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Roundtable: Memories of Rick Jeanneret

Editor’s Note: This post was initially published last season but we thought it fitting to bring it back out again.

As the Buffalo Sabres community prepares to honor legendary broadcaster Rick Jeanneret on Friday night, some of the writers here at Die By the Blade reflect on their favorite memories and calls of RJ’s throughout the years.

Kerra Mazzariello

How do you choose a favorite memory surrounding the greatest announcer of all time?

So many of RJ’s legendary calls have given us chills over the years, but the one that turned me into mush was “Jason Pominville! Short-handed! Oh, now do you believe?! Now do you believe?! These guys are good, scary good!” during the 2006 playoffs against Ottawa.

Between the Bills and the Sabres, Buffalo has repeatedly been the butt of every sports joke for many years. I remember this call vividly because I felt like we had finally proven ourselves worthy of winning to the rest of the hockey world. We deserved that overtime win and Jeanneret called out the non-believers.

It was a glorious moment in Sabres history that we will all remember forever.

Jeff Dahlberg

My favorite RJ calls are –

1) In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals against Ottawa in 2006 (2nd round), Jason Pominville scored the game winning goal in OT. Jeanneret yelled out “Oh, now do you believe?! Now do you believe?! These guys are good! Scary good!!!”

2) When RJ nicknamed Pat LaFontaine LalalalaLaFontaine:

3) I can’t watch a Sabres OT period without hearing Jeanneret refer to it as “oooovvveeerrrtimmeee.”

Melissa Burgess

Rick Jeanneret is a quintessential part of the Sabres experience. He’s an absolute legend, not just in Buffalo but throughout the hockey world at large. He’s well-respected and deserves every ounce of admiration that he receives, and let’s face it: we will all miss his calls dearly once he drops the mic for the final time.

It’s so hard to pick one or two calls of his from over the years; there are just so many good ones. I agree with Kerra & Jeff; the “scary good” call is one of my favorites, and drums up some fantastic memories. From “call a cop, he robbed him blind!” to the ever-popular “top shelf where mama hides the cookies,” where do you even start?

I think a lot of it comes down to your personal connections to those calls, those moments, those memories. For me, it’s this one:

Calvin

I have often told this story of how my lifelong love affair with Buffalo started so mash the link if you would like to read it again, but by far my favorite RJ call was the Pommers OT goal against the Sens that everyone has mentioned above.

With some of the best calls already ‘taken’, instead I’ll share twelve whole RJ calls, mixed with the classic ‘12 Days of Christmas’ tune… who said you can’t enjoy Christmas in spring!

What are your favorites?