Arena experience: the players

[Stoner]

1 minute ago, Kruppstahl said:

Wait a minute.  Now you are taking aim at RJ?  

He is nothing close to what he used to be, but he is still a WNY legend and I think he gets to keep his job until he flat out can't do it anymore or decides it's time to quit.  

It's also worth noting that the game of hockey is nothing close to what it was for the vast bulk of RJ's career; it is a pretty boring game most nights (regular season) and the Sabres teams have been horrid for what? 6 or so years now? 

RJ doesn't have a lot to get enthused about these days.  I think his broadcasting would step up a notch or 2 if the team was really good and played exciting, physical hockey.

 

 

He's not good anymore. We just like to hear his voice. The points about the team and the league are valid, but other NHL announcers overcome those issues. I don't think Rick is inclined to cover for the team and the league anymore and make it sound exciting. To his credit, probably.

[josie]

34 minutes ago, Samson's Flow said:

There's a reason Josie picked out Dallas. They are one of a handful of franchises that do a good job with in-arena experience (Vegas being another) and we could learn a thing or two about being more "fun" from them. Even if the play still stinks it doesn't have to be such a depressing atmosphere in there...

Vegas had a Cirque du Soleil aerialist drop down a silk and hand the puck to the Golden Knight for their opening. 

 

So... let's do that. But instead of a graceful descent to handoff the puck, a portly gentleman in a fading tie dyed Bills shirt and Sabres colored Zubaz plummets down a bungee cord and smashes a folding table, whilst a puck falls out of his pants. A deluge of wing sauce follows, spattering the team captains a la getting Slimed via Nickelodeon. 

If Philly can embrace Gritty, we can embrace this. 

[Kruppstahl]

Regarding the general theme of the Sabres organization being incompetent:

Turn on WGR550 right now!  3:20pm eastern time, 10.5.2018

Mike Schopp is going off on the various letters and announcements he has received from the team as a season ticket holder and how insulting they are, and the fact that he can't get a good dunkles Bier anywhere in the building. 

He then mentioned how the team was a mess, the building was lifeless, and it's all more of the same crap from last season.

Kind of entertaining if you ask me, but I don't buy tickets to the games. 

EDIT:  This should be available at the WGR website later; Hour 1; I recommend it.  He just finished his 25 minute rant.  Segment 1. 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2018 by Kruppstahl

[Kruppstahl]

The "game night experience" on WGR-550 has blossomed to fill the entire first hour!  

Callers basically talking about poor concessions service/food quality at the building.

One caller mentioned that 20 minutes before the season opener, at a pizza stand, all the slices available looked like they had been sitting under the sofa for 3 weeks.

?

 

[SDS]

2 minutes ago, Kruppstahl said:

The "game night experience" on WGR-550 has blossomed to fill the entire first hour!  

Callers basically talking about poor concessions service/food quality at the building.

One caller mentioned that 20 minutes before the season opener, at a pizza stand, all the slices available looked like they had been sitting under the sofa for 3 weeks.

?

 

While I have no reason to doubt the complaints, I find over the top hyperbole to be an unconvincing form of argument. 

[That Aud Smell]

3 minutes ago, SDS said:

While I have no reason to doubt the complaints, I find over the top hyperbole to be an unconvincing form of argument. 

The volume of legitimate complaints is fairly staggering.

Not for nothing: A crappy slice of pizza last season was, IIRC, $6.75. This season? $8.50.

The reactions to bad quality might be hyperbolic, but the rhetoric is just matching the inflation of the prices.

[SDS]

3 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

The volume of legitimate complaints is fairly staggering.

Not for nothing: A crappy slice of pizza last season was, IIRC, $6.75. This season? $8.50.

The reactions to bad quality might be hyperbolic, but the rhetoric is just matching the inflation of the prices.

Is there good pizza at any arena? How would they make pizza that is mass produced for quick sale? 

I’m not saying it isn’t bad, but what exactly are we comparing it to?

[darksabre]

13 minutes ago, SDS said:

Is there good pizza at any arena? How would they make pizza that is mass produced for quick sale? 

I’m not saying it isn’t bad, but what exactly are we comparing it to?

The food I had at the Honda Center in Anaheim was funkin excellent. 

