With the Buffalo Sabres snapping their 15-year-long playoff drought on Saturday, we decided to take a look back on what the rest of our area’s sports teams looked like in 2011.
On Saturday, the Sabres snapped a postseason drought that began in April 2011.
I decided to take a look at how the rest of our area’s sports looked at that time.
The Bills were about to draft Marcel Dareus.
The Rhinos still existed.
And I was nine-years-old. #sabrehood pic.twitter.com/j0rDgcEAn0
— Ian Mills (@IanMillsTV) April 6, 2026
The Bills? Our NFL team was about to enter year 12 of their own playoff drought with Chan Gailey at the helm and Ryan Fitzpatrick under center. The Bills used the third-overall pick in the draft on defensive tackle Marcel Dareus.
The Knighthawks? This was the old era Knighthawks before they moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 2011, the Knighthawks were a first-round exit in the National Lacrosse League playoffs, but one year later in 2012, they won their first of three-straight league championships.
The Rhinos? Well…they still existed! The Rochester Rhinos were about to enter their first year in the USL Pro, where they made the playoffs and lost in the league semifinals.
The Western New York Flash? Also still existed! The Flash won the Women’s Professional Soccer League Championship with a 13-2-3 record.
The Red Wings? Rochester was entering year eight of their affiliation with the Minnesota Twins and went 53-91.
Syracuse men’s basketball? The Orange just wrapped up a third-place finish in the Big East before being upset by 11-seed Marquette in the second-round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Amerks? Rochester missed the playoffs in Chuck Weber’s lone year as the team’s bench boss.