Buffalo Booster or Hockey Fan? Tie to the city or the game...

[mercury]

Buffalo Booster or Hockey Fan? Tie to the city or the game...

 

Yes.

[wonderbread]

I've never lived in Buffalo. In fact I've never lived outside of Pennsylvania. I consider myself to be an ardent Buffalo Sports Backer. Growing up in the 80's i made a choice. Pittsburgh and the superbowls, or Buffalo. Since my old man was a UB grad and we went to Bills games (see fergy) it was an easy choice. I have no idea the amount of hours I have inversted in following Buffalo sports teams (Nor do I care to venture).

 

Living in Pittsburgh like some others on the board has not been easy. I attend the sports venues here as much as I can while still traveling to Buffalo yearly for 1 or 2 games. I have taken more than my fairshare of balllbreaking for being a Buffalo sports fan. Maybe more than some of you in Buffalo could ever imaging, However I have and always will remain blindly loyal to the teams sports teams.

 

In the event that either of the two teams in Buffalo ever left my fandom would be broken. I would then take a casual interest in the sport. Maybe spend more time doing other Hobbies.

[That Aud Smell]

my guess is that the majority of people who identify themselves as sabre fans are primarily fans of their team, their town. is that a 51% majority, or a 75% one -- i'm not sure. i would further venture that 2 out of 3 (3 out of 5?) "sabre fans" would stop following the nhl if the sabres weren't involved. that leaves a minority -- but an active one -- that would stay interested, at varying levels.

 

as for me, i would continue to follow hockey if the sabres weren't in play. i was going to use my behavior during the playoffs as a measuring stick, but i don't think that's fair, since my team is still in the picture, in the broader sense. in any case, i definitely try to watch all or most of the conference finals and SC finals. but if the sabres were gone forever, i think i would find some other league and/or team to devote myself to -- i do so love the sport.

[millbank]

I do think the respective city connection a interesting one. I wonder amongst Buffalo residents who do follow hockey or football for that matter are supporters/fans of other team and not fans of Buffalo franchise. For instance often after Leafs game a person who identifies himself as Gary from Buffalo he a clearly ardent Leaf fan calls in to comment about latest game. In south western ontario while the Leafs are the local franchise, if you were to ask a number of people as to which team they are a fan of , the repsonse would be varied from Leafs, Sabres, Red Wings, to virtually every team in the League. I have the impression in Buffalo and most U.S cities the home team more so the team of choice, much more so. I have pondered this at times as to why so, and one conclusion would be that for many with the players coming from OHL cities , locals get to know many various young men who are drafted and are spread across the two countries NHL franchises. (don't bother with its because the Leafs are bad, the same hold true when they were good, and winning cups in 40's, - 60's and having success in other periods. Simply you could sit at a local Ontario Establishment watching game with a group of people many of them with very different tema loyalties, where in Buffalo there would be very few exceptions of people rooting for outsiders if you will. Again comments not meant to be a negative, folks absolutely entitled to root for whom ever they wish and make no apologies, but it does seems Americans generally more loyal to their respective local teams.

I say it seems this way, it would hardly be first time I was wrong..... :)

 

(this comes from guy who in forties at five years old , dreamed of being a Boston Bruins goalie, remember being taken down the the flooded park rink in my Boston Bruins gear and the other young people laughing their behinds at jackass me wearing Bruin stuff. The choice in my area Leafs, Red Wings, and Canadians. )

[SwampD]

I do think the respective city connection a interesting one. I wonder amongst Buffalo residents who do follow hockey or football for that matter are supporters/fans of other team and not fans of Buffalo franchise. For instance often after Leafs game a person who identifies himself as Gary from Buffalo he a clearly ardent Leaf fan calls in to comment about latest game. In south western ontario while the Leafs are the local franchise, if you were to ask a number of people as to which team they are a fan of , the repsonse would be varied from Leafs, Sabres, Red Wings, to virtually every team in the League. I have the impression in Buffalo and most U.S cities the home team more so the team of choice, much more so. I have pondered this at times as to why so, and one conclusion would be that for many with the players coming from OHL cities , locals get to know many various young men who are drafted and are spread across the two countries NHL franchises. (don't bother with its because the Leafs are bad, the same hold true when they were good, and winning cups in 40's, - 60's and having success in other periods. Simply you could sit at a local Ontario Establishment watching game with a group of people many of them with very different tema loyalties, where in Buffalo there would be very few exceptions of people rooting for outsiders if you will. Again comments not meant to be a negative, folks absolutely entitled to root for whom ever they wish and make no apologies, but it does seems Americans generally more loyal to their respective local teams.

I say it seems this way, it would hardly be first time I was wrong..... :)

 

(this comes from guy who in forties at five years old , dreamed of being a Boston Bruins goalie, remember being taken down the the flooded park rink in my Boston Bruins gear and the other young people laughing their behinds at jackass me wearing Bruin stuff. The choice in my area Leafs, Red Wings, and Canadians. )

I love hockey. There is always a game(s) on in my house every night. I play several times a week.