[SDS]

5 minutes ago, darksabre said:

The food I had at the Honda Center in Anaheim was funkin excellent. 

What did you have?

“The most expensive item is a $24 Dasher cheeseburger topped with cherry wood smoked bacon and tri-tip. All the burgers are served with shredded lettuce, hand-cut heirloom tomatoes, and red onion. Each burger comes with crinkle cut fries, a personal favorite of Doyle.”

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

He's not good anymore. We just like to hear his voice. The points about the team and the league are valid, but other NHL announcers overcome those issues. I don't think Rick is inclined to cover for the team and the league anymore and make it sound exciting. To his credit, probably.

It did get a little annoying that shift where he had 3 Eichels. And how Skinner and Reinhart could switch places with each other on command.

10 minutes ago, darksabre said:

The food I had at the Honda Center in Anaheim was funkin excellent. 

My father has raved about that Arena. If they can do it, why not us?

[That Aud Smell]

25 minutes ago, SDS said:

Is there good pizza at any arena? How would they make pizza that is mass produced for quick sale? 

I’m not saying it isn’t bad, but what exactly are we comparing it to?

Dunno.

The complaints are pretty nuts, though. Half hour for a beer. Condiment dispensers empty before the game began. And so on.

I guess these are more Delaware North issues? But, still.

[darksabre]

10 minutes ago, SDS said:

What did you have?

“The most expensive item is a $24 Dasher cheeseburger topped with cherry wood smoked bacon and tri-tip. All the burgers are served with shredded lettuce, hand-cut heirloom tomatoes, and red onion. Each burger comes with crinkle cut fries, a personal favorite of Doyle.”

I had a polish sausage with waffle fries. It was better than anything I've ever eaten at KBC. And their craft beer selection was very nice. 

[SDS]

4 minutes ago, darksabre said:

I had a polish sausage with waffle fries. It was better than anything I've ever eaten at KBC. And their craft beer selection was very nice. 

Any idea on price?

[darksabre]

3 minutes ago, SDS said:

Any idea on price?

I wanna say like...$15? It was reasonable for arena food given the high quality. 

[TrueBlueGED]

5 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

PA guy: "Bruins' first goal..."

Organ guy: "Well that empty netter seals it, time to play 'Closing Time.'"

Isn't this road arena stuff if you're the Sabres?

Cutting to the chase: if you can't get the little stuff right, what does it say about the big stuff? Do the players sense that they're playing for an amateurish organization?

Because they're vastly different competencies. 

[Darryl Shannon's +/-]

$11 per beer, crowded hallways, bathrooms with standing "water" by urinals, a boring product on the ice leading to an arena as quiet as I've ever heard it. Yeah....that was no fun. 

I've long held that Terry and Kim are great for the area. They have put money into our region leading to others (cough, paladino) finally rehabbing their vacant real estate holdings.  Buffalonians are better off because of them. 

All that said, multiple people were asleep at the wheel to lead to last night. Not raising season ticket prices but bumping concessions 20ish % is not a good look.  I'm hearing arena renovations are coming before next year....but they may have waited one too long. 

[Eleven]

I really wish I had heard this on GR today.

5 hours ago, SDS said:

Is there good pizza at any arena? How would they make pizza that is mass produced for quick sale? 

I’m not saying it isn’t bad, but what exactly are we comparing it to?

There is no good arena pizza in the world.

There actually is a somewhat decent polish sausage at the Arena for like $7 or so.  But most of the food is pure crap.

Edited October 6, 2018 by Eleven

[SwampD]

I think I've done a complete 180 on this topic. Rather than whine about these things, I really think we need to celebrate them. Sort of a The Tao of Sabres approach.

Someone mentioned in the GDT about looking back, fondly, on the memory of popping cups in the hallways as a youth. Someone else could easily complain about people littering in the hallways.

I think we really need to embrace this smalltown sh!tshow for what it is, and make it ours. Because when I think about it, all these things really are a part of the zeitgeist of being a Sabres fan.

Edited October 6, 2018 by SwampD

[Darryl Shannon's +/-]

32 minutes ago, SwampD said:

I think I've done a complete 180 on this topic. Rather than whine about these things, I really think we need to celebrate them. Sort of a The Tao of Sabres approach.

