Do you care about the Sabres anymore?

[msw2112]

I still care and always will.  That said, as the team lays an egg at least every other game, it's become much easier to use the fast forward button or skip the game altogether.  I am in Arizona and have been looking at getting tickets for Saturday night, but now I'm wondering if it's worth the money.  The Coyotes have also lost 4 in a row.  Maybe the suckitude of both teams will depress ticket prices and I'll pay less than I had planned.  I guess that's looking at it as the glass being half full, although I'd rather pay more and see two great teams duke it out. 

[Sabres73]

I've been watching since '73, why would I stop now? I'm not a bandwagoner, I'm loyal.

[HOUSE]

I only care about 2  teams....

The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penquins 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Shoot da Puck

[hockey]

3 minutes ago, Shoot da Puck said:

I care about 2 teams, Boston & Pittsburgh 

And a Pittsburgh connection!

They also gave Michael Keaton his start because they were clearly geniuses.

[Goldseatsaud]

5 hours ago, Radar said:

Second thought on this. Could this decline be what leads Pegula to sell the franchise? And if so are we looking at no local hockey team down the road anyway. I could see Pegula doing this and focusing totally on the Bills franchise.

Sell it. Hockey would stay here come on

[hockey]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

What does embrace the community mean?

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embrace

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community

[Goldseatsaud]

I loved the Sabres early days. I used listen to the radio and watch them all the time. I used cut out news paper articles and past them to a scrapbook. 

The Knox family were great owners so far removed it’s sad what Pegula has done

[Night Train]

 I have never seen a team cough up the puck at the rate they do. It's just startlingly bad.

[Goldseatsaud]

My guess don’t go to the games maybe Pegula might get the message like Wilson did with Bills

 

[PerreaultForever]

Starting not to. 

The scorn and disgust is building though. As Johnny Lydon famously said "ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"

[Believer]

2 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

What does embrace the community mean?

Buffalo is a small city… whose residents are bound together by the weather… It is called the City of Good Neighbors for a reason… Folks help each other… Like the Bills, Sabres players do many seen and unseen community and school events and are loved for it… Happens in every city… but different in a small market.

[7+6=13]

I definitely still care.  My issue is I have to find, what I would consider,  reason for hope to care at a level of keeping up with the team game by game.  

I lost that when Lindy left.  I lost that when the O'Reilly thing happened.  I lost it when the team built with Eichel and Sam was complete and didn't work. Etc....

I'm still following daily but I just don't know what we are right now.  Heck last year it was clearer.  We were a goal scoring team with no defense and no goaltending. 

This year we're no defense, decent goaltending and dramatically lesser offense - and the team is seemingly built.  I'm disappointed basically and I don't see a reasonable answer. The crazy thing is I like almost all the players but dislike them as a team. So I suppose I'm also frustrated.   

I want that reason for hope, as mentioned above. I'm unsure it's there and leaning towards pretty sure it's not.  And that sucks!

[steveoat87]

I do care, but feel trapped by Pegula.  There is clearly talent on this team, though some key pieces are missing.  However, both the GM and Coach are way in over their heads, and don't see us getting out of this with the current regime.  What's weird is that Pegula has had some success with the Bills, so it should occur to him that you need to get the right people in place.  The players play without a scheme, have no accountability and no leadership.  And, the coaching staff appears incapable of coaching.  What will it take for Pegula to make a change?

[Weave]

Welcome to my world.

Anyone who is active on this site still cares. I’m still a fan.  What I am not is, I am not someone who prioritizes watching the games.  I see them when they are convenient to do so, and I stop watching at the first indication that I won’t be entertained.

I said it somewhere else, maybe last week.  During Thanksgiving the talk turned to the Sabres and at one point my son observed, “you are more interested in the off ice stuff than the on ice stuff”.  And he’s 100% correct.  I’m still very much a fan.  I still very much pay attention to what is happening.  But I stopped being interested in the games themselves shortly after Pegula made the decision that entertaining me was not a priority.

And it’s not that the team is bad.  It is that the team is not entertaining.  Why did we all love the Nolan era? The teams mostly sucked.  But they entertained as best they could and we all thought they were the most lovable . And we watched.

***** you Terry Pegula, and ***** you to the tank supporters.

[mjd1001]

14 minutes ago, steveoat87 said:

 What's weird is that Pegula has had some success with the Bills, so it should occur to him that you need to get the right people in place. 

