Staff Editorial
The 1970’s returned to downtown Buffalo Saturday, for a few hours at least.
The Bonnies took down the Niagara Purple Eagles before the University of Buffalo bested the Canisius Golden Griffins in a doubleheader at the First Niagara Center in Downtown Buffalo Saturday.
The event, dubbed the “Big Four Classic,” was organized by the four schools involved. Each team was decked out in a different throwback uniform, each an homage to the long-departed Buffalo Braves, formerly of the NBA.
It’s now been nearly four decades since the Braves moved to San Diego and eventually Los Angeles. Before then, they shared the Memorial Auditorium with Big Four teams on occasion.
From Bob Lanier to Calvin Murphy to Jim Baron to Randy Smith, who played for both the University of Buffalo and the Braves, the games featured plenty of star power.
The Braves left Buffalo in 1978, right around the time nationally-competitive college basketball left Western New York. The teams stopped making NCAA tournament and NIT runs. Big money programs started to dominate college basketball as the Braves faded into basketball lore.
Part of the spirit that made Western New York a basketball hub in the 1970’s reappeared Saturday. More than 7,000 fans showed up to the First Niagara Center to take in the doubleheader. Some fans wore old Braves jerseys, shirts and hats while others wore memorabilia for whatever school they were cheering on.
Fans were loud and engaged, they knew the situation and clearly had knowledge of the players they were watching.
This is something that should continue in the future for a number of reasons. First, it’s a lot of fun for all involved.
Secondly, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is a great time to do it. The Big Four schools have plenty of Buffalo ex-pats as alumni. It seems reasonable that many of these ex-pats would return home for Thanksgiving and would welcome an opportunity to cheer on their respective alma matters.
Additionally, the game provides a good opportunity for St. Bonaventure and the other schools to recruit prospective students. The admissions office at St. Bonaventure offered free tickets to prospective students and held a pregame reception to educate the student and their family about what St. Bonaventure has to offer them.
Whether it makes sense or not, sports teams are major selling points for colleges. A prospective student coming to the game and seeing how St. Bonaventure students cheer on the Bonnies, even at a neutral site, over break, could sell them on St. Bonaventure.
Overall, the event seemed to be a great success. President Sister Margaret Carney O.S.F and soon-to-be-departed Athletic Director Steve Watson deserve credit for St. Bonaventure’s role in the event just as Sports Information Director Steve Mest and his crew should be commended for promoting the event so well.
Saturday was a lot of fun for those in attendance. Let’s do it again next year.
This editorial represents the opinion of The Bona Venture staff.
