Game #86 of 353 24% complete
One of the dredges of this journey is dealing with winter weather in the northern states. I try to mitigate this risk by scheduling schools north of the Mason Dixon line in November or March but this not always possible especially where the cost of travel necessitates at least two schools scheduled back to back or the same day on the trip. It is today on my off day in Buffalo that a winter storm will last all day and sequester me to my hotel room. Fortunately, UCONN is on at noon but my plans for a trip to Niagara Falls followed by a Billy Joel tribute concert may be postponed. I will worry about food at some point.
A pre-game announcement was made that Canisius was one of 27 Jesuit schools in the country. An open prayer before the national anthem was done. The warm up shirts for the Canisius players had the words “St. Peter of Canisius Pray for Us” on the back. Other than the famous nun at the Loyola Chicago school, a religious tint to a basketball game was a first for me on my travels. On a parallel note, I have brought up the Lord’s name a few times while watching some recent UCONN games.
I thought it was strange that the home team was introduced but the Siena players were not. I am not sure if this was a snafu or something that always happens at a Canisisus home game.
I sat with a group of older gentlemen who were obviously regulars and were probably wondering who the hell I was. I am guessing that one of their buddies could not make the game and put the ticket up for sale on Ticketmaster. I always thought it would be fun one game to bring a notepad and pretend to take notes on the players masquerading as an advance scout of perhaps an NBA scout. So the gentlemen argued every call against their beloved Griffs and criticized certain Canisisus payers with comments like “Oh for God sakes do not let him shoot!”. It was very entertaining and perhaps one of the reasons I enjoy the small arenas just as much as the large venues.
I always look for the Connecticut boys when out on the road. Canisius player Jalanni White from New Haven played at Notre-Dame of West Haven. This junior has some serious hops putting down some alley oops and offensive rebounds. He is very athletic but needs work on his outside game. He did finish with 13 point drawing oohs and ahs from the fans.
On the same street of the arena was the home of the original Buffalo wings- the Anchor Bar. As a connoisseur of wings which I know is not good for my health, a stop was necessary. The place was packed with walls adorned with license plates and motorcycles. Were the wings good? Yes. Were the wings the best I ever had? No. Did I hear somebody say Sliders?
Next game: Siena at Niagara 01/19/2020
journey to 351 