Sabres or Bills?

[xzy89c1]

If we could keep only one which, would you want?

 

I am Sabres all the way.

Edited September 6, 2023 by xzy89c1
more detail

[MBD]

The Bills.  But because of the Bills, Terry can keep them both in Buffalo.  If the Bills were to leave, the Sabres would soon follow.

Edited September 6, 2023 by MBD

[msw2112]

I'd say Bills, just because NFL football is king and is the most expensive and difficult franchise for a city to get.  If Buffalo lost the Sabres, I could see another team coming in the future, with Buffalo being such a great hockey market.  If Buffalo lost the Bills, it would never get another NFL franchise.  The market is simply too small and the demand and money is too great in other much larger markets. 

All this aside, I played hockey from a young age (started at age 4) and the Sabres were a great team during my youth; the Bills not so much.  I didn't play football until my teenage years.  My family shared Sabres season tickets since I was a kid and I used to go to games without a ticket, sitting on my parents' lap, whereas the family didn't get Bills tickets until after I was grown up, off to college, and moved out of the city.  So my first love was hockey, but, objectively, if the city had to choose, keeping the Bills would be a higher priority.  I'm fairly certain that thanks to the Pegula family, the city won't have to choose.  I think that they will keep ownership of both teams.  Even if they do sell the Sabres, I believe that they would only sell to a local interest with a commitment to keeping the team in Buffalo.

Edited September 6, 2023 by msw2112

[ddaryl]

I'm not choosing. I want both and if I'm forced to choose I'm still picking both

[LabattBlue]

If push came to shove, I would take the Sabres and would not look back. 
 

That being said, I have loved both teams for over 50 years. 

Edited September 6, 2023 by LabattBlue

[That Aud Smell]

Selflishly, the Sabres. The Sabres and ice (and street) hockey were my first true sports love as a kid.

But that's not the choice I'd make. The Bills are so much more important to so many more people in WNY and from WNY.

[JoeSchmoe]

Sabres and it's not close. 

[Radar]

Frankly if we didn't have a local hockey team I'd watch very little hockey. I only watch and follow the Sabres. Football I'm more of a fan of the sport. If the Bills left my Sundays would still have me watching football. So losing the Sabres would leave a bigger hole for me.

[SwampD]

3 minutes ago, JoeSchmoe said:

Sabres and it's not close. 

This.

[bob_sauve28]

I hate football, so Sabres all the way 

[LabattBlue]

25 minutes ago, Radar said:

Frankly if we didn't have a local hockey team I'd watch very little hockey. I only watch and follow the Sabres. Football I'm more of a fan of the sport. If the Bills left my Sundays would still have me watching football. So losing the Sabres would leave a bigger hole for me.

Good point.  i guess I feel the same. 

[Scottysabres]

Both, but I'm a football enthusiast, I'm a hockey fanatic.

 

[Pimlach]

Football was my favorite sport for much of my life and the 1970's Sabres were right there with them.  

Football is by far the most valuable franchise for a community to have.   However, as of the last two seasons I am getting pretty sick of football - the mindless non stop media coverage, the over the top hype, the attitude of many of the players, the bombastic celebrations for making a basic play, the silly rules and the poor quality of the part time officials, the ever lengthening season and the playoff structure.  I also think football is fixed.  Not gonna delve deep into that, but ?I do.  

So, right now I actually follow the Sabres closer than the Bills - even with Allen and Co, I like the Sabres core better with Eichel and Reinhart gone and the new core in place.   I like them better than the Bills core.  

I guess I would pick keeping the Bills because I think we could get another hockey team but not another football team.   I actually think WNY can continue to support both. 

I thought that the Pegula's were insurance that Buffalo would keep both teams for a very long time as his kids could possibly run them or hire someone who can.   We should not need Kim to keep things going and actually, her track record in business is not very good.  

[Stoner]

In other news, pizza or ham loaf.

[Pimlach]

9 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

In other news, pizza or ham loaf.

Pizza. 

Ham loaf?  What is that?  Do you mean Pressed Ham - yuck. 

[Mustache of God]

Losing the Bills would be worse for the city than losing the Sabres.

That being said, if I had to choose I'm picking the Sabres. Sports are entertainment after all and if I had to choose to be entertained 17 times a year vs 82 I'm picking 82.

[bob_sauve28]

4 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

Losing the Bills would be worse for the city than losing the Sabres.

That being said, if I had to choose I'm picking the Sabres. Sports are entertainment after all and if I had to choose to be entertained 17 times a year vs 82 I'm picking 82.

And hockey is much more continous action, football is mostly TV commercials 

[dudacek]

I always get a chuckle over those celebrating the manufactured cutthroat corporate machine of the NFL over the bumbling backyard pond operations of the NHL.

Choose your illusion.