Some could make the point that the success with the Bills really is just luck.  They FINALLY lucked into a great QB.  Then they spent to the cap (and beyond by how many restructures) to push it to the limit, and they are without a SB appearance even and barely holding on this year...with arguably a top 5 QB in the league.  You draft high enough and take enough shots and eventually you are likely to get a good QB. After many, many tries and fails (some with Pegula as the owner), the Bills got that, but what are they doing with it?  As has been posted here many times, NO QB/Head coach combo has ever been together this long without winning a SB that will eventually get one.

[Brawndo]

6 hours ago, Pimlach said:

He should take the profit, thank the league, and go.  No way does he retain majority and not run the show.  

Between the Bills and Kim’s Health, He has already taken a step back. 
 

He would still be involved in some decisions such as major trades and retains a large financial stake in the franchise with more NHL Expansion on the Horizon 

3 hours ago, Marvin said:

Assuming that his daughters still feel the same way, I think that they don't want him too.  They wanted the Cup wins to be like family heirlooms.

Aside 1: Are there talks about Granato getting better assistants?  PP coach would be a great place to start.

Aside 2: I personally can tell what Granato is trying to do on defence, which should eventually work.  Why is it trouble in the NHL club and a massive disaster often in Rochester?  I know youth is part of it, but it should not be this bad.  I find it hard to believe that it is so common for players to not be aware of their defencive positioning, assignments, and reads.  The players are often so clueless that it is as if this is the first time that the players had to cover their own zone.

The Kids have non existent at Key Bank Center for awhile. Matt Pegula used to be present at draft meetings and represented the family at the draft in Montreal last year. But was nowhere to be seen this year. 
 

Laura Pegula represented the Bills at the owners meetings earlier this season and Kelly is around the team quite a bit. 
 

The Sabres are not a priority for them 

[Marvin]

22 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Between the Bills and Kim’s Health, He has already taken a step back. 
 

He would still be involved in some decisions such as major trades and retains a large financial stake in the franchise with more NHL Expansion on the Horizon 

The Kids have non existent at Key Bank Center for awhile. Matt Pegula used to be present at draft meetings and represented the family at the draft in Montreal last year. But was nowhere to be seen this year. 
 

Laura Pegula represented the Bills at the owners meetings earlier this season and Kelly is around the team quite a bit. 
 

The Sabres are not a priority for them 

Too bad.  I liked their attitude.  I imagine that the continual floundering would be harder to stomach as a fan and owner.

[lowsabre]

8 hours ago, CallawaySabres said:

It’s all Bills for me. I’ll check back if they ever make it to 8th, but that’s not happening this season.

I like watching football, but I love hockey.

It's funny cause I never played proper hockey (street doesn't really count), but I did play football.

8 hours ago, CallawaySabres said:

It’s all Bills for me. I’ll check back if they ever make it to 8th, but that’s not happening this season.

I like watching football, but I love hockey.

It's funny cause I never played proper hockey (street doesn't really count), but I did play football.

[pastajoe]

They’re like the girl who repeatedly rejects you, but then flirts enough to give you hope.

[ska-T Chitown]

4 hours ago, Marvin said:

Assuming that his daughters still feel the same way, I think that they don't want him too.  They wanted the Cup wins to be like family heirlooms.

Aside 1: Are there talks about Granato getting better assistants?  PP coach would be a great place to start.

Aside 2: I personally can tell what Granato is trying to do on defence, which should eventually work.  Why is it trouble in the NHL club and a massive disaster often in Rochester?  I know youth is part of it, but it should not be this bad.  I find it hard to believe that it is so common for players to not be aware of their defencive positioning, assignments, and reads.  The players are often so clueless that it is as if this is the first time that the players had to cover their own zone.

I think one of the problems with the youngsters, and others have said similar things - most of them were high draft picks, which means they got by in their respective junior leagues on their abundance of skill. They were quick enough to get to the play before it ended up in the net because they were that much better than most of the competition.

Add in the very large point of contention that most of the Sabres youngins "didn't come up the right way through the AHL" - which I generally think is hooey ... but might pause to consider that being in a league with more comparable skills sets might force them to watch a Youtube video or two on where the forwards should be in the O-zone.

[CallawaySabres]

As down as I have been about this team, I was still following and watching and going to the games. It’s funny that this topic came up today because today’s the first time I have officially conceded that they will not be making the playoffs this year.

I concede and the thing that sucks is that I’m already over it, again….i guess my daughter can fly back from college to see her first playoff game if they make in the next 4 years. 