I love Buffalo. I get back as often as I can. I hang out with almost exclusively Buffalo expats.

 

I have lived in the NYC area now almost as long as I have lived in the Buffalo area, yet I still feel like I have way more in common with, and feel more comfortable around, someone from Toronto or southern Ontario than I do with someone from Hicksville, LI or Hoboken, NJ.

 

I think if the Sabres ever left Buffalo, I would definitely still watch hockey and believe it or not, I probably become a Leafs fan, keeping that connection to the area that shaped me while growing up.

[Taro T]

I do think the respective city connection a interesting one. I wonder amongst Buffalo residents who do follow hockey or football for that matter are supporters/fans of other team and not fans of Buffalo franchise. For instance often after Leafs game a person who identifies himself as Gary from Buffalo he a clearly ardent Leaf fan calls in to comment about latest game. In south western ontario while the Leafs are the local franchise, if you were to ask a number of people as to which team they are a fan of , the repsonse would be varied from Leafs, Sabres, Red Wings, to virtually every team in the League. I have the impression in Buffalo and most U.S cities the home team more so the team of choice, much more so. I have pondered this at times as to why so, and one conclusion would be that for many with the players coming from OHL cities , locals get to know many various young men who are drafted and are spread across the two countries NHL franchises. (don't bother with its because the Leafs are bad, the same hold true when they were good, and winning cups in 40's, - 60's and having success in other periods. Simply you could sit at a local Ontario Establishment watching game with a group of people many of them with very different tema loyalties, where in Buffalo there would be very few exceptions of people rooting for outsiders if you will. Again comments not meant to be a negative, folks absolutely entitled to root for whom ever they wish and make no apologies, but it does seems Americans generally more loyal to their respective local teams.

I say it seems this way, it would hardly be first time I was wrong..... :)

 

(this comes from guy who in forties at five years old , dreamed of being a Boston Bruins goalie, remember being taken down the the flooded park rink in my Boston Bruins gear and the other young people laughing their behinds at jackass me wearing Bruin stuff. The choice in my area Leafs, Red Wings, and Canadians. )

Millsie,

 

I have a question for you back. In your neck of the woods, are the predominant junior team loyalties tied towards the Rangers? I'd expect the answer to that to be overwhelmingly, yes, but would like to hear whether it actually is. Here in WNY, I'd expect that the few that have a 'favorite' junior team have a very varied response as to which one that is.

 

Though the b&w are the 'local' NHL team in your area, they are still a relatively long distance away and the residents consider that they live in Kitchener, or Waterloo, or a bit further east in Hamilton. They don't identify (based on comments you have made in the past and observations I have made living in other areas, at a minimum they don't seem to identify) with the bigger city an hour or 2 away. Rather, they identify with their city. In Ra-cha-cha, most residents are Bills fans, but there are a lot of Fish fans as well and a nearly as large as Fish contingent cheering the Pokes and G-men. The percentage of fans identifying themselves as Bills fans are far less than in Buffalo.

 

Whereas, with the Sabres in Ra-cha-cha, you have nearly as high proportion of fans cheering for the Sabres as you do in Buffalo. The largest factor in that would be because Ra-cha-cha has been Buffalo's farm team since '79 (I refuse to admit the Cats-Donner the Hutt thing really happened). With older Ra-cha-cha fans, you have a lot of B's fans, as they were the parent prior to Buffalo.

 

When I lived in the deep south, where there weren't indiginous hockey teams, those that were locals that followed the game and had a favorite had chosen the favorite for widely varied reasons (parents from a particular region, they might like a different team from that city that they chose as their own for the NHL, have a favorite player, running w/ the top dog, or always cheering the underdog, etc)

 

I personally don't believe that fans in Buffalo (or the rest of the US) cheer for their locals more than the fans in Canada do. But I haven't done any studies on this obviously. My guess as to the largest source of the difference you observe between your locals and ours, is that you are living in an area without a 'major league' team and that has a major junior team that feeds many of the 'major league' teams, and that we actually have the 'major league' team or are the primary feeder to that 'major league' team.

[millbank]

Millsie,

 

I have a question for you back. In your neck of the woods, are the predominant junior team loyalties tied towards the Rangers? I'd expect the answer to that to be overwhelmingly, yes, but would like to hear whether it actually is. Here in WNY, I'd expect that the few that have a 'favorite' junior team have a very varied response as to which one that is.

 

Though the b&w are the 'local' NHL team in your area, they are still a relatively long distance away and the residents consider that they live in Kitchener, or Waterloo, or a bit further east in Hamilton. They don't identify (based on comments you have made in the past and observations I have made living in other areas, at a minimum they don't seem to identify) with the bigger city an hour or 2 away. Rather, they identify with their city. In Ra-cha-cha, most residents are Bills fans, but there are a lot of Fish fans as well and a nearly as large as Fish contingent cheering the Pokes and G-men. The percentage of fans identifying themselves as Bills fans are far less than in Buffalo.