Someone mentioned in the GDT about looking back, fondly, on the memory of popping cups in the hallways as a youth. Someone else could easily complain about people littering in the hallways.

I think we really need to embrace this smalltown sh!tshow for what it is, and make it ours. Because when I think about it, all these things really are a part of the zeitgeist of being a Sabres fan.

I'd agree with you if it wasn't priced at the level it was. Give me a beer and a dog for five bucks and I'm okay with dive bar bathroom conditions. But they are charging premium levels, and the product, at least this night was awful.  It makes you wonder where your money is going. 

I think the Atlanta falcons lowered prices on all concessions and actually profited more. You don't even need to do this to be good to fans.  You can help the bottom line.  Win win for all parties. 

Just seems like a tone deaf start. Sleep walking wasn't limited to the guys on the ice it seems.  And if you have hung on as a STH through this, it seems as though your devotion is taken for granted. 

[Andrew Amerk]

I was at the game. The overall experience was poor. From start to finish, there was just no life or soul in being there. 

During the game, nothing went on to pump up the crowd. Any music played was either ineffective, or not loud enough, or both. 

I scoured my level for food choices. The pizzas looked like ones you’d get at a gas station for $1, but these were around $8. Fried bologna used to be pretty awesome at the Aud. The ones I saw looked too thick and undercooked, and around $12. 

I settled on a pretzel ($7) which was alright. A beer ran me $12.75, which was ridiculous. I was still hungry and thirsty after both, but didn’t wanna go broke after thinking about what I spent on tickets and gas and parking ($20) for the game. All just to watch a mediocre lifeless team on the ice, amidst a dead crowd that was in no way helped by the beyond dead in-house game entertainment. 

You can blame the vendor(s) contracted for the food and drink experience all you want, but someone is overlooking that sh*t. 

Also, we went early because it was advertised in the news that there was a party in the plaza with food vendors and Sabres Alumni. The only vendor I saw was Moes, and the only Alumni I saw was Pat Kaleta. 

This organization, as much as I love them, does not have their sh*t together from top to bottom. 

[That Aud Smell]

There’s really good content in here. I heard another story last night from a longtime STH who said something just seemed  wrong and off with the opening night operations.

Maybe the Pegulas are in fact in over their heads. 

As much as it pains me to admit: Bucky was saying this some time ago.

I will renew my request for @PASabreFan to broaden the thread title.

[Eleven]

8 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

There’s really good content in here. I heard another story last night from a longtime STH who said something just seemed  wrong and off with the opening night operations.

Maybe the Pegulas are in fact in over their heads. 

As much as it pains me to admit: Bucky was saying this some time ago.

I will renew my request for @PASabreFan to broaden the thread title.

We could just merge it with the arena experience thread.

[LGR4GM]

18 hours ago, josie said:

Vegas had a Cirque du Soleil aerialist drop down a silk and hand the puck to the Golden Knight for their opening. 

 

So... let's do that. But instead of a graceful descent to handoff the puck, a portly gentleman in a fading tie dyed Bills shirt and Sabres colored Zubaz plummets down a bungee cord and smashes a folding table, whilst a puck falls out of his pants. A deluge of wing sauce follows, spattering the team captains a la getting Slimed via Nickelodeon. 

If Philly can embrace Gritty, we can embrace this. 

At least it would have some personality. I think 5 of us in room could create a better in game presentation. 

[SDS]

How much of the dissatisfaction is amplified by the poor result of the game?

[Stoner]

53 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

There’s really good content in here. I heard another story last night from a longtime STH who said something just seemed  wrong and off with the opening night operations.

Maybe the Pegulas are in fact in over their heads. 

As much as it pains me to admit: Bucky was saying this some time ago.

I will renew my request for @PASabreFan to broaden the thread title.

On TV, the start of the pregame ceremony looked odd. Like, it just started with very little buildup. There was some dramatic music playing, then it stopped and there was a long pause before the PA announcer started talking. It didn't look like anything was being shown on the scoreboard or the ice. On the bright side, the fans filled in with a decent Let's Go Buffalo chant. If that was the plan, well done, Sidney Pegula.