BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A pregame ritual involving a group of rollerblading Buffalo Sabres fans and a dummy wearing a Boston Bruins jersey has become a viral sensation during the first round of the NHL playoffs.
The "Buffalo Blade Gang" took the hockey world by storm after videos surfaced of them fighting a dummy outside KeyBank Center and TD Garden. The videos were reposted on outlets across the country, including the Spittin' Chiclets podcast.
Cousins and die-hard Sabres fans Nick Mastrocovo and Mike Lewandowski are the creators of the dummy, which sports a Bruins Cam Neely jersey. Mastrocovo drove to Rochester before Game 1 to pick up the dummy after finding it on Facebook Marketplace.
"And it is Bob that's his name on the thing. I didn't call him Bob. It's Bob the dummy," Mastrocovo said.
Mastrocovo, Lewandowski, and Bob headed to KeyBank Center for Game 1, where they say the initial showdown between Bob and the Buffalo Blade Gang happened organically and completely unplanned.
"These guys on the blades seen them and they were circling them, and we started talking and having fun with them," Mastrocovo said.
"That's the video that went viral where he threw his glove in the air, and it wasn't planned," Lewandowski said. "He fell backwards and fell, and the dummy got tackled, and by that time, there had to be a couple of thousand people watching. It was just so much fun. The atmosphere just took off from there."
"It's been absolutely crazy. You know we went down there just to maybe make some people laugh and have some fun and joke around," Mastrocovo said.
WATCH: 'Buffalo Blade Gang' goes viral for pregame ritual outside of Buffalo Sabres playoff games
For Game 2, Mastrocovo and Lewandowski wore referee sweaters to officiate the fights.
"Someone's getting on Bob too much. Got to lay off him, take it easy. Let's go five minutes in the box, elbowing," Mastrocovo said.
While Bob did not travel to Boston for Game 3, members of the Buffalo Blade Gang did.
Friday, I caught up briefly with members on the phone, including Alex, Ian, Jack, and Sean, who were still in Boston after interacting with Bruins fans outside of TD Garden.
"It was great, I mean, we met a lot of fans. Most people were nice. It was all in good fun, and we're just hanging out, having some beers, cheering for the Sabres - enjoying it - with the fellas", said the group.
They said the full group is about 15 friends strong.
"We're just a bunch of guys from South Buffalo that want to have a good time," another member of the Buffalo Blade Gang said.
There is no word yet on plans for Game 4, but the whole crew is expected back in Buffalo for Game 5. That includes the dummy, whom the Blade Gang calls "Neely."
"We're going to be rocking out for. We're going to have all the boys there, and Neely's going to be back. He's gonna be suited up. We're going to be ready to go," a member of the Buffalo Blade Gang said.
"Bob is going to be around for a long time," Lewandowski said.
