As the Colorado Mammoth surrounded their crease after winning the 2022 NLL Championship at KeyBank Center, multiple members of the Buffalo Bandits were staring in disbelief at the sea of white and burgundy jerseys celebrating in front of them.
Shock filled Josh Byrne’s face as he sat with his hands on his knees, trying to wrap his mind around the loss.
Then all of a sudden, the unexpected happened.
‘Let’s go Bandits … Let’s go Bandits … Let’s go Bandits.’
The cheers from the Mammoth players were being drowned out by the noise of Banditland’s love for their home team, even despite the loss, knowing that the team just gave everything it had.
“Even though we lost, they were still cheering us on and just showing us how proud they were of us, and they knew how hard we fought to bring that city a championship,” Byrne said. “Even though we fell short, they were still at our backs and there to pick us up. I think that’s really what Buffalo is all about. No matter where you’re at, there’ll always be people there to support you. I think it’s why it makes it such a great city and it’s such a great fan base to play in front of.”
Banditland has not only managed to fill seats at KeyBank Center, but managed to fill seats with the most raucous fans in the league.
The Bandits led the league in attendance once again in 2023-24 with 16,974 fans per game. As a result, over half of players – 57 percent to be exact – said that KeyBank Center was the toughest place to play as a visiting team in the latest NLLPA player poll.
“Yeah, (Banditland’s) unreal,” Paul Dawson said. “It’s fun to be the enemy, but I think when you have 18,000 people cheering for you, it kind of makes you feel extra special and just kind of honestly gives you like a little bit of a boost out there and that’s why it’s so hard to win this in this arena.”
The boost that Dawson alluded to came into play last season in Game 2 of the NLL Semifinals against the Toronto Rock. Early in the fourth quarter down 8-4, Buffalo needed to turn things around and did so in the form of an eight-minute, six-goal run to win 10-8.
Ultimately, once the Bandits score started their run, Banditland wasn’t going to stay quiet, and the team noticed it.
“Once we got to 8-6, the crowd was unbelievable. It gave me goosebumps,” Smith said following the win. “It was the weirdest shift of events I’ve ever been a part of. Every goal just bang, bang, bang. It honestly felt like a movie.”
It’s no coincidence either that both back-to-back titles have been won at home in Buffalo.
Just a year after Banditland witnessed their team sit on the ground in disbelief, the tables were turned in 2023, and the Bandits and Banditland were the ones cheering and celebrating. Buffalo faced Colorado again at KeyBank Center, this time beating them to win Buffalo’s first NLL Championship since 2008.
For fans, after the pain of previous championship finals for Buffalo sports, after the pain of losing the 2019 and 2022 NLL Finals, to win a championship meant something to not only the players on the field but every fan in Banditland that night.
“’For lacrosse, we won a championship?’ It was so surreal to see that,” season ticket member Natalie Myers said. “My boyfriend was crying at that game. When you work so hard and have that work ethic and you can see that they’re trying like our sports team try their best, that reflects that so of course you’re going to be proud.”
Bandits head coach John Tavares knows the ups and downs of Buffalo better than almost anyone. Since 1992 he’s been engrained in the city, playing for the team from 1992 to 2015 and coaching the team since he retired.
He’s seen the struggles that the city has gone through with its sports teams, but he’s also helped provide the city with multiple championships during his career, citing the fans as the reason why any of it was able to happen.
“The city of Buffalo deserves so much and giving them a title hopefully means a lot to them. I know it’s not a Stanley Cup. It’s not a Super Bowl title. It’s an NLL lacrosse championship,” Tavares said. “But the guys work hard and they’re the best lacrosse players in the world and the fans get to watch them and it’s special when you play in front of fans that appreciate what you’re doing. We love our fans and without them, we probably wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Then, the following season, the Bandits won again, capturing their second consecutive title in front of the people who had cheered them on at their lowest and were there for them during a devastating loss to Colorado in the finals two years prior.
“We’re very fortunate to play in front of the Buffalo crowd,” Tavares said. “It gives you that extra advantage that you have 16,000 people cheering for your team and how do you not go out there and try your best?”
Home-field advantage is one thing, but when it comes to Buffalo, you’re not only going to face the best team in the league but the best fans in the league.
For 60 minutes, you’re not only going to have to deal with the likes of Byrne, Dhane Smith or Steve Priolo but every second of the game you’ll hear Banditland chirping at you, starting with the ‘Let’s Go Bandits’ chant after the national anthem.