[xzy89c1]

53 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Football was my favorite sport for much of my life and the 1970's Sabres were right there with them.  

Football is by far the most valuable franchise for a community to have.   However, as of the last two seasons I am getting pretty sick of football - the mindless non stop media coverage, the over the top hype, the attitude of many of the players, the bombastic celebrations for making a basic play, the silly rules and the poor quality of the part time officials, the ever lengthening season and the playoff structure.  I also think football is fixed.  Not gonna delve deep into that, but ?I do.  

So, right now I actually follow the Sabres closer than the Bills - even with Allen and Co, I like the Sabres core better with Eichel and Reinhart gone and the new core in place.   I like them better than the Bills core.  

I guess I would pick keeping the Bills because I think we could get another hockey team but not another football team.   I actually think WNY can continue to support both. 

I thought that the Pegula's were insurance that Buffalo would keep both teams for a very long time as his kids could possibly run them or hire someone who can.   We should not need Kim to keep things going and actually, her track record in business is not very good.  

sabres play 45-50 home games a year downtown so there is tons of ancillary spending. The concerts and other events held downtown in the arena increase the spending. Cant imagine the arena would stay open without Sabres paying bills. Bills play ten or eleven games at home in a good year. Little ancillary spending by fans. For Buffalo I think Sabres have more of an impact.

[Scottysabres]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

In other news, pizza or ham loaf.

Pizza is tasty hot or cold, but a can of krakus has versatility. Tough call.

[mjd1001]

Sabres.

Years ago it would have been the Bills. Up until about 5 years ago it would have been the Bills.  As a kid, I watched every minute of every game I could without exception. I had Bills Season tickets from the time I was 9 until I was in my mid 20's.  But just in the past 2-3 years the Bills, and the NFL, just don't have the same draw to me.

I've gotten bored with Football.  There is very little in a game I can see that I haven't seen before. The names are different, but the action is similar, and I'm TIRED of the media coverage with the 'talking heads' throwing junk out there just to get a reaction, and the really dumb viewpoints you can't get away from coming from some media and the fans.  You get that in Hockey, but not as much.

I'll follow the Bills and NFL, I'll put the game on but if there is something else to do (Wife wants to go see a movie, there is an interesting Nascar race on, or maybe family is visiting), now the NFL/Bills will take a backseat to that.  With the Sabres, my interest is pretty much the same now as it was when I was a kid. Maybe SLIGHTLY less now than in the past, but not that much less.   On a scale of 0-100 measuring my 'fandom', When I was young it was a 95 for the Bills, an 80 for the Sabres.  Now, Its closer to a 50 for the Bills/NFL, still probably a 70-75 for the Sabres.

The NHL is more interesting to me in terms of the options you have to build your team. You can challenge for regular season dominance and/or a Cup run many ways. A veteran team (St. Louis of a few years ago is an example). A team with a handful of top end stars (Toronto?). A team with multiple top overall picks (Pittsburgh in the past decade).  A team with few top overall picks (Boston).  You can be carried to the cup in large part by  D-man (Makar, Hedman), a great/hot goalie (Vasilevsky), or a top scoring superstar (Ovi, Kane, Crosby, Malkin). 

In the NFL, its not a GUARANTEE, but its all about the QB. Get a great QB and you are 3/4 of the way to being a top contender.  The previous Superbowl winners? Mahomes, Stafford, Brady, Mahomes, Brady, Brady, Manning, Brady, R Wilson, and Nick Foles. (3 league MVPs, a first overall pick, Russell Wilson (who was GREAT for a few years) and Foles.  There seems to be more variety in building a team in the NHL and that is more fun for me as a fan also.

Again, short answer...Sabres.

Edited September 6, 2023 by mjd1001

[MattPie]

[JoeSchmoe]

52 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

Losing the Bills would be worse for the city than losing the Sabres.

That being said, if I had to choose I'm picking the Sabres. Sports are entertainment after all and if I had to choose to be entertained 17 times a year vs 82 I'm picking 82.

In football (not including playoffs), you've got seventeen 60min games a year, most of which is clock ticking off between plays. How does anyone listen to soooooo much football chatter 24-7. 

Give me no more than 15-30min of Sal Cappacio a week. It's all I need to be caught up. 

[Marvin]

I loved football.  But after the NFL screwed Dr. Omalu with CTE, the callousness of the football world (many fans included) towards the toll football can take on the players, and the perpetual over-saturation of the NFL, I am on the verge of hanging up on it.

[mjd1001]

14 minutes ago, MattPie said:

I was almost anticipating when someone would make this comment grabbing the low hanging fruit...

Yes, its true you are on the Sabres fan site. But many of us contribute both here and at 2 bills drive.  The commentary of people who like the Sabres over the Bills that are fans of both teams is the point of this thread, not just 'counting votes' of Bills vs Sabres.

Edited September 6, 2023 by mjd1001