Not So Sweet Tweet: U.S. Hockey Player Disses Buffalo

Team USA's Emerson Etem tweeted yesterday that Buffalo is a ghost town and the worst city ever! He said it made Medicine Hat look like Paradise. Hey, Emerson here's something you can do while in Buffalo, oh, I don't know...play hockey!

That's what many of us are doing. Senior players take to the ice late nights, just to have the privilege to play. That's how popular hockey is here. We actually feel lucky just to just get on the ice, even if it's midnight, because it is often booked well in advance. And if you're not playing hockey, there's a good chance Western New Yorker's are getting up at 5 in the morning to take their kids to practice.

We also support our hockey team. The Sabres have had packed houses for 40 years now, and this week Western New Yorkers are supporting Team USA, a task that will be a little more difficult to do with a tool like you on our team.

If Buffalo was such a terrible city, why would players and coaches whose shoes you could only hope to fill want to call it home after their career was over. Do Scotty Bowman, Rene Robert, Daryl Shannon, Rob Ray, Danny Gare and even Kings legend Marcel Dionne have a screw loose to continue to live here? Sorry, that Buffalo doesn't have an endless summer like your hometown of Long Beach dude. But you're free to go Hang 10 on Lake Erie this afternoon. I hear the Lake Effect winds are rad!

Granted, Buffalo has it's problems, but that isn't the people's fault and it's no reason to take a shot at the city. We've been held back for years by bad politicans, high taxes and the drain of New York City government for years. Jobs are hard to find and it's getting tougher to want to stay, but the people who live here trump all that nonsense. We are one of the toughest and most resiliant cities in the country.

And there are things to do in Buffalo if you actually try and look. Take a tour of Elmwood and check out our world-class art gallery or see the historic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. Delaware Park is an Olmstead Park masterpiece and right around the corner is mansion row.

You may not be able to catch a wave here, Kelly Slater, but there are plenty of treasures if you look hard enough. Then again, why don't you just win some hockey games and go back to Long Beach. Cowabunga dude!

Emerson Etem wisely removed his tweet, but don't be surprised if he's booed every time he touches the puck this week.