Voices of the Fans: Banditland is a Lacrosse Experience

I was asked to share how, exactly, it came to be that my friends and I became the fans we are now of this sport, this team, this nearly religious experience that Banditland has evolved into over the years. I must tell you that our fandom has evolved along with it over the now 24 years our season ticket holder group has existed. So, it’s a challenge to say that there is any one particular detail or set of circumstances that helped establish the craziness that is the BOX sign crew of Section 117. But I can tell you exactly how many times we had to enter Banditland for our love of it to be planted and begin to grow: ONE.

One game, on a whim. Myself, my best friend, John, and a much smaller group than the now almost 20 of us who take up residence in those seats… looking for something different to do one weekend. Taking a chance one night in the year 2000, and coming down to the arena, buying tickets when we arrived because we had seen an advertisement for the Bandits during a Buffalo Sabres game. A few friends looking for a “Guys Night Out,” having no idea that we were walking into a sporting event so much like the hockey we already loved, but at a whole different level.

So much scoring! And the crowd cheering! And the chants! And the music! We attended every remaining home game that season and signed up for season tickets the next season, as soon as we knew they were available. It took a couple seasons before we settled into our current seats, but we knew that’s where we wanted to be because THAT was where our favorite chant originated from. And the next 20 years became like nothing I could have imagined.

We got to know so many of the fans sitting in that section, many of whom were attending since Day One in the Aud. This includes our biggest inspiration in Mike and Ed Hughes and their family, who, as legend holds, are the originators of most of the chants you hear floating up from that side of the field. Somewhere in those early days was where the musing over creating signs to go along with the BOX chant began, and one of us took it upon himself to make the first signs our group held in his garage from handmade stencils and spray paint. We got to hear the stories of how almost all of the players all had regular jobs, like you and me. That alone made it even easier to appreciate their efforts and to root for them every game. And seeing the players come out and celebrate every win and slough off every loss WITH the fans at places like Cobblestone and others?! We had never seen anything like this.

Over time, we have told anyone who’ll listen (and often, without provocation) how amazing we think Banditland is. Our group has grown from the small “Guys Night Out” to bringing our spouses, and our children, and inviting other friends, like Tess and Dave Goldstein who I had the honor of joining in the fan video;  and have made so many more true friends with those we’ve met for the first time in those seats. We all love to make our voices heard, screaming our support for the men carrying our city’s name on their chest, playing a game that I dare say is more exciting than nearly any other we know; a game that we can see they love to be a part of as much as we love to support.

Well, how about that. Maybe I did answer the question after all. The LOVE for this game that we could feel from the very first time we saw it. That’s what made us fans of the Buffalo Bandits.