“It’s truly amazing and there’s no place like Banditland and I truly mean that. From being able to play in so many different places and experience it, it’s a totally different experience,” Matt Vinc said. “It’s electric and that’s all it is. As soon as you hear that opening ‘Let’s go Bandits,’ after the anthem it gives me chills even thinking about it.”
12.28.24 💍
Stay tuned Saturday for the reveal of the 2023-24 championship rings! pic.twitter.com/OifCIC0teM
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) December 27, 2024
Even in opposing arenas, the presence of Banditland is strong.
In the team’s 2024-25 season opener against the Rochester Knighthawks at Blue Cross Arena on Dec. 7, Buffalo fans outnumbered Rochester fans, drowning out the home crowd and making sure their chants were heard by all 6,454 people in the arena. Smith added to note how it isn’t just the nearby cities where fans are taking over like Rochester or Toronto but also Las Vegas last season, bringing Banditland to the desert.
“I feel like (games are) an excuse for them to travel places, whether it be Rochester, Toronto or Vegas like last year,” Smith said. “It’s pretty cool to see the sea of orange. And you can definitely hear them just as much as any other fan. So, it’s pretty cool that they travel so well.”
Wherever the Bandits are playing, you’ll be sure to find Banditland, and you won’t have a hard time finding a slew of jerseys with numerous player names on the back. While Tavares, Smith and Byrne are all popular, you’ll be able to find some more obscure names in team history that’ll give you flashbacks to the first time you saw the Bandits in action.
“We just gravitate towards our guys,” season ticket member Stephen Campagna said. “Once we grow in love with you as a player, we’re fans for life, and that’s kind of the cool thing about Banditland.”
The fan support is a big reason why fans want to come to Buffalo to play lacrosse, and ultimately why they end up staying in the city for their career. Smith has been with the team since 2012 as well as his cousin, Billy Dee Smith, playing for the Bandits from 2003-2017, seeing how the fans have supported the team for multiple decades.
Once you become engrained in Banditland, it’s hard to stop going to games, leading to many fans becoming season ticket holders, thus why the entire 100 level was sold out for this season, stemming purely from season ticket purchases.
“You obviously don’t want to take (the fans) for granted,” Smith said. “It’s one of those things that you’ll remember for the rest of your life and it’s amazing each year the amount of season ticket holders we get, it keeps growing and it just shows the support through Buffalo.”
The Bandits called select season ticket members in November as a show of this appreciation. One of these season ticket members was Myers, who received a call from Smith himself.
At first, she thought she was being pranked called, but no, the two-time NLL MVP was really on the other line.
“This isn’t him, is this a prank call?” Myers said to Smith. “I didn’t believe it and I got to talk to him, and it was really nice.”
Now, because of the call, in Section 103, Smith is going to have a personalized sign from Myers as a thank you for the gesture.
Campagna received a call from Ian MacKay and was anxiously waiting for the chance to become a first-time season ticket member for the 2024-25 season.
He’s seen Tavares, Darris and Rich Kilgour and Mark Steenhuis play in Buffalo, yet none of those four are his favorite player that he’s seen on the green turf of KeyBank Center. Instead, it’s his son.
During an intermission during the first round of the 2023 playoff matchup between Buffalo and Rochester, Campagna got to watch his son’s team play. His son’s interest in playing lacrosse is why Campagna ultimately got back in touch with his Banditland roots after attending games during his own childhood.
“I watched some games with my dad and watched some with some family. I really got into them first watching guys like Tavares and then watching us draft Kilgour.” Campagna said. “But I’m not going to lie, there was a little bit of a time when my family wasn’t really into it. It wasn’t until more recently that my son became a lacrosse player that I got back into lacrosse and got interested again. It was nice because I always liked lacrosse, but I didn’t really have anybody to watch it with.”
Who’s ready to party? 🎶
Introducing the 2024-25 Bandits goal songs! pic.twitter.com/vJbQH0J5LV
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) December 26, 2024
Campagna’s passion has rubbed off on his son who is itching, like many in Buffalo, for the season opener to take place, saying he’s been asking him constantly about how long there was until the season opener.
Ultimately that passion that is engrained in Buffalo, the passion for every sports team, especially the Bandits, never goes away and it’s something the city is unapologetic about, supporting their teams through everything. Through the Bandits’ two straight championship losses in 2019 and 2022 and then celebrating with the team for their back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024.
Banditland loves their team, and the team loves its fans and that’s something that’ll never end.
“There’s just something about the atmosphere of Banditland and it’s just different,” Campagna said. “It just draws you in and once you become an honorary member of Banditland, you’re a member of Banditland for life.”