Edited December 15, 2023 by CallawaySabres

[OverPowerYou]

I found myself searching music on youtube the other day and the Googoo Dolls came up. The next video was better days. It reminded me of when we did have better days. Now, my immediate thought when I think of the Sabres is depression and sadness usually followed by a heavy sigh. I am 32 and about to have my 3rd child. The last time the Sabres won a playoff series I was 16. It's hard to care anymore but I still do... Not as much though... I used to be able to find a fast fun and gritty team to watch during the playoff run when the Sabres were eliminated and that also has fizzled out. It's so discouraging. I'll still be here, in some way shape or form... Just a shell of myself

 

My first ever game I went to was the Sabres Senators brawl. Feburary 22nd, 2007. I was just a casual fan then but that game turned me into a hockey fanatic. That's where my hatred of the Ottawa Senators came in (avatar/profile picture)... The next 5 years I went to several games a year. I spent what little income i had in my early 20's to take family and friends to games  just to introduce them to the Sabres because I was so passionate.

 

Now i don't care enough to hate anybody except the Bruins... It's just a sad day.

Edited December 15, 2023 by OverPowerYou

[Hank]

I still watch every minute of every game. More often than not it's while eating my waffle the next morning, but that's because I spend most evenings with the kids and grandkids. My interest in the team has not wavered at all. Since I retired I follow them more than I did pre-retirement when the kids were in the house because I have more free time and less obligations. I also don't get worked up like I did in my 20's. Family, career and a mortgage puts sports in perspective. 

[Huckleberry]

I am watching because working a lot of nights anyways in a slow economy.   But even when working evenings I would give it a shot.   

 

[Sabres Super Fan]

10 hours ago, Radar said:

Second thought on this. Could this decline be what leads Pegula to sell the franchise? And if so are we looking at no local hockey team down the road anyway. I could see Pegula doing this and focusing totally on the Bills franchise.

The Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bandits will stay for two reasons one having Key Bank Center with events is huge for downtown Buffalo. Two cities don’t have the demand for NHL franchises like NFL franchises. I think eventually the Buffalo Sabres will be sold to local area business people. Again Key Bank Center will be renovated and a real local owner will run the Key Bank Center better like the first five years Marine Midland Arena was opened. There is zero reason that this city of Buffalo doesn’t have a Arena Football League team or a MASL indoor soccer team the Buffalo Blizzard back. The AFL franchise fee to enter was $2 million dollars a franchise. Terry Pegula is a joke of a Buffalo sports team owner that just wants to do very little and charging high ticket prices with low seating supply. Terry Pegula has no college basketball, no arena football and no indoor soccer at Key Bank Center forcing the fan towards high end sports tickets like the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres by taking out sports choice and decreasing the supply by making his stadiums smaller what could go wrong? The problem is many Buffalo fans don’t have the luxury to just toss there money out to Terry Pegula for a terrible Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills product for season tickets. I had season tickets for the Buffalo Bandits, Buffalo Blizzard Buffalo Destroyers and Buffalo Wings RHI roller hockey plus Buffalo Big 4 college basketball season tickets when the Marine Midland Arena first opened.

Terry Pegula doesn’t see wait let’s offer more cheaper affordable Buffalo sports teams that I (Terry Pegula) win with that too because your reaching different Buffalo sports economic audiences going to the Buffalo Bandits, Destroyers and Buffalo Blizzard either way Buffalo fans are going to Key Bank Center producing revenue for Key Bank Center. Terry Pegula never understood that he wants to take the easy way out and be a absentee sports owner. What he wasted on overpaying a fourth line Sabres player covers his whole payroll for the Buffalo Blizzard or Buffalo Destroyers.

Again these smaller sports leagues aren’t $2 billion dollars to buy and run. The salaries are low $500 to $1,000 a game for the players. Someone who is smarter and actually cares about downtown Buffalo and Key Bank Center filling dates will buy the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits along with control of the renovated Key Bank Center. I am not even worried about it at all. Either way downtown Buffalo gets rid of Terry Pegula if he takes his Buffalo Sabres ball and goes home which hopefully he doesn’t but if he does good riddance if he chooses that route. At worst Buffalo will get a Buffalo AHL hockey franchise plus all the fun stuff I mentioned like the Buffalo Destroyers, Buffalo Blizzard etc back at Key Bank Center with a real local owner not a absentee owner from Florida in my opinion. Go Sabres! Go Bandits! Let’s Go Buffalo