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| Sabres fans, seen here not booing Patrick Kane credit: The Buffalo News |
There were no chants "Let's Go Buffalo" or people singing "Sweet Caroline" -- only a single muted chant of "We want four!" Fans in the FNC weren't thinking about getting a valuable two points or beating the Ducks, they were thinking about beating the traffic.
Fast forward to Saturday afternoon, and boos were raining down on Patrick Kane. The fans had found something to be animated about, and the reaction had people across the league perking up like dobermans hearing a dinner bell.
As far as the incident over the summer, the Patrick Kane situation is serious business and a tragic combination of fame, modern reality and questionable choices. But zoom out, and the Patrick Kane story as it relates to Buffalo has all the drama of a Greek epic or Shakespearean sonnet. Kane's is a compelling narrative and storied career that Buffalo hockey fans have been following since before his selection as the No.1 overall pick in the 2007 entry draft.
Seeing reports of the reaction, American and Canadian media struggle to contextualize or even pass judgement.
He's lost the townies?! https://t.co/ZTWBqEC0dC
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) December 19, 2015
The thing is -- you can't really understand fans' reaction to Kane unless you've lived in this town and followed the player through his ups and downs. We've watched as he's won Stanley Cups, fallen short in Winter Olympics, routed Essex Pub in a summer beer league, assaulted a local cabbie, stumbled around drunk on St. Patrick's Day and yes found himself at the center of a sexual assault investigation.
Of course, Kane's personal life is none of our business, but in the sports arena -- Kane's saga is our story as well. Fans have a stake not only in how he does well on the ice, but also how he represents Buffalo publicly. And its safe to say that many people don't like what they see: an unapologetic South Buffalo kid who does what he wants.
With all of this backstory, it was good to hear a reaction, any reaction, from fans. Sabres fans boo a lot, and at least its something. It says fans want to express themselves and they are using the bluntest instrument possible to do it.
Where we've let ourselves down is not cultivating a fan culture that has fans expressing themselves more creatively and precisely. Gone are the days of signs hanging around the Aud letting our players know how much we love them, or opposing players know how much we hate them. Local parody songs are largely penned for the Bills. I can't even remember the last time Sabres fans serenaded departing Leafs fans with, "Nah nah, hey hey goodbye!"
So, yes, it was refreshing to hear fans clumsily express their feelings toward Patrick Kane and all he represents. It's all part of a long, unfolding, and uniquely #Buffalo story.
It also beats thinking about traffic.
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ReplyDeleteYou're a smalltime bunch of losers and Kane was debasing himself by going back to the smalltime town he had long since outgrown. He's basically the local kid who makes good then returns home and the local townie slobs are jealous and hateful and try to exploit him.
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