Memorial Auditorium Will Now Only be a Memory

When I was a teenager the biggest thrill for me was venturing down the 401 with my dad to the old Memorial Auditorium where I got to experience first hand the thrill of hearing that signature ear piercing horn going off along with witnessing the incredible devotion of die- hard Buffalo Sabres fans.

Even though my mom thought it was an ugly looking run down building to me the Auditorium was a magical place where my boyhood heroes which included goalie Don Edwards and forwards such as Rick Martin, Mike Foligno, Rene Robert and of course Gilbert Perreault performed their on ice magic on a nightly basis.

The clearest memory for me is walking into the Aud and right away getting excited from hearing the vocal fans chanting over and over again “Let’s Go Buffalo.” Even though I’ve only been to a handful of NHL stadiums, I have to admit that the Auditorium fans made the biggest impression.

There was one game and I forgot the year when the Sabres beat the New York Rangers in a romp and I remember forward Alexander Mogilny scored I believe it was four goals. When the Sabres scored their fifth goal a strange chant began that I thought and still think was pretty original and very clever.

After that goal was announced the crowd began chanting 1,2,3,4,5 we want six. After the sixth goal the chant went 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, we want seven. I was amazed to see that even the vendors got onto the act during stoppages in play.

When I think of Memorial Auditorium I will always remember this one skinny beer vendor who during random stoppages of play would climb on a railing and do this funny Pee Wee Herman dance. Naturally while he was doing this, the Pee Wee Herman sound track would be at full blast and the crowd would be clapping.

Going to the Auditorium also meant being able to hear the Sabres theme song, which was my favorite as a kid. Prior to warm up or the periods a camera would always show the Sabres stretching and getting ready by their dressing room door and then slowly the excitement would build as the crowd would cheer and give them a heroes welcome when they sprinted on the ice.

When the Sabres song starts blaring then right away I would get goose bumps and want that moment to last forever. Even though the Sabres aren’t an original six team and have only been in the league since 1972, I still loved seeing the vast history that is shown by the many pictures hanging on the wall in the corridors of the rink.

My favorite pictures that I could stare at for hours had to be Rene Robert’s overtime goal in the 1975 Stanley Cup finals against the Philadelphia Flyers. This game went down in Sabres history because of the heavy fog that was playing havoc that night at the Auditorium.

Other pictures I loved staring at included a young Mike Foligno doing his signature leap after scoring a goal at the Aud and young pictures of stars such as defenceman Jim Shoenfeld, goalie Tom Barrasso and another star defenceman in Phil Housley who was one of my favorites in the 1980’s.

I remember being at one Sabres game just before Housley was traded and seeing him score two goals including one on a beautiful end to end rush. I remember my mom thinking I was crazy because I would occasionally say that if I had my choice to go anywhere on a holiday it would be to the beautiful city of Buffalo and go to my favorite place which was the Memorial Auditorium.

Even though a lot of people were saying that the building has been showing its age for a long time and that it’s an eye sore to the city, I’m still very, very sorry to see that the Auditorium, which held so many great memories for me is being dismantled. It might be old and in need of a paint job but to me it is the most beautiful building I have ever seen.