Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Who in Western New York didn't play street or ice hockey when they were a kid, pretending to be Rick Jeanneret, using some of his iconic phrases?
Jeanneret entertained generations of hockey fans throughout his more than 50-year career in the Buffalo broadcast booth. Some of them became hockey fans just because of Jeanneret alone.
"Quite honestly, I'm a broadcaster because of him," said WGR Sabres beat reporter Paul Hamilton on WBEN. "Growing up and listening to 'RJ', it's something that I decided I wanted to do. I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today, if it wasn't for him."
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Hamilton says he learned a lot from Jeanneret over the years following the team.
"I sat there and watched what he did and how he prepared. He didn't have a lot of notes in front of him. It was in his head. Those iconic calls were not rehearsed... they naturally came out as the moment happened," he said.
Jeanneret died at the age of 81. While fans knew he was getting up there in age, Hamilton says it still came as a gut punch late Thursday night.
"You think you're prepared for that kind of thing, but you're not. I certainly wasn't. I woke up this morning and I'm still feeling it," he said.
Chris Brown, co-host of "One Bills Live" on WGR, said Jeanneret's death transcends all Buffalo sports.
"People here are super loyal to their teams," said Brown on Friday on WBEN. "Jeanneret brought Sabres hockey into peoples' living rooms for over 50 years. When somebody does it for that long, they almost feel like a family member. That's why this is going to hit Western New York particularly hard."
There are some comparisons to the legendary voice of the Buffalo Bills, Van Miller, who enjoyed a 37-year career calling Bills games. Like Jeanneret, Miller coined many phrases and catchwords that added to his signature style during Bills games.
A little more than a year ago, the Sabres honored Jeanneret by hanging a banner with his initials in the rafters of KeyBank Center alongside legends like "The French Connection" - Rick Martin, Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert - Dominik Hasek and Ryan Miller.
"I'm so glad the Sabres had that night for him," Hamilton said. "'RJ' was there to see how much people cared about him and loved him. He got a little choked up and had to cut his comments short because he was losing it. He deserved the ultimate honor of having his name in the rafters."
The double ultimate, Hamilton said, would be honoring Jeanneret with a statue at KeyBank Center.
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