Calling Afinogenov fans
I'm curious about something, and it has to do with last week's story about the Sabres putting Maxim Afinogenov on the trade market. There's a feature on our Web site at the bottom right of the pages that tracks "Most Popular Stories, Last 24 Hours." Usually, a story will go up in the morning, stick around the popular side for a day (maybe two), then get replaced by something newer. The Max story, which went up Friday, was still in the top 10 this afternoon. I've never seen staying power like that before.
I know there was already a little blog asking if Max should be traded, but I want to know what it is about Afinogenov that makes his fans so passionate. What is there that makes a story about him retain interest for that long?
He is not the face of the franchise, doesn't do big autograph signings like some other players and is secretive as can be about even the smallest aspects of his life, yet his jersey was one of the league's top sellers. So what is it about Max that draws so much interest?
---John Vogl
