Sabres streak: 448 consecutive games without being above .500(inc OTL)

[Marions Piazza]

Not sure where to put this, but I guess here is as good as anywhere.  San Antonio, not a major sports town, has 1 team in the 4 major sports leagues, compared to Buffalo having 2 for example.  This year is the first season since 1999 that the Spurs won't win 50 games.  Not a losing season, mind you.  Not missing the playoffs. Just not winning at least 50 out of 82 games.  Their last losing season was 1997.

 

This got me to thinking.

 

Why do some of the other "minor" sports towns, similar in circumstance to Buffalo as far as number of major sports teams, become successful or stay successful for so long?  I think the key is good, responsible, motivated ownership.  I get the feeling that Buffalo fans are "just happy to be there" most of the time, therefore too content and not inclined to make waves.  Teams still sell out and we're still die hard fans when many other fan bases would have given up long ago.  There's little to no incentive for ownership to improve the product, either on the field/ice or atmosphere wise.  Fans have a say in sports, there's just often an unwillingness to call ownership's bluff and show the appropriate displeasure with an inferior product and/or ownership effort.

That is an incredible stat for the Spurs.

 

Agree with the bolded, we have had to worry about the Sabres, when the league took the team over, the future wasn't certain.  We got nervous about the Bills and if Bon Jovi was going to move them.  

 

I know that my friend has had a difficult time selling season tickets for games he couldnt go to the past two years and he has lost a lot of money and is not going to renew for next year.  I hope a lot of people dont renew their tickets and send a message that losing and last place finishes 3 ouf last 5 years is unacceptable.  I do not want to see fans throwing Jersey's on the ice Oilers style, but, fans do need to make it very well known that something needs to be done.

[WildCard]

Is this the DeLuca .500?

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Senator, I have no recollection.

 

How did I miss this gem.

[Stoner]

Is this the DeLuca .500?

Si.

[Stoner]

Not sure where to put this, but I guess here is as good as anywhere.  San Antonio, not a major sports town, has 1 team in the 4 major sports leagues, compared to Buffalo having 2 for example.  This year is the first season since 1999 that the Spurs won't win 50 games.  Not a losing season, mind you.  Not missing the playoffs. Just not winning at least 50 out of 82 games.  Their last losing season was 1997.

 

This got me to thinking.

 

Why do some of the other "minor" sports towns, similar in circumstance to Buffalo as far as number of major sports teams, become successful or stay successful for so long?  I think the key is good, responsible, motivated ownership.  I get the feeling that Buffalo fans are "just happy to be there" most of the time, therefore too content and not inclined to make waves.  Teams still sell out and we're still die hard fans when many other fan bases would have given up long ago.  There's little to no incentive for ownership to improve the product, either on the field/ice or atmosphere wise.  Fans have a say in sports, there's just often an unwillingness to call ownership's bluff and show the appropriate displeasure with an inferior product and/or ownership effort.

And this got me to thinking about the Knoxes. They hired a top notch hockey guy right out of the gate and earned the fans' support. Sellouts soon became automatic at the Aud, until the early 80s with the local economy, I think, being the biggest driver of attendance dropoff (the team was still competitive as Bowman rebuilt the team with youth and Bert).

 

After that, ownership knew they hard to work hard again to ensure fannies in the seats. Attendance went up and down logically with the team's performance — 13k when the Sabres finished last in 86-87, back to 15k during the exciting LaLa years, back down during the last season at the Aud, when the team was starting a rebuild — but the Knoxes were always trying (see Muckler, John).

 

Even the year before Golisano bought the team, fans were still smart enough to vote with their feet. Hasek was gone, the team stunk and the future was questionable. Man, something changed after the lockout. Support became automatic. It would be a very good and understandable and healthy thing if this franchise finally heard it from the season ticket holders. The time is now.