Want to make a Bruins fan cry? Just play this call by Rick Jeanneret.
'May Day!' 'May Day!' 25 years ago today, iconic Sabres rallying cry was born
Ask Brad May 25 years later about perhaps the most well-known goal in Buffalo Sabres history and he says he's just like you: Most of his memories come from watching the tape and listening to Rick Jeanneret's iconic radio call.
"I was absolutely almost sleepwalking in that moment," May said last week by phone from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. "It was a reactive thing. Not thinking. Reacting and doing. That's what they call 'The Zone.' If I really knew what the zone was, I'm sure I would have scored more goals and been a better player."
The "May Day" goal came 25 years ago, on April 24, 1993, in Memorial Auditorium. It gave the Sabres a 6-5 overtime victory and a stunning four-game sweep of a first-round series against the Boston Bruins, Buffalo's first playoff series victory in 10 years.
And while the goal was a virtuoso move by May in burning Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque and freezing veteran goalie Andy Moog, it has stood the test of time because of the word picture Jeanneret painted that night on WGR Radio. The cries of "May Day! May Day! May Day!" have reappeared over the airwaves every spring since then, and the league often uses them as a way to pump the playoffs when they start each April.
'May Day!' 'May Day!' 25 years ago today, iconic Sabres rallying cry was born
Ask Brad May 25 years later about perhaps the most well-known goal in Buffalo Sabres history and he says he's just like you: Most of his memories come from watching the tape and listening to Rick Jeanneret's iconic radio call.
"I was absolutely almost sleepwalking in that moment," May said last week by phone from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. "It was a reactive thing. Not thinking. Reacting and doing. That's what they call 'The Zone.' If I really knew what the zone was, I'm sure I would have scored more goals and been a better player."
The "May Day" goal came 25 years ago, on April 24, 1993, in Memorial Auditorium. It gave the Sabres a 6-5 overtime victory and a stunning four-game sweep of a first-round series against the Boston Bruins, Buffalo's first playoff series victory in 10 years.
And while the goal was a virtuoso move by May in burning Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque and freezing veteran goalie Andy Moog, it has stood the test of time because of the word picture Jeanneret painted that night on WGR Radio. The cries of "May Day! May Day! May Day!" have reappeared over the airwaves every spring since then, and the league often uses them as a way to pump the playoffs when they start each April.