Era of good feeling

 

Everyone seems to love Buffalo these days, at least from a football perspective (unless you're a weird Jets, Dolphins or Patriots fan).

I'm not used to it, most long-time Bills fans aren't. Just about all of my life, the Bills have been ridiculed for either being lousy, losing four straight Super Bowls or just playing in a location that gets a crazy amount of snow.

"None of those people ever lived in Buffalo," I'd tell myself.

 

But now that doesn't matter, even people who never set foot in that city are riveted by Josh Allen and the Bills and celebrating the team. Even if I don't get some aspects of the current fan base -- the "Bills mafia" was never a thing back in the '80s and '90s and -- I smile inside when my city, the one I wish I could live in again, is praised. It's all over all the social medias, and it feels good to root for a team so loved, to be in this very odd era of good feeling, after having to explain myself for decades.

 

The Bills' victory over the Dolphins last night was a hoot, even if I was working the entire time and only got to see highlights. And I apparently can't get enough of the attention because I find myself wishing that other Buffalo team could get some accolades for themselves, because I am a Sabres fan, too.

 

With the exception of the Dominik Hasek years in the late 1990s, the Sabres haven't been consistently stellar since the mid-to-late 1970s and early 1980s. They haven't been to the playoffs in 12 years and are sitting in fifth place right now.

 

There are signs that they're moving up. They've scored some eye-popping wins among all the losses this season, the most recent was landing six goals on the hated L.A. Kings (I dislike even more hockey teams than I do baseball or football teams) in the third period to win 6-0.

 

This explains why I've confined my Sabres card-collecting to cards of vintage years, including the 1980s, as well as current cards. I need to have an attachment for non-baseball cards and winning teams with names I know is a good way to get me to notice.

 

Recently Bob of the best bubble sent me a package heavy on Sabres cards, almost all from the good ol' days. Some of them I owned but a lot I didn't. Let's see 'em (well, you did see two of the 1981-82 ones already).

 

Here is the hockey set that I adore. It's the first one I bought (one pack, to be specific). Love that position designation in the form of a flying hockey puck. One thing I probably didn't notice going through that pack back in 1975 or 1976 is how line-em-up-and-shoot the photos are. Goodness, can you imagine any card company doing something like this now?

 

 

Here are some of your 1977-78 Sabres. I posted about the Jim Schoenfeld card previously, but the rest are new to me I think. 

 

 

Moving on to a bunch of 1978-79 Sabres. They were finishing first or second regularly during this time. My wife, growing up in Buffalo, remembers these teams well, but I didn't follow hockey as a youngster so I didn't experience those teams, nor even know what the card sets looked like then. I still get them confused.

I was way too enthralled with the Dodgers at that point to pay attention to anything else and I still am. This explains why Bob threw in a few Dodgers in the package, too. These three were all needs -- that is my first solo Ralph Branca autograph card!

 

Bob even found some 1967 Topps needs! Yay!

A '67 card need filled will also contribute to the era of good feeling!

So, the Bills are now in the playoffs. And I probably don't have to worry about the Dolphins or the Jets beating them. (Hopefully the Patriots, too). There are still teams like the Chiefs and the Eagles ahead, but we must pace ourselves.

As for the Sabres, they're likely a year or two away. As long as they don't do anything stupid, like trade Tage Thompson.