Bandits Fans Rock the House
Saturday night, more than 10,000 fans will file into the HSBC Arena for the Bandits playoff game against New York. I'm always amazed at the crowds that are drawn to Bandits games. I know that this is a big area for lacrosse, and I know that the team draws heavily from the area's Native American population. But when you realize that the team averaged over 14,000 fans a game, it still stuns and suprises me. That's more than some NHL, NBA and MLB teams. The game is great, the team is always good, and the atmosphere is fantastic. But lacrosse is a still a niche sport, ignored by many traditional sports fans. Not only are the crowds big, but their loud and fanatical. Trust me, I've gotten a few e-mails and phone calls from angry Bandits fans demanding more coverage. They'll get it, especially if the team advances to the title game. The Bandits will be our lead story at 6 and 11 Saturday, as they have at other points this week.
Why do you go? Why do you love the games so much? What is it about the sport/atmosphere that attracts so many people? Let me know. Post a comment.
Why do you go? Why do you love the games so much? What is it about the sport/atmosphere that attracts so many people? Let me know. Post a comment.
posted by Paul Peck at
6:29 PM
8 Comments:
Best game ever..Channel 4 should buy the rights to rebroadcast it and bring in more fans...This was a night to remember.
-Blue
this city needs to rally around this team now!!!!! if you weren't at HSBC tonight you missed an amazing game!!!! go buy your championship tickets now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO BANDITS!
I know a lot of people dismiss the indoor lacrosse league as being an irrelevant 'B' level sport (similar with indoor soccer when it was here). Some point to the constant music and that one dude talking through the play. I actually find it adds to the entertainment, and sometimes wish we had some of that during a boring 2-1 Sabres game, or any baseball game.
Some point to the lack of teams in the league...I don't think you'll ever hear that from the Leafs fans who team's championship banners all came from eras when there were fewer teams than in lacrosse.
Sure, there's a couple goofy things. Making Minnesota play here twice because they couldn't find a date to play us there was odd. Having the home team in the championship game be based on who had hirer attendance during the season was very weird...I'm glad those days with the league are over.
It is what it is. It's a fun sport that requires great athletes and great skill. I was at the game tonight and it was an awesome game and awesome atmosphere...lots of goals...lots of intensity...and some fighting. If you couldn't enjoy that, you're just simply a boring person. :-)
I'll be there next week, and I hope we can find 7000 more people to come and fill up the 300 level. Championship games of any sort in Buffalo don't happen very often.
The atmosphere is just amazing,nothin like it in this area. Ive been to sabres,bills games and hands down the bandits fans are the best. We need ALOT of coverage to sell this game out.If you've never been to a game this is the one to go to. Its gonna be electric in hsbc saturday. Buy your tickets.......
It's simply a fantastic atmosphere. It offers more bang for the buck (which is a pretty big deal in these times) and it's hard not to love the game once you really give it a chance.
It's also nice that the players all act like real people. Sure, you have some Bills and Sabres players that you can just hang with at a bar or something but all too often, NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB players have distanced themselves from the fans. True, that's mostly the fault of the fans themselves but it's still a fact.
I'll be honest, for years I shrugged off the Bandits. My uncle has had season tickets since the inception of the Bandits and spent a few years trying to get me to go to a game with him. I kept blowing him off with one excuse or another but truly I just thought it would be boring. My uncle finally talked me into going to a game with him about 5 years ago now and I bought season tickets the next season!
There is no atmosphere like the Bandits games in Buffalo. We may have about 11,000-14,000 per game versus the 18,696 sell-out crowds that go to the Sabres games, but we're 10x as loud!!! At Sabres games you see people peppered throughout the arena reading newspapers or spending the whole game as a business meeting amongst thousands of other people... You see none of that at Bandits games! Everyone is glued to the action, cheering, chanting, dancing, and having a good time.
Not only is it a TON more fun than Sabres games, but it is MUCHO cheaper!!! There is no way I could afford season tickets to the Bills or Sabres (unless I split them with at least 25 other people or something) but I can get seasons to the Bandits without breaking the bank. PLAYOFF tickets cost me (as a season ticket holder) $88 for three games in the 100-level!!! You would NEVER get 100-level PLAYOFF Sabres tickets for ONE game for $88, nevermind 3 games!
Paul, I HIGHLY recommend you at least experience the electicity and energy of a Bandits game if you're going to report on how surprising it is for you to see them have such popularity or how WHEN they win the Championship on Saturday it won't be a "real" championship... A "real" sportscaster should know what he's talking about before he opens his mouth or posts a blog...
I go because unlike other sports, the players play for the love of the game. They don't play for the money because they don't make enough to do so. They all have real jobs and work their butts off to feed their families and the come out and entertain the heck out of us. Look at how the NFL started... same idea. The crowd for these games are like no other. I've never been to a Sabres game that was close to how loud it was for a crowd of only 9,000 fans. Bandits fans are real sports fans. It's the most fun I've ever had at a sporting event. This being my eighth year with season tickets proves that.
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