Sabres' brass LOVES Leafs fans at FNC

[K-9]

I just don't like when the opposition fans come and invade our home arena, but reality is, like promo said, the arena is not sold out game after game.  A huge hockey market is close, so it is to be expected now.

 

I'm with you, PA, that it is just wrong for the Sabre big shots to welcome and encourage it.  Shows me where their bottom line is.

Are you suggesting the bottom line shouldn't be the bottom line? 

 

GO SABRES!!!

[SwampD]

You are so full of f###ing ###### it is amazing. F##k off you troll bag dick sucking wanna be douche nozzel. Seriously pa take your head, shove it up your ass. Oh and if it isn't clear what I'm saying, I'm telling you to go f##k yourself.

I'm with PA on this, at least. You need to calm down. Or as you would put it, you need to calm the #### down.

[CallawaySabres]

Would people rather have the library atmosphere that goes on now? I wish we played the Leafs 41 times to get energy again...

[Stoner]

PA has a very valid concern here, IMHO. This is a travel article initiated by the FO marketing department. It's pretty obvious to anyone who knows what that kind of fluff looks like.

 

What's at issue here is the Sabres "selling out" the team and Sabres' fans in favor of selling as many tickets, hotel rooms, and donuts as possible. Its a lack of loyalty to the team and its fans and a winning, positive environment for the SABRES community.

 

It seems business of the Harbour Centre experience has taken precedence over a 100% commitment to a winning culture.

 

Hockey games are not Broadway shows where it doesn't matter where the audience comes from or who they favor in the show. While a place like Shea's benefits from filling their seats with these marketing tactics, the Sabres really should consider a different approach.

Thanks. I feel a little less "crazy." "Selling out" is a good way of putting it. I'm just tired of getting a stick in the eye as a Sabres fan. How many indignities are we supposed to take with a smile on our face? It scares me because it was the Toronto series that put a nail in the coffin of my Bills fandom. This is only a baby step in that direction, but like the Bills in Toronto, it feels like something sacred is being violated, again.

[SwampD]

Thanks. I feel a little less "crazy." "Selling out" is a good way of putting it. I'm just tired of getting a stick in the eye as a Sabres fan. How many indignities are we supposed to take with a smile on our face? It scares me because it was the Toronto series that put a nail in the coffin of my Bills fandom. This is only a baby step in that direction, but like the Bills in Toronto, it feels like something sacred is being violated, again.

It's funny that you are condemning the same group terminated the Toronto Bills series.

[Darryl Shannon's +/-]

Thanks. I feel a little less "crazy." "Selling out" is a good way of putting it. I'm just tired of getting a stick in the eye as a Sabres fan. How many indignities are we supposed to take with a smile on our face? It scares me because it was the Toronto series that put a nail in the coffin of my Bills fandom. This is only a baby step in that direction, but like the Bills in Toronto, it feels like something sacred is being violated, again

 

The easy way to look at this is that the Canadian dollar falling and the Leafs being almost as bad as us has hurt not only the secondary ticket market but also the primary. 

 

But the better point to think about here is the whole concept of "our house".  I'm a season ticket holder, and by far, the best atmosphere is when games have a large contingent from the other side.  More noise, more emotion....it's better for us and the game.  As long as people don't act like 5 year olds and brawl, is it really bad to have other people in the building?

 

This isn't remotely close to flirting with Toronto like the Bills did to hold us hostage and/or test out a gigantic market.  This is probably related to people looking at our gate receipts and monitoring how soft a Sabres ticket has become on stubhub. 

[nfreeman]

You are so full of f###ing ###### it is amazing. F##k off you troll bag dick sucking wanna be douche nozzel. Seriously pa take your head, shove it up your ass. Oh and if it isn't clear what I'm saying, I'm telling you to go f##k yourself.

Dude -- you cannot talk like this here.

