I left Buffalo (Lancaster) 30 years ago to attend law school and never returned except for brief visits which declined over time as the rest of my family moved away. However, Buffalo has never left my heart and no matter how many Super Bowl and Stanley Cup finals losses I suffered through, I let anyone who cared to know that I was proud to be a Buffalonian. I admired Tim Russert as much as anything for his unabashed love for his hometown and I always choked up when at the end of Meet The Press he would look into the camera and said "Go Bills" One Superbowl, either 27 or 28 he went on a bit about how Buffalo needed the Super Bowl victory more than Dallas because Dallas had everything that Buffalo didn't from the standpoint of size, wealth and population, but that the good people of Buffalo deserved it more.
From watching MSNBC this weekend I could not help but be impressed by all the expressions of love and admiration for this man, not only for his intelligence and political savy, but even more so for his love of his family, his God and his hometown. Tim Russert touched a lot of people in his 58 years. He was comfortable in the company of the most powerful people in the world, yet when it came to Buffalo, he was just like the rest of us. God bless Tim Russert and his family. WE have all lost a friend.