Terry Pegula buying the Buffalo Sabres discussion

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

But who am I to get between a man and his love for Matthew Broderick?

 

If I was stuck in prison for more than 3 years, here's my shortlist for cellmate preference:

 

1) Taylor Pyatt

2) Michael Wooten

3) Matthew Broderick

[SwampD]

If I was stuck in prison for more than 3 years, here's my shortlist for cellmate preference:

 

1) Taylor Pyatt

2) Michael Wooten

3) Matthew Broderick

You must be maturing. Your last list had Youngblood on it.

[nfreeman]

If I was stuck in prison for more than 3 years, here's my shortlist for cellmate preference:

 

1) Taylor Pyatt

2) Michael Wooten

3) Matthew Broderick

 

who is #2?

 

I would have guessed Pommer would be on this list.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

You must be maturing. Your last list had Youngblood on it.

 

Rob Lowe is getting too gruff. Original Youngblood? No contest...yes.

 

I think Broderick would be polite, can carry a tune, and brings more to the table.

 

The bigger debate needs to be....how long of a sentence does it have to be for you to give in, headed to the pen? Now if it's a Goodfellas setup, no problem. But if we're talking Alcatraz....

 

Maybe GR can have this draft on air.

[shrader]

Rob Lowe is getting too gruff. Original Youngblood? No contest...yes.

 

I think Broderick would be polite, can carry a tune, and brings more to the table.

 

The bigger debate needs to be....how long of a sentence does it have to be for you to give in, headed to the pen? Now if it's a Goodfellas setup, no problem. But if we're talking Alcatraz....

 

Maybe GR can have this draft on air.

 

You and Matthew Broderick are both big fans of horses. So you've got that going for you.

[Assquatch]

I do too, mostly. But it's still the best way to follow Lloyd Taco Truck. And the guy tweeting "real time" World War II updates exactly 72 years after the events happened (he started in late August, and now he's up to December 6, 1939; he plans to continue until 2017, when the war "will end"), is freaking awesome. Some days I can't wait to get home to read "what happened" during the war.

 

 

We win.

 

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

I think this week has been a good learning experience for Ted Black, Terry Pegula, and some of the younger Buffalo fans.

 

Because of the success the Sabres had coming out of the lockout and the solidification of their ticket base, and because of the Bills lackluster (I'm being kind) play and football world relevance over the past decade.....it may have seemed to many that the Sabres are just as every bit cherished if not more so than the Bills in this town. Sure, when the Sabres are rolling and the Bills are also rans, the majority will channel their energy towards following the Sabres and hitch their hopes to the Sabres wagon.

 

An interesting thing has developed over the past 72 hours. Even with the Sabres playing fairly well over the past month or so, and their playoff hopes within reach and clearly not out of it, the Bills grabbed center stage in a huge way. Yes, signing the most coveted free agent and giving him the biggest contract in team history can do that. It is the spinoff I am seeing however that surprises even myself.

 

WGR, all Bills, all the time....and these boards......with the Bills board setting records and thousands online at the peak...yet there is not only zero spillover to the Sabres board, but the numbers viewing here are down. Down to levels you might see in the middle of August. When 20 odd posters are logged in on a Friday in the middle of a playoff race with a few weeks to go.......I might find it a bit concerning.

 

The Sabres have had the big splash with Mr. Pegula coming to town, and the ticket base may have been accepting of mediocre play the past 5 years, both because of pent up demand and no urgency to spend their sports entertainment dollar on the "other" local franchise. Now, there looks to be a shift to Buffalo Sports Normalcy setting up. Nobody can deny that the Bills just made a very bold move, in the face of their detractors and encouraging those fans looking for a sign of hope. While their play on the field will have to prove it, the seismic shift in coverage and attention this week HAS TO BE NOTICED by Mr. Black and Mr. Pegula.

 

While the Sabres state their lone goal is to win a Stanley Cup, and money does not look to be a factor whatsoever, at a certain point, lack of real progress towards that goal for too long, and a traditionally much stronger local outlet for sports entertainment dollars and energies to be spent is now deemed relevant again, the Sabres brass needs to seriously re-evaluate their plans this offseason. If this week doesn't show how delicate of a position the Sabres could be in going forward, I don't know what would.

 

 

And before anyone dismisses this as a simple news story that has a short shelf-life......try to reverse the scenario and picture it being the last week of the regular season in football and the Bills are 9-6....needing a win and a Baltimore loss to get into the playoffs......and the Sabres make a trade for Rick Nash as they are muddled somewhere around 11th place. What would the reaction be? For how long? How much coverage would it get, even during the season?

 

I just find this week very interesting, and now that the Mariowatch excitement is over, there is still a major decline in following.

 

Food for thought this offseason, fellas.

[TrueBlueGED]

You could also look at the flipside, that Pegula coming to town and being everybody's hero with the Sabres having huge season ticket and general sales as forcing the Bills hand to do something big to bring the attention back especially since they couldn't sell out games.

 

In general I've always thought Buffalo was a football first city, and the Sabres only really came to the forefront because of grand ineptitude at One Bills Drive. I'm personally a football fan first and I always used to joke that hockey season started when football season ended. Part of this was due to the nature of the leagues and the relative importance of each game, but there was some truth beyond it. Super Mario watch was just underlined what I already knew. That being said, if the Bills continue to disappoint on the field, then the offseason acquisition will mean as little as the Sabres big offseason does now. And in the long run, if the sports gods fall asleep and allow both franchises to be good at the same time, I believe both will have huge support in the community. Will the Bills still be bigger? Probably, but the NFL is bigger than the NHL and that's a big part of it too, not just our individual city liking football more than hockey.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

You could also look at the flipside, that Pegula coming to town and being everybody's hero with the Sabres having huge season ticket and general sales as forcing the Bills hand to do something big to bring the attention back especially since they couldn't sell out games.

 

In general I've always thought Buffalo was a football first city, and the Sabres only really came to the forefront because of grand ineptitude at One Bills Drive. I'm personally a football fan first and I always used to joke that hockey season started when football season ended. Part of this was due to the nature of the leagues and the relative importance of each game, but there was some truth beyond it. Super Mario watch was just underlined what I already knew. That being said, if the Bills continue to disappoint on the field, then the offseason acquisition will mean as little as the Sabres big offseason does now. And in the long run, if the sports gods fall asleep and allow both franchises to be good at the same time, I believe both will have huge support in the community. Will the Bills still be bigger? Probably, but the NFL is bigger than the NHL and that's a big part of it too, not just our individual city liking football more than hockey.

 

Good deal.

 

It would be amazing to have them both going at the same time.

[BuffaloSoldier2010]

GODD, while i do think your post has a lot of merrit to it, and i could definitely see it holding up in reality to a certain extent (i am one of the younger fans), i also think the down numbers here could have a lot to do with march madness / spring break. just food for thought. These things could be major contributors to the down numbers you are referencing. just my 2 cents.