David “DJ” Jackson
My friends at Trending Buffalo heard I was going to the Sabres game last night and asked me if I would consider writing about my experience.
You probably know what it’s like to watch a Sabres game at the F’N Center as a white person. But there’s a good chance you don’t know what watching a game is like for a black person. Well, I do (I’m black) and so I thought you might find it interesting to know what the game was like for me.
Here are a few of my observations from last night:
- That little girl who sang the national anthems was amazing.
- The Sabres defense is terrible and Tyler Myers is a mess. I’m thinking they should have kept Adam Pardy in the lineup because he played really well against the Senators.
- Maybe the Sabres should try the 1-3-1 neutral zone trap every once in a while. It can be boring, but maybe it would help take the pressure off their d-men.
- Good on Ennis for actually scoring when he went to the net instead of his usual “flail and fail” to the ice.
- Good goalies make huge saves when their team needs them most. Bad goalies let in softies when they can least afford a mistake. What that makes Ryan Miller, I have no idea.
- Sabretooth is annoying.
- Thomas Vanek, professional hockey player.
- What’s with everybody leaving the game early? Ditching the end of the most exciting game of the year to save 20 minutes in traffic is dumb. What the hell is wrong with you people?
So if you ever find yourself watching the game at the FNC thinking, “Man, I wonder what it would be like to be a black guy here right now?”– well, that’s what it was like for me.
SIDEBAR: Lindy Ruff has been the Sabres coach for my entire adult life (since 3rd grade). I googled “has anyone else ever coached the Buffalo Sabres?” and my computer locked up.
David “DJ” Jackson lives in Buffalo, where he works as a video editor during the day and runs a film company, Hate This Films, on nights and weekends. He will occasionally be providing his “as a black man” perspective on events in Western New York at Trending Buffalo. Follow him at @whoisDJ.
WAIT – SOME BLACK PEOPLE WATCH HOCKEY LIKE THIS – *stares ahead, claps at sabres goals, drinks Blue Light* … SOME WHITE PEOPLE WATCH HOCKEY LIKE THIS – *stares ahead, claps at sabres goals, drinks Blue Light* :: *head asplode*
Well done sir.
I agree with DJ on everything, he is right I am a white guy. Funny thing…crappy play is truly color blind.
Good write up! his opinion isnt really any different then anyone else that watch the games .. and yes the team has had several coaches before Ruff, trying looking up Buffalo Sabres Coachs and im sure you’ll see names like.. John Muckler, Scotty Bowman (best ever), Ted Nolan, Rick Dudley, Punch Imlach(first ever coach) ..when a team is in the league for over 40 years you tend to see alot of staff come and go! lol .. as for the people that leave the game early, it annoys the heck out of me!! Ive been going to games sense i was 3 months old and as i got older and started noticing, it makes me crazy! if youre a fan be a fan till the game ends, not when there is only a few minutes left on the clock and you dont feel like sitting in traffic!
Holy crap I’m black! …at least when I watch the Sabres.
I like you sense of humor for a young person! I think I will follow your future stories. Good luck and keep your perspective fresh.
I like your sense of humor for a young person! I think I will follow your future stories. Good luck and keep your perspective fresh.
I agree with 1-8 completely, dude you basically say the same shit I say. Don’t care if you’re black, puerto rican, or whatever. Everyone’s welcome to the Sabres fandom, hell why do you think they went Red & Black anyways? Honestly that was a fuckin’ joke, and the jerseys looked like ass (not as bag as the banana slug.) But it’s good to know you aren’t too afraid of stupid people to enjoy a game, hell if you need a token white guy invite me. 😛
“SIDEBAR: Lindy Ruff has been the Sabres coach for my entire adult life (since 3rd grade). I googled “has anyone else ever coached the Buffalo Sabres?” and my computer locked up.”
That’s because of the Ted Noland and Dominic Hasek fiasco, NHL is doing everything they can to lock that up. haha.
Personally I’d like everyone to be a Sabres fan, then people wouldn’t care if the Bills got booted out as much. lmao
Outstanding article.. the comments are.. worrying..
Wow not too racist .. maybe they should ask whats it like to be a white guy watching a NBA or NFL Game because those sports are overwhelmingly played by black athletes. Honestly Hockey may be one of the few sports that are not packed with black players but when you figure one in 8 people in the country is black then having 1 or 2 players on the ice is about right.
So why are there so many black people in the NBA and NFL? Its because of affirmative action in Colleges where they want to give full scholarships to minorities so they pack their sports programs with black kids to get them into college. There are a ton of white kids that can play ball but there have been black athletes honest enough to come clean and say that when there are white players on a football team their own black players won’t defend them and they end up getting double teamed by the other side just because they are white.
So remember when you see 1 out of every 8 people on the ice being played by a black man that is equal representation .. when you see more then that in other sports then that is not.
As Americans we pay Billions of dollars for the sports centers and for programs in colleges and even in high school.. when a handful of people take places we all should get a chance to play then thats not right..
White kids can play ball.. half the players on a baseball team shouldn’t be from a Caribbean Island Country and we shouldn’t be hunting for players in countries other then our own when we have a lot of great people right here.