Sabres’ Refusal to “Salute” Fans Confirmed

[PromoTheRobot]

4 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

...it puts you with the players, the coach, the GM, and the absentee Owner. 

 

...who meddles. 🤷‍♂️

[Ogelthorpe]

This makes me want to spend 15 bucks for a tix on the secondary market  then boo if they win🤣

[mjd1001]

To me this isn't a huge deal, but it is an issue. Why?  To me there are 2 main reasons to be a fan or enjoy being a fan of a team, 2 things that make watching a team enjoyable:

1.) They win the championship.

2.) If they don't win the championship, the at least show improvement from the previous season, giving the fans entertainment AND hope that they are on the WAY to winning the championship sometime in the near future.

I think that is 90%+ of what makes a season enjoyable.

Well, this team isn't doing any of those 2 things, So they ONLY think they have to fall back on is.....for some fans...are they "likeable". Its not much, but if you aren't doing the first 2, being 'likeable' to many fans is all they can hold onto.

Well, this team ISN'T doing the first 2, and a story like this coming out sure doesn't make them very likeable.  The are hockey players, but lets be honest....they are not so much paid to pay hockey as they are to ENTERTAIN by playing hockey.  The Customer who pays their salary is the fans. As an Enterainer, they players (the organization) should realize all of the above.

[Wyldnwoody44]

44 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Can confirm no one takes it rectally better than Woody.

I was a Navy guy.... 😏

[That Aud Smell]

59 minutes ago, LTS said:

If you are upset that the players aren't saluting the fans are you not just as soft?

It frustrates me that the point here is getting lost.

I don’t think anyone here gives a sh1t whether the team salutes or doesn’t.

What’s causing concern is that an unnamed Sabre veteran - read: Okposo - confirmed that, after a handful of leather lungs bellowed “fire Donny” amidst a 9 goal shellacking, the team decided to stop making a customary gesture of fan appreciation.

It doesn’t matter what the gesture was. It doesn’t matter if it was good or bad. It doesn’t matter if you value it or don’t.

What matters is what the team and its leadership elected to do in response to frustration being voiced by some fans in the arena. And what they elected to do was effectively say “ well then fu*k them - Donny’s our guy.”

Awful.

[Pimlach]

36 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I do agree that this team needs to change how they attack. They lack flow. Passes are behind players or to the wrong stick side. I can't tell if they are just doing it wrong or if other teams know what the Sabres  are trying to do and just block their passing lanes. 

He'd last if he got results.

Gallant gets results but he pisses off management.  He pisses off GMs that don't make roster moves that he wants.   No doubt he will rub someone the wrong way in Buffalo's disaster of an organization.   He would be let go at the first sign of a tail off.  Unlike DG who is nice and wants to be there.  

I do think they should talk to Berube.  But he is a tough nut too.  Some of his players cried when he was fired, even though he was hard on them - but they are Cup winning players, and we have sensitive kids that should not be "dehumanized".  

[Pimlach]

24 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

...who meddles. 🤷‍♂️

Good one.  

You can be absentee and then a meddler.  It is a sign that you don't know what to do and how to do it.  Which describes his tenure to a tee.  

 

So if Promo owned the team, and knew that the player were upset and not saluting the fans, what would Promo think?  What action would Promo take?   

[JohnC]

4 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

It frustrates me that the point here is getting lost.

I don’t think anyone here gives a sh1t whether the team salutes or doesn’t.

What’s causing concern is that an unnamed Sabre veteran - read: Okposo - confirmed that, after a handful of leather lungs bellowed “fire Donny” amidst a 9 goal shellacking, the team decided to stop making a customary gesture of fan appreciation.

It doesn’t matter what the gesture was. It doesn’t matter if it was good or bad. It doesn’t matter if you value it or don’t.

What matters is what the team and its leadership elected to do in response to frustration being voiced by some fans in the arena. And what they elected to do was effectively say “ well then fu*k them - Donny’s our guy.”

Awful.

The fans understandably expressed some frustration with the team and staff. And then some players wanted to express their aggravations with the same fans. So what! Some of the players are doing the same things that some of the fans are doing i.e. expressing their back-and-forth frustrations. What's so surprising about each faction expressing their frustrations in what is such a disappointing season. This manufactured issue has two sides to it. A faction of the fans are expressing their frustration with the team and staff, and some of the players are in their way expressing their support for their coach. That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. 

As I said in my posts, the overuse of the "stick salute" has rendered it meaningless. That is how I see it. 

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Porous Five Hole said:

Whether you care about the salute or not this team seems to be in an awful place mentally.

Excellent comment! 

Now why is that?   

[Justin C]

All the fans want is the team to look like they are playing up to level. I was at the Panthers game and the tram came out firing in the 2nd and cheered them for the effort. It’s the second this team gets down and look dejected and give zero effort when they start booing.

[phil_soisson]

Make it stop!

[Wyldnwoody44]

Taking off to Korea, I await my wifi to rejoin this conversation in 15 hours 😘

 

Before I take off... F U Terry and KO. 