[Taro T]

You are so full of f###ing ###### it is amazing. F##k off you troll bag dick sucking wanna be douche nozzel. Seriously pa take your head, shove it up your ass. Oh and if it isn't clear what I'm saying, I'm telling you to go f##k yourself.

This really needs to stop.

[Stoner]

It's OK. I'm not offended. Not sure if it was for comedic effect or what. Like I wrote earlier, I'm a little concerned. I hope the man's OK!

[PromoTheRobot]

Okay, now I'm sure you're all nuts. You are upset about a travel piece touting Sabres games to out of towners. :doh:

 

This is how delusional you've become. You are upset at the Sabres promoting to out of town fans when our own fans won't go to games. You are blaming out of town fans for spoiling the atmosphere at the same Sabres games most of you won't attend. And you see no irony!

 

Seriously, take a mental health break.

[SwampD]

Okay, now I'm sure you're all nuts. You are upset about a travel piece touting Sabres games to out of towners. :doh:

 

This is how delusional you've become. You are upset at the Sabres promoting to out of town fans when our own fans won't go to games. You are blaming out of town fans for spoiling the atmosphere at the same Sabres games most of you won't attend. And you see no irony!

 

Seriously, take a mental health break.

Methinks he doth protest too much. Feeling a little guilty about selling your tickets, are ya?

[TrueBlueGED]

It's OK. I'm not offended. Not sure if it was for comedic effect or what. Like I wrote earlier, I'm a little concerned. I hope the man's OK!

How would one go about offending you? Would calling you the Dunleavy of posters do the trick? Want a worthwhile insult in my back pocket, just in case! :p

[nfreeman]

I can't imagine there would be any more reaction to 10 home games being taken to Hamilton. Let's hope Brandon isn't testing the waters here.

 

Nonsense.

 

Thanks. I feel a little less "crazy." "Selling out" is a good way of putting it. I'm just tired of getting a stick in the eye as a Sabres fan. How many indignities are we supposed to take with a smile on our face? It scares me because it was the Toronto series that put a nail in the coffin of my Bills fandom. This is only a baby step in that direction, but like the Bills in Toronto, it feels like something sacred is being violated, again.

 

I think what this actually represents is another bad side effect of the tank.  The team has been freaking awful for what seems like forever, despite signs of life and 3 highly promising new players (4 if Lehner is included), they are still flirting with last place and attending to a game still costs a lot of money in a crappy economy.  It is entirely natural for demand to be reduced -- frankly it's a freaking miracle that they've sold as many tickets as they have -- and it's just as natural for the team to try to sell tickets in Ontario.

 

It's not a sinister plot by a nefarious, meddling billionaire taking a break from raping the earth in order to steal from you and/or pimp out your birthright.  It's a sports team trying to sell tickets. 

 

You'd rather TP just take the loss than sell to Leafs fans because, hey, it's not your money!  Let us know when your outrage reaches the point where you reach into your pocket -- not someone else's -- and, say, buy 2 season tickets and give them to charity to keep them out of the hands of Leafs fans.

[PromoTheRobot]

Methinks he doth protest too much. Feeling a little guilty about selling your tickets, are ya?

Does my avatar say I feel guilty? But you all are still nuts.

[...]

FWIW, during the past couple of playoffs, certain teams blocked ticket sales to out of state credit cards. Why do you suppose they did that?

[Neo]

Tangential - Tampa had a "no Red Wing jersey" pronouncement during last year's playoffs. I don't recall if, or how, it was enforced. It was earnest, though.

[NHLBUFF]

Wow boys... I don't post often, So most of you will skip over my comment like I never said anything and that's fine by me...

 

Now I don't live in buffalo. I've never been to the FNC.

 

I have a question for you PA, is it Pegulas fault that the Canadian fans are coming to the arena? Has it been happening since before he was the owner?

 

Now this is just pure speculation, I'm no business man, but if I was, and I had just made a huge investment(harbour center) and I realized that "30-40%" of the people at the game were Canadian fans, I would probably do a little bit of advertising to the select market of which my investment was to reach.

