You'll be glad you did. Take a cab. There are enough locals wandering in the wrong direction up our one-way streets without you doing it, too. Not that the city is that difficult to get around, but it's probably better for all concerned if you learn it with someone else at the wheel. Plus, most cabbies will know the location of just about anyplace mentioned below.
Football is a very big deal around here.
So is hockey, but mostly during the season. We're either used to it, don't care, or don't think it's anything to whine about. We have a pretty well-developed inferiority complex in these parts, and weather snobs tend to gather little sympathy. Many Buffalonians haven't gotten the hang of this, to say nothing of those used to receiving last call two or three hours earlier. If your hotel is anyplace but Buffalo, you're at least 15 minutes from downtown, via an expressway system that's less than instinctive.