In the summer of 1996, my mom took me and my brother downtown to the brand new Marine Midland Arena to see the Buffalo Sabres unveil new jerseys*. They were, to put it mildly, a departure from the kits that had defined the team since its 1970 debut. Gone was the gorgeous blue-and-gold, the leaping white buffalo, and the crossed sabre swords. In their place was a generic 1990s black-and-red design with a snarling animal face.
A lot of old-timers weren’t pleased, and if I had been one at the time, I’m sure I would have agreed with them. The Sabres original jerseys are among the most beautiful in sports, and the new design traded in all of that elegance – and tradition – just to hop on the lame 90s trend of black-and-red.
Forget all that.
The Sabres absolutely must bring back the “goathead” jerseys as an alternate next season, to celebrate their 20th anniversary and recognize an important chapter in the team’s history.
For fans of my generation – I was 5 years old in summer of 96 – those black-and-red jerseys have just as much history and nostalgia as the original blue-and-gold. In fact, they have more. Think about the great moments in Sabres history – not the ones you’ve heard about, but the ones you actually experienced. Not many fans walk around sharing memories of the French Connection or the 1980s these days. Not if you’re younger than 50, anyway.
What do we really remember? Here are some things that stick with me.
Derek Plante’s game 7 OT winner. “The hardest working team in hockey.” Two consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. “Oh brother we are not worthy.” No Goal. The rivalry with Philadelphia, the other no goal, the Umberger hit. The most exciting game in Sabres history.
All of that happened in black-and-red. Now do you believe?
The longest-tenured head coach in franchise history spent most of his years behind the bench with a team of goathead jerseys. When the best professional athlete I’ve ever seen in Buffalo was at his peak, he was wearing black-and-red.
That player, it should go without saying, is Dominik Hasek. When the team raised his jersey to the rafters last year, it disappointed me that they used a blue-and-gold one. Sure, Hasek played some years in that jersey too, and sure it fits better with the others that are already there, but his achievements should have been honored with the jersey he achieved most of them in. Choosing a blue-and-gold jersey felt like the team trying to act as though the goatheads were a forgettable aberration like the Buffaslug. But they weren’t. They were an entire era.
The goathead years of Sabres hockey produced more than their fair share of memorable moments. Don’t erase them just because we fell victim to the trend of ill-fated 90s jersey redesigns. Honor the players and fans that jersey represents by bringing it back next season.
After that I’ll turn to my next resurrection: Red Hot Friday Nights.
*CORRECTION: A reader points out that the new jerseys were actually unveiled at the Aud. The event I’m remembering was a team skate-around at Marine Midland that took place later.
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