 

Yes,, teams do sometimes try to only sell playoff game tickets to the home crowd. That's because they are selling out. I've never seen a team say they'd rather have empty seats.

 

Put the Pegula pitchfork away, you're only losing credability on here by reaching at straws. Pegula doesn't control who comes into the arena, if he wants to make a return off of some true fans(leafs have sucked forever and they still go to the games) then what's wrong with that?

[tom webster]

So exactly how many games has Toronto won in FNC because the Sabres sold out there home ice advantage?

[Neo]

 

It's not a sinister plot by a nefarious, meddling billionaire taking a break from raping the earth in order to steal from you and/or pimp out your birthright.  It's a sports team trying to sell tickets.

Setting different views regarding the debate aside, this is some pure glorious web-writing. Yes, sir ...

[That Aud Smell]

This is a good thread, with solid give and take.

 

From my view, PA isn't, wasn't crazy at all to say, "hey - what gives ... *Gibby*?!" (I sorta hate his nickname.)

 

Something to bear in mind: It's fecking reality that Buffalo lacks the corporate base that anchors pro sports franchises. (Yes, yes - drill another well - but, look, he can't rightly run the franchise as a money pit!)

 

Marketing to southern Ontario is a huge and essential part of the Sabre's, the Bills', and Buffalo's economic future.

And I say all that as someone who specifically chooses to go to games involving any Canadian team because there'll be opposing fans in the house who make for a more fun vibe.

 

Having our team become really good will go a long, long way to solve a lot of things - this one included, to some extent.

 

Howevah. The 99 ECF against the Leafs? I was at the game where Peca trucked Domi. That crowd had a solid Leaf contingent. I sat next to a guy from Alberta who wasn't a Leafs fan per se, but flew in because be said a Canadian team had been in the SCF finals in every year ending in a 9 (including his Flames in 89), and he wanted to see it happen again.

 

Buffalo loves its hockey. We don't love it the way Canadians do, on balance. It's okay that they're in our arena. I look forward to when there are fewer of them because the locals are buying and hanging onto tickets.

 

Finally, don't discount the role of ticket buying robot brokerages in all this.

 

Now, I need coffee.

[Stoner]

FWIW, during the past couple of playoffs, certain teams blocked ticket sales to out of state credit cards. Why do you suppose they did that?

And not only is there precedent for doing that, I can't find or think of any precedent for encouraging rivals' fans to come to your game. Can you imagine an Isles exec saying how much they love Ranger fans? Those fans would not suffer it. And Wang needs the money more than Pegula does. Brandon: We love Dolphins fans. Is the welcome mat out at Lambeau for Bears fans. This is a disgrace, folks, and some of you can't call evil by its name. Obama? Pfffft. He's an amateur.

 

The Ahockalypse

 

And in the third straight winter

 

At the bottom of the standings

 

Pegula's minion will sound a clarion call:

 

"Come, Leafs fans, come

 

Enter the gates of Hockey Heaven!"

[SwampD]

Awesome.

[darksabre]

And maybe some Leafs fans become Sabres fans because tickets are cheaper and loyalty fades.

[Stoner]

Marketing to southern Ontario is a huge and essential part of the Sabre's, the Bills', and Buffalo's economic future.

No duh. And the Sabres have been doing it from Day One when they hired Punch Imlach and a young Canadian broadcaster (can't think of his name right now, it'll come to me, honey pass me those Fig Newtons), who went to rubber chicken dinners on both side of the border to promote the team. To Sabres' fans, and people they wanted to become Sabre fans.

And maybe some Leafs fans become Sabres fans because tickets are cheaper and loyalty fades.

Maybe. Maybe next winter when Trump is president, immediately after a Sabres-Leafs game at the arena, he will issue an executive order preventing all Canadians from going back home. Then they'll have to stay and become Sabres fans.

[darksabre]

So what do you want?