Holiday Cheer and Bandits

It is kind of a mellow sequence coming into the Bandits game week, what with Yule tide cheer, family, Christmas, and Boxing Day.

There will also be a team practice to prepare for the first road game of the season: Sunday, December 28, in Calgary, where the Bandits face the Roughnecks.

Coming off another 14-day break from game action and the holiday festivities, the players are ready to take on a schedule of games, and reflective of the last outing.

“I thought we played a pretty good game. Warren Hill played very well,” said Bandits GM and defensive coordinator Steve Dietrich. “We had a lot of transition chances that didn’t go in, and defensively, we need to be better at forcing the shots we want and not letting teams off the hook when we have them in those situations.”

Sunday’s game is the only meeting of the season against the Roughnecks, but the first of many western road swings scheduled this season for the Bandits.

“Calgary is very well coached. The staff has a young team that is buying into what the coaches are asking them to do. By watching them on video, they are playing with a lot of confidence and belief. We need to be ready to match their enthusiasm and aggression,” Dietrich said.

In a Matter of Minutes

Coming from the old school, I remember when sports radio was the sole source instantly for final scores and statistics, but only if you listened to the right station.

When I worked with the Sabres, we had the Sabres Hotline for quick score and stat updates after every game. TV had a brief update after 11 pm, and newspapers followed the next morning.

In a Matter of Milliseconds

Today, sports teams have fully staffed social media departments within their operating structure, covering every piece of action you can imagine – and then some – of their team, and releasing it on platforms that have hundreds of thousands of followers, in a matter of, well, the speed of light.

The Man and his Shutter

Bill Wippert, the chief photographer for the Bills, Sabres, and Bandits, has covered the action for over 50 years, capturing hundreds of thousands of images of Buffalo’s teams. From Super Bowls to Stanley Cups, to the Bandits’ seven championship runs, the need for pictures is even more in demand.

“The level of interest in use and need for photography is what has changed,” said Wippert, with whom I have been associated for 40 years.

“The explosion of the internet and social media led our organization to embrace them and give us incredible access. We have received a lot of support from the Sabres/Bandits organization, which has enabled us to staff the games.

“We have two or three of us with extra editors and can push the envelope because we know the organization has been supportive of building out the team we need for it,” said Wippert.

The Social

In today’s social media-driven world, the Bandits are no different from any sports team around the globe. In fact, the Bandits’ social media group is considered the best in the NLL.

They have a social media coordinator and a support staff to follow. Their job is to cover every move the Bandits make, gather it, and post it immediately.

“That’s the fun part of social, it’s changing almost every day, whether it’s best practices for the platform, where they (Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, and YouTube) constantly change their algorithms to keep it new and fresh,” said Kurt Haumesser, Social Media Coordinator for the Bandits.

Haumesser said the best interaction times are within ten minutes of a goal being scored. Fans are looking for it, scrolling through all of their applications.

Speed is the Name of the Game

“The more we can stay on top of that, the better our content is going to perform. You really have to take note of what you’re seeing on your platform.”

Now in his fifth season covering the Bandits, Haumesser has a support staff covering the home games, and sometimes he pulls triple duty on the road, shooting video and photos, editing, titling, and posting within minutes of the action.

“For us, it’s all about storytelling, with our players, really personalizing them so fans can get a behind-the-scenes look and connect with players, seeing their stories, where they came from, and how they ended up here. We want to attract social media viewers to become fans.”

Ludeman!

Ben Ludeman, the Bandits’ team photographer, notes the importance of creatively capturing the moment on film.

“We have to have our base-level stuff covered, but Bandit games are so exciting, and the fans are so passionate, and you want to make sure you are getting good things for them.

“It’s not the same thing every time, so you want to change it up with remotes, different lighting, different angles, and roaming around to get various things each game. It’s a fun challenge to be creative and do new things, but we don’t want to miss a crazy Josh Byrne crease dive,” said Ludeman.

Haumesser prepares graphics templates during the week for use throughout the game, including score updates, goal highlights, and other game action. He can change different graphic looks, primarily covering the citizens of Banditland.

“A big part of social media is showcasing Banditland. Interested people will come to games who know nothing about lacrosse, but they’ve seen on social media that it’s a great time in a party-like atmosphere, and they want to be a part of that,” said Haumesser.

There is always an interplay between the social media group and the photographers with needs, follow-through, and ideas going back and forth.

Buffalo Bandits vs Albany Firewolves, May 18, 2024 at KeyBank Center.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

“What we always try to do, in terms of the fans’ perspective, is show them things they won’t see on television, and probably won’t see at the arena. Even video won’t show them: freezing moments from different angles, remote cameras, weird lighting, and close-ups of faces. Ben has an incredible eye for finding unique and other things,” said Wippert.

Not to go too deep into photo technology, it’s worth noting the organization has the best equipment available, capturing dramatic Bandit moments.

“Sony came out with a camera a year and a half ago that lets you shoot super, super fast on lights, which allows us get creative because we have 20-odd lights up in the catwalk of the arena, with strobes and different sets we use at various times,” said Ludeman.

Wippert noted that this new technology provides a theatrical look, resulting in a more spectacular picture than shooting without strobes, as you would see from your seat in the arena.

“It’s really opened the door for creative possibilities with the advances of a Global Shutter. It feels like a really significant step from film to digital, and right now there is only one camera in the world doing it, so I’m lucky enough to have the organization’s support to use it daily,” said Ludeman.

The Bandits are lucky, too, with the talents of Haumesser, Ludeman, and Wippert to keep us up to date second by second.

Broadcast Information for Calgary game

Radio coverage of Sunday night’s game from Calgary, where the Bandits take on the Roughnecks, will be available on 1520 AM The Bet and audacy.com (Listen Live click-through). The half-hour pregame show starts at 7:30 pm Eastern, followed by the game at 8 pm Eastern.

Brad Challoner, TSN’s analyst and host of the popular “Coaches Call” weekly podcast, will be my halftime guest via the Nissan Hotline.

CW23, ESPN+, ESPN 2, NLL+, and TSN+ will provide television coverage. Broadcast time is 8 pm Eastern.

If you want to follow the radio broadcast on television, pause your remote when the players go to the faceoff and wait for the radio audio announcing the faceoff. Un-pause from there.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Banditland.