Matthew Hall of Fame Inductee: Rick Jeanneret
When I was a kid, I wanted to be the next Rick Jeanneret.
I’m glad I didn’t wait.
Jeanneret was already about 50 years old when I started really getting into sports. At the time, 50 seemed old! I would never have guessed that he’d still be announcing Sabre games when I was 40 and he was on the brink of turning 80. For 30 years of my life, RJ has been announcing, and sometimes creating, my favorite moments as a fan of the Buffalo Sabres.
I remember all the same calls that many of you remember. He scooooores! May Day, May Day! Tis the season, FaLalalalaLalaFontaine! Alexander the Great! Who says this guys’ afraid to fly… he left a vapor trail! Top shelf where momma hides the cookies! Are you ready Legion of Doom? Holy mackerel role the highlight film! Now do you believe? These guys are good… scary good! Hasek with a miraculous save… we are not worthy! Call the cops, he robbed him blind!
In a time when many announcers try to call a nice, balanced, unbiased game, Rick Jeanneret was an un-apologetic homer. He was a fan like us. He was a fan for us. He said things in a way we wished we could. By attaching audio to our visual memories, he burned amazing hits, fights, saves and goals into our hearts and minds forever.
TV? Radio? Wherever I needed to go to listen to Rick, that’s where I wanted to go. From puck drop to quadruple overtime if need be (I remember listening almost all night to that game), Sabre fans found their representative voice in RJ.
I’m so glad I had opportunity to go to RJ night on April Fools’ Day, 2022. Only a fool would fail to realize he’s been as big a part of Sabres’ hockey as anyone. His name now rightfully hangs from the rafters with some of the names he helped become legends of the game.
Additionally, I’d be a fool not to put Jeanneret in my personal Hall of Fame. From wanting his job when I grew up, to being glad he still had it when I did, Rick Jeanneret did something the team he cheered on never could… he reached the pinnacle of his profession.
HOF Category: Sports
HOF Object: Banner from RJ Night
