I seriously love Alexander Ovechkin. Honestly, what’s not to love? He’s amazing to watch. A few weeks ago he totally undressed Brian Campbell, and scored an incredible goal, and although I’m a Sabres fan, I really had to take a moment to admire what Ovie had just done. He’s consistently charming in interviews, he’s got a delightful cockiness, and in spite of the fact that he is undeniably ugly, he also manages to be undeniably hot. I would kill to have him on my team, and anyone who says otherwise is a moron. I adore Ovechkin.
Buffalonians started booing Ovie last season after he put a dangerous and cheap hit on Briere. Totally reasonable to boo him in my opinion. A few weeks later, like a total pussy, Briere speared Ovie. Pretty lame in my opinion, but whatever, hockey players like to work these things out in their own goofy ways, so fine. Buffalonians continue to boo Ovie, which theoretically is kind of unnecessary because Briere evened the score with the cheap spearing, but you know, that’s how these things go. Briere was our guy, so you boo Ovechkin. I’m down. But THEN Briere left Buffalo and became a Flyer. Briere is no longer our guy. He is, in fact, a slag-faced whore. There is no reason to boo Ovechkin because of Briere anymore. Seriously.
But we still boo him, and I LOVE it.
Here’s why:
Being a fan can be tough sometimes. Players who you once loved leave for big piles of cash in more exciting cities. Teams that seemed destined for greatness end up withering in the final moments. We have no control over any part of the product that is put on the ice and labeled “The Buffalo Sabres”. We simply have the choice between being fans, and not being fans. Take it or leave it.
But the real heart of an organization is not on the ice, it’s in the stands. We are the people who make the Sabres, “The Buffalo Sabres”. Chris Drury is long gone, but the Sabres are still here. With us. Someday, Ryan Miller will be gone, but we’ll still be here, cheering for whatever version of the Sabres they put on the ice.
Booing is a ritual that connects us to our shared experience as fans. Yeah, Briere turned out to be a sucker, but who cares? We may have started out booing Ovechkin because of Briere, but now we boo him by way of saying, “This is what we do. This is something we all share. This is our way of acknowledging the past and accepting the future. This is our commitment to the Buffalo Sabres! BOOOOOOOOOOO!”
On another note, booing is hilarious. I was recently at a miserable Buffalo/Bruins game. For reasons I simply do not understand, every time Zdeno Chara touched the puck the sold out crowd booed him. It was a pretty gruesome game, and theoretically we had no business taunting their star player, but like clockwork, every time he touched the puck, we all booed. Sitting in front of us in the stands were two adult men, and a little boy, all wearing Bruins sweaters. They were understandably pleased with the game but they certainly weren’t obnoxious or anything. I rather enjoyed watching them enjoy the game. And you know what? Every time we booed Chara, all three of them giggled in delight. BECAUSE BOOING IS FUNNY. It’s FUNNY to hear 18,000 people boo for two seconds and then stop abruptly, only to boo immediately again. The stop and start of a crowd booing a specific player is freaking hilarious.
So Ovie, the next time you see me at a game, know that I love you. Also, know that I will boo you, because it’s what I do as a Sabres fan, and because it makes me laugh. I have every confidence that you have the sense of humor required to hear my “boo” for what it is: a little love letter to hockey, from the very bottom of my heart.