 

Whereas, with the Sabres in Ra-cha-cha, you have nearly as high proportion of fans cheering for the Sabres as you do in Buffalo. The largest factor in that would be because Ra-cha-cha has been Buffalo's farm team since '79 (I refuse to admit the Cats-Donner the Hutt thing really happened). With older Ra-cha-cha fans, you have a lot of B's fans, as they were the parent prior to Buffalo.

 

think it might be good to remember this past Olympics in Vancouver where it was being said a changing face of a much more Patriotic and Regional rooting Canadian was emerging, they compared such to Americans.

There is a difference in present younger generation Canadians in some locals , but generally my initial comments on a diverse rooting interest still i believe holds true.

 

 

When I lived in the deep south, where there weren't indiginous hockey teams, those that were locals that followed the game and had a favorite had chosen the favorite for widely varied reasons (parents from a particular region, they might like a different team from that city that they chose as their own for the NHL, have a favorite player, running w/ the top dog, or always cheering the underdog, etc)

 

I personally don't believe that fans in Buffalo (or the rest of the US) cheer for their locals more than the fans in Canada do. But I haven't done any studies on this obviously. My guess as to the largest source of the difference you observe between your locals and ours, is that you are living in an area without a 'major league' team and that has a major junior team that feeds many of the 'major league' teams, and that we actually have the 'major league' team or are the primary feeder to that 'major league' team.

 

no i am talking folks in Toronto, and to some extent Hamilton regarding the diverse fan rooting interests and am dating to period of time when Leafs were successful , otherwise it would be a obvious thought given the rather extended period of lack of success plus grass roots people being priced out a obvious as to why number of current generation do having other rooting interests. That wasn't my observation. As i said one could sit in a local Toronto establishment with 10 people and easily 5- 6 of them rooting for a team other than Leafs, where I suspect in Buffalo 8 of 10 would be rooting for Buffalo and the two who weren't were at the establishment for the libation and women (men :o ) i must be inclusive eh. :angel:

[Sabres Fan in NS]

no i am talking folks in Toronto, and to some extent Hamilton regarding the diverse fan rooting interests and am dating to period of time when Leafs were successful , otherwise it would be a obvious thought given the rather extended period of lack of success plus grass roots people being priced out a obvious as to why number of current generation do having other rooting interests. That wasn't my observation. As i said one could sit in a local Toronto establishment with 10 people and easily 5- 6 of them rooting for a team other than Leafs, where I suspect in Buffalo 8 of 10 would be rooting for Buffalo and the two who weren't were at the establishment for the libation and women (men :o ) i must be inclusive eh. :angel:

 

:clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

[Taro T]

no i am talking folks in Toronto, and to some extent Hamilton regarding the diverse fan rooting interests and am dating to period of time when Leafs were successful , otherwise it would be a obvious thought given the rather extended period of lack of success plus grass roots people being priced out a obvious as to why number of current generation do having other rooting interests. That wasn't my observation. As i said one could sit in a local Toronto establishment with 10 people and easily 5- 6 of them rooting for a team other than Leafs, where I suspect in Buffalo 8 of 10 would be rooting for Buffalo and the two who weren't were at the establishment for the libation and women (men :o ) i must be inclusive eh. :angel:

My bad. I did not catch the direction your question was headed. :oops:

 

In that regard, I'd primarily chalk up the lowered # of TO fans in TO to TO being a very 'cosmopolitan' city. (That wouldn't be the entire reason, but I'd say it's the primary one.) You're getting people from all across Canada and other countries as well in Toronto, with a much higher percentage of non-native Torontonians in TO than the %age of non-Buffalonians in Buffalo. If you're in NYC, you'll easily have 1/2 the people following hockey in a bar rooting for someone other than the Strangers.

 

You'd find the same thing in LA or Houston regarding their sports teams (with the possible exception being their basketball teams - I don't follow basketball but it seems that when I've been either place the Lakers and Rockets dominated the landscape). And you mention noticing it to an extent in Hamilton. I'm not certain in what regard or to what degree you see it in Hamilton, but it's not surprising that it's so.

[neverenough]

Im a Sabres/Bills fan from Oregon, I grew up in cali so im no booster. I went to Buffalo last year for the bills/steelers and sabres/leafs games. I would love to see not 8 out of 10 but 10 of 10 buffalo fans around the area if its up to me, i think thats what makes buffalo fans great but thats just me.

[MattPie]

That wasn't my observation. As i said one could sit in a local Toronto establishment with 10 people and easily 5- 6 of them rooting for a team other than Leafs, where I suspect in Buffalo 8 of 10 would be rooting for Buffalo and the two who weren't were at the establishment for the libation and women (men :o ) i must be inclusive eh. :angel:

 

I'm assuming this analogy works out: If you sat down in NYC (or most other large US cities) on Sunday, you'll find lots of people rooting for non-home teams, since people move *to* those cities. I assume Toronto is the Canadian equivalent. No one moves *to* Buffalo.