Buffalo Rising Online

Jul 10th 2007, 10:56pm By Charlie Riley

I received an interesting Instant Message today, and after all of the negativity this past week regarding the loss of the Sabres captains, it was just the thing I thought Buffalo needed, not just for a shell-shocked hockey team, but as a rallying event that would be more important here than anywhere else.

My friend alerted me to a rumor on WGR 550 Sports Radio that the Sabres are a finalist to play an outdoor hockey game against the Penguins, New Years Day at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Details are sketchy at this point, but apparently the decision is between Detroit dubbed Hockeytown, USA and Buffalo, which better resembled the New NHL Hockeytown USA, that is until last week when our team was hit hard in free agency and I assume the bandwagon will become a little roomier.

But the whole essence of this tidbit is not for the luster of a novelty hockey game in what I assume will be less than stellar weather, but the fact that Buffalo, NY could be the epicenter of the sports world, for at least one day, and not for all of the wrong reasons.

While this would not be the first time an outdoor NHL game has been staged, this is just the type of exposure and solace we, as the top Ultimate Standings team in terms of return for its fans (as awarded by ESPN.com) need. What a perfect way to recover from our personnel losses and rally around the young talented players who still don the Blue and Gold.

Across the country, we are looked down upon as a second rate city, a dying blizzard wasteland where attrition of our natives occurs often. But with NBC dubbing this as the “Ice Bowl,” why not spin a negative into a positive and embrace the weather God gave us? Thats Public Relations 101.

And this is where you come in. This game belongs here, with our young skaters lining up against Sidney Crosby. Not with a different franchise a few hundred miles away in Michigan. With all of the perceived negatives we face, and loss of star power, we need a grassroots campaign - to not even give the NHL, NBC, or America the option of seeing anyone but the Sabres skating around the Ralph as we ring in the New Year. Below is the contact information for the NHL and the Sabres, I am working on an email for the NBC head of programming. Take a second to email them your thoughts on why the Queen City should be king for a day in the sports world. Pass this along to every sport fan, or just Buffalo fan, you know. We do not need to let one more opportunity pass us by, because as Chris Berman states, no one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills, but in this case its the Sabres. feedback@nbcsports.commmarra@nhl.com