris Letang from the Pens, my favorite Canuck, Alex Burrows, and my sleeper pick, Dan Cleary from the Red Wings.


• Finally, Sweating Like Soupy's version of "Mr. Irrelevant" is a man who is always relevant to me (and Sidney Crosby), your favorite Thrasher and mine, Colby Armstrong.

So that's the team. They may not be the best fantasy hockey team ever assembled, but I can honestly say that I know and like (in some cases stronger than others) all of the guys I picked. Does that make me the best drafter? No, but it means I'll have fun watching them this season.

Tonight, I head to HSBC for the first time this year to see our boys take on the Leafs at 7 p.m. It's my cousin's first hockey game, and she could not be more excited. We're going to the Plaza at 5 to check out the Red Carpet, and, while I can't wait to see Goose again, she's hyperventilating at the thought of seeing Derek Roy in person. I'm pretty sure Royzie is the one who came up with this whole Red Carpet idea in the first place.

If anyone's going tonight, we'll be in Section 113, Row 24. Let's Go Buffalo!