Dion Dawkins and Rasmus Dahlin: For the Love of Buffalo

Buffalo is an ill-omened city, frowned upon by some congregation of sports-deities who live in a realm far beyond ours. Maybe they’re not frowning, but laughing at our sorrows. I bet they’re standing around a pool table at some bar, twisting that blue chalk onto the end of their cue sticks and pouring some spiked elixir into their diamond chalices, chuckling and giggling over the misfortunes they are about to conjure for our city. Hold on, listen to this. What if we make them lose three straight. Wait, wait, wait, what if we make them lose four! No. We can’t do it. We can’t do it … should we? 

There is no need to mention the litany of sports misery that Buffalo has been through. I want to write about it even less than you want to read about it, but to get the emotions flowing without going into too much detail, I’ll throw out these terms: Music City Miracle. Wide Right. No Goal. 13 Seconds. The basis of all Buffalonian fear — Tom Brady. Agree with me or not, I believe we can consider those a blessing, as at least we have a football and hockey team to call our own. Back in 1901, following the assassination of President McKinley, Buffalo lost its premier chance for a baseball franchise; at the last second, the league owner moved the team to Boston. Along with baseball comes the other major “B” sport: Basketball. The Buffalo Braves are no more than a distant memory, only kept alive by the occasional Kawhi Leonard throwback jersey.

Players have just recently hopped on the Buffalo bandwagon, but neglected the city for far too long. They’re like lazy construction workers, only arriving once the project is already done. Historically, athletes have channeled their inner Kevin Durant once coming to Buffalo — having quick triggers to leave for a team whose grass is far greener. Most of the time though, players don’t come at all. The most notable person who comes to mind is the ubiquitously loved Antonio Brown, who for a few short hours in March of 2019 was a Buffalo Bill (almost). Fortunately for Buffalo, Brown nixed the trade after not wanting to deal with early-career Josh Allen. Guys like Antonio Brown came about far too frequently, or better put, didn’t. For 17 years free agency came and went, and Buffalo did not make one signing that made Adam Schefter’s highlight reel. There was Mario Williams, Takeo Spikes, and Terrel Owens, but none of them got Buffalo over the hump. It was Buffalo vs. everybody, until Beane and Adams were able to recruit not just a few star players, but millions of bandwagon fans from around the nation.

Dion Dawkins and Rasmus Dahlin are two players that have been here long enough to witness Buffalo’s escape from Loser’s Lair first hand. Their first taste of the city was a bitter one, Dahlin subject to Phil Housey, followed by the heinous torture of Ralph Krueger and Co., while Dawkins got to block for an offense that managed to put up three points against a Doug-Marone-coached team in the playoffs. They’ve experienced the pain that Buffalo fans have gone through for what seems like an eternity. 

Because of this, their input on the city is more credible. Every single player who has ever stepped foot on a field or the rink has claimed that their fans bring a “one of a kind energy” or are the “best fans in the world, no doubt.” It’s a common claim, whether it’s true or not. I love hearing when guys like Von Miller say that “these fans are different, man,” but the thing is, he said the same about the Rams and Broncos. He’s not here for the fans or the city. He wants to win, as do all the guys who are coming to Buffalo now. If Doug Marone was still the coach, Von Miller would be in Kansas City or San Francisco right now. Dawkins and Dahlin on the other hand, have been in for the long haul. 

They’ve grown alongside Buffalo. They’ve become intertwined parts of the city. Dawkins is not just some offensive lineman. When people see him in Target, there is no “Hey, that guy plays for the Bills!” or “he must play football.” It’s “You already Shnow!” or “DION!” There aren’t many offensive lineman you can say that about; Ike Boettger and Bobby Hart aren’t getting any call outs by name. “Those interactions, those moments with fans, those quick little hellos where the whole thing just lodges in your brain, like, Wow, what I do matters to these people? And they don’t just know me….. they know ABOUT me?? No lie: I cherish those moments. I will forever,” Dawkins said in one of his seven articles he contributed to The Players’ Tribune. Four of the seven are dedicated to the fans of Buffalo, one of which focused solely on the Tops tragedy that occurred early last year, in which he wrote: 

“Because in this town, we’re all tied together. We have a bond that’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. I noticed it right away after getting drafted by the Bills. I immediately felt the energy of this place, the love. I saw the connection that people have, how they band together to overcome challenges. And before long, that stuff … it became part of who I am. It got into my bones.”

Dawkins is in love with Buffalo, something that can’t be genuinely said about the majority of players who have spent time here. He’s one of us.

I’m not sure we can consider Dahlin to be on the same level as Dawkins when looking solely at a “presence in Buffalo” standpoint, but at the same time, I’m not sure anyone can reach that level. Dahlin has had a much, much worse time here. Sabres have yet to make the playoffs since he’s been here, if you haven’t already heard. But nonetheless, he’s committed. Just recently he released a letter to Buffalo as well, and included in it is a quote that has me ready to run through a brick wall, or better yet, the boards. “It’s like we are 19,090 strong – 20 of us in uniform, the rest of us in the stands. Together we are going to break the other team mentally. That’s what it feels like,” said Dahlin. He wants the same energy at Key Bank as in Highmark. 

The two of them are the spirit of Buffalo, together attempting to steal those deities’ pool cues and douse them in their own elixir. Their mission is to eradicate all ranch from the planet and replace it with blue cheese. They swim in Niagara Falls to cool off after long practices and drive their snowplows in the summer. They drink loganberry with breakfast and Labatt Blue with dinner. They consume beef on weck for midnight snacks. They paint portraits of each other by the moonlight and hang them up in the Albright-Knox. Dawkins and Dahlin are the spirit of Buffalo and even portray their burning love for the city through their writing.