Buffalo is a very deceptive city; often seen as a smaller and homelier area. This may be true for its surrounding areas, but Buffalo is as much of a city as anywhere else. It is the second largest in New York State only trailing NYC, yet a vastly different climate. Much like the city, violence and discourse ensue, including the Tops shooting and college campus stabbings. Buffalo is like everywhere else, a place for divides. Just driving around, you can see the way part of the city has been segregated, how part of it is still affected by racism, the accident of Love Canal, and the climate change causing torrential snow trapping people in their homes for days.
Most would describe Buffalo as an abyss covered in snow. The sky so dull and gray it bores to look at. Roads composed more of potholes than asphalt, leading to buildings placed together like random jigsaw pieces. Infrastructure in dire need of an upgrade.
Luckily infrastructure is not what determines the mood of a whole city, people do. Buffalo contains the most passionate and kind people of anywhere. Being in Buffalo is being a part of a family, the self-proclaimed Bills Mafia.
The atmosphere when you are surrounded by Buffalonians is unmatched by any other group of people. This is specifically true when it comes to sports. Even though its sport teams may not win much, its fans stay enveloped in hope and support for their franchises. Always having top attendance and energy. Jumping through tables while simultaneously setting up charities for injured players like Tua Tagovialoa and Damar Hamlin is inspiring.
Unfortunately, the aforementioned events of shootings, stabbings, and accidents could not be avoided. While nobody wishes for those days, I think we can all admire the days after. Where we see the pinnacle of community come together for one cause. That cause being each other. Being in Buffalo during these events last spring and seeing people come together was shocking, in a good way of course. The city became so small at that moment. We were no longer just individuals in the moment, but a group, sharing a horrible pain.
While my primary time spent in Buffalo was during my college education, community was still something I even felt on campus. The landscape may have been built to be rigorous, but it was quickly broken down by the local professors who expressed how this is not a road traveled alone. Most of who were alumni and lived in the Buffalo area. You see no matter where you come from, being in Buffalo is a mentality, not just a location. One of the places that exemplifies this mentality is Duffs. Duffs Famous Wings has been a staple in the Buffalo area since 1946. It has since built a reputation for having some of the best wings in the country. A reputation I can personally say is true. The mentality that is seen throughout Buffalo's community is "Buffalo Strong", and you can immediately tell who has adjusted to this culture and kept it. While Buffalo may have some dystopian aspects to it, I am still glad to have been a resident of it once, despite the fact they call soda “Pop”.