With Christmas shopping in high gear, the gift of Sabres tickets might be a possibility on your list. And buying those tickets is as easy as stopping by the arena box office, any Tops location, picking up the phone or going online.

But there once was a time when getting Sabres tickets was not that simple. It took time, planning, patience and a bit of luck sometimes to land those valuable tickets.

Memorial Auditorium underwent numerous renovations in the 1970s, raising capacity to over 16,000. In those days Sabres season ticket subscribers took up most of those seats. And being one of those lucky seat holders was THE status symbol here in Buffalo.

The rest of us had to settle for scraps and singles and standing-room tickets whenever we could get them.

As our family enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal a few weeks back, I shared my idea about doing a column on how tough buying Sabres tickets used to be. My younger brother, Taras, chimed right in. “Do you remember the great times we had, camping out at the Aud waiting for tickets to go on sale?!” he exclaimed. The stories and the memories flowed across the dinner table that day.

Indeed, Taras and I shared many times together during the ’70s under that viaduct on Lower Terrace. For those of you who never had the pleasure, here is a primer on how things worked back then.

Sabres single tickets would go on sale one game at a time, at nine in the morning following each home game. There were 200-250 seats available for each game for public purchase, mostly in the oranges, plus standing room. Each buyer was limited to two tickets, meaning that if you were among the first 100 in line your chances of landing seats were good.

“We would show up between five and six am” Taras said, “and there was this girl named Dorothy who had nothing to do with the team, but she was the unofficial distributor of the numbers. Everyone knew that the first thing you did when you arrived was check in with Dorothy and get a number.”

Ah yes… Dorothy. Tall, gangly girl with a thick Canadian accent, she had a crush on half the team, and was invaluable in keeping order. She was always there by five, but if you were there earlier, she’d pass out the numbers to those in queue once she arrived.

Once you got your number, then came the wait. “Remember those touch football games out in the street?” says Taras. “The bonfires? Or heading over to the Deco on Main when they opened at six and getting hot coffee and fresh donuts?”

Yes, there was a real sense of camaraderie and family among the denizens of those morning gatherings. But also a feeling of competition, knowing that the person ahead of you might just be the one to take those last two tickets, relegating you to those dreaded standing rooms.

Around eight security would open the lobby. Ah! At last a chance to warm up inside and queue up by number. Promptly at nine, those three round ticket windows opened for business. We would crane our necks, salivating at the ticket inventory behind the agents, little slots being emptied one by one. Eventually it was our turn… “four oranges, best ‘ya got,” Taras and I would bark through the window. Total price for those four tickets? $14. We would leave the Aud clutching our precious treasure, knowing that once again we would be in the building, part of the 16,433 cheering on our beloved Sabres.

So when you buy those Sabres seats this Christmas, just point, click and “complete purchase.” Your tickets will be in your mailbox in no time. But pause for a moment and pay tribute to those fans of an earlier Sabres generation and all they went through to score those tough tickets. They are a part of our franchise’s lore.

Andrew and Taras Kulyk spent many a cold night camped outside the Terrace Street lobby at the Aud during the 70s hoping to get their Sabres tickets. If you were part of that cadre of Sabres fans, email your story to editorial@artvoice.com.

TARO SEZ…

• Useless stat of the week I: The Sharks defeated the Sabres 5-0 on Dec 2 and collected their first points ever in Buffalo (0-11 beforehand).

• Useless stat of the week II: D. Teppo Numminen has 19 assists and no goals for the season. He leads the NHL in points scored without a goal.

• Conspiracy theory of the month: Could there be an embedded Buffalonian on the Anaheim roster?? The Sabres defeated Anaheim on an overtime power play goal set up by a sloppy penalty from WNY native Todd Marchant.

• Useless Stat III: D. Brian Campbell has six goals, of these four of them are game winners.

• Taro’s sign....“Sabre doctor gives thumbs up for Miller Time.”

• Rare moment in Buffalo sports coming up this Saturday as the Bills and Sabres play at home on the same day. Sabres at 5 pm and Bills at 8:30. Anyone doing the doubleheader?

• G. Martin Biron set a franchise record in Minnesota on Sunday—his 10th straight win in goal.