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

When it gets to the point that we're discussing "stick salutes", we have entered the realm of absurdity. Who gives a freaking dam! Salute the fans for what? For attending a game? I can see the players doing the post-game "stick salute" at the last home game but doing it on a regular basis after a home game renders it a hollow and meaningless gesture. Please stop with this foolishness. 

John I think it is bigger than a stick salute.  It is the point that the players blame the fans for the few that chanted  "fire Donny", and it was a very few.  Then they concocted this no salute thing.  

Fans cheer loudly after every home win, many stay and watch the 3 stars - especially the kids.   When I was a kid I used to beg to stay and cheer longer and watch the 3 stars, I sure didn't care about beating traffic, or work, or school the next day. 

The stick salute is not a thank you for the players, its a "your welcome".  Like it or not it is now part of the tradition.   So now fans cheer the few home wins they get to see, and the player just leave.   I am not soft but this sours me.  This team is run so poorly in every aspect I can think of.  

Fans pay the bills.  I don't know what business you were in, but customers are to be valued.  

Edited February 18 by Pimlach

[Night Train]

Human emotion vs. Thin skin. 

Am I supposed to take a side ?

I have no reaction until the owner comes out of hiding and does something.  Until then, it's all about the games and results. 

[shrader]

Has there ever been a fan that left an arena angry at not getting a stick salute? I wish they had decided to stop them because they’re lame and should on be saved for special occasions. 

[sabremike]

1 minute ago, shrader said:

Has there ever been a fan that left an arena angry at not getting a stick salute? I wish they had decided to stop them because they’re lame and should on be saved for special occasions. 

THIS IS COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT, THE SIGNIFICANCE IS THAT THEY ARE NOT DOING IT AS DELIBERATE SHOW OF CONTEMPT FOR THE MOST ABUSED FANS IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF PRO HOCKEY.

[That Aud Smell]

25 minutes ago, JohnC said:

The fans understandably expressed some frustration with the team and staff. And then some players wanted to express their aggravations with the same fans. So what! Some of the players are doing the same things that some of the fans are doing i.e. expressing their back-and-forth frustrations.

This helps me understand where you’re coming from, at least.

Mind you, I disagree fundamentally - metaphysically? - about dynamics you appear to accept as normal as between and among the players (on a pro hockey team) and disgruntled fans.

But that disagreement is one I can just shrug and accept. I gotchu (I think).

[Stoner]

6 minutes ago, shrader said:

Has there ever been a fan that left an arena angry at not getting a stick salute? I wish they had decided to stop them because they’re lame and should on be saved for special occasions. 

Yes. I can guarantee that the first time the team skated off without doing it, some fans were pissed. And went online to say they were!

You're transferring your cool indifference to others.

Edited February 18 by PASabreFan

[shrader]

Just now, PASabreFan said:

Yes. I can guarantee that the first time the team skated off without doing, some fans were pissed. And went online to say they were!

You're transferring your cool indifference to others.

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around…

[Stoner]

This thread is going to have more posts and views than some games. I'm calling it. I also wouldn't be surprised if someone's going to try and shut er down!

Like Gibby saying how much they love Leaf fans, this one will also cut very close to the bone.

[Pimlach]

1 minute ago, shrader said:

Has there ever been a fan that left an arena angry at not getting a stick salute? I wish they had decided to stop them because they’re lame and should on be saved for special occasions. 

If the salutes are lame then why use them for special occasions only?  

What is lame about them exactly? 

I really want to understand what is wrong with a connection between the team and the city it represents? 

Why is it bad?  What does it hurt?  Why is a show of courtesy and admiration on both sides not a good thing?  

Why can the Bills stay on the field afterwards, walk to the stands, salute the fans, give them balls, gloves, jerseys, and whatever - but the Sabres cannot do this simple gesture for their fans, which are mostly young kids looking for a connection?  

Have we come so jaded as a society that being nice is a bad thing? 

I will never understand this point, and I am thankful for that. 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

37 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Good one.  

You can be absentee and then a meddler.  It is a sign that you don't know what to do and how to do it.  Which describes his tenure to a tee.  

 

So if Promo owned the team, and knew that the player were upset and not saluting the fans, what would Promo think?  What action would Promo take?   

Promo would let the year finish out but would have a meeting with the coach and GM, separately, maybe a player or two, to get an assessment as to what went wrong. I'd want to know in detail what was different this year from last. Injuries? Coaching failures? Opponents learning how to play us (and why no counterpunch from coaching?)  Mind you I'm no hockey mind. My experience stops at beer league.

I know the potential for affecting your GM is there when an owner sits in on things, but if Terry is just trying to understand hockey a bit more, I applaud him. As long as he sits in the corner quietly and saves the questions for after. I'd be tempted to do the same.

And I would probably find an outside voice on the QT to give an assessment from the outside as well. Lastly I would address the fans and tell them I'm going to be patient. I'd also do something for the STHers that was above the usual knick-knack. 

 

Edited February 18 by PromoTheRobot

[Flashsabre]

6 minutes ago, sabremike said:

THIS IS COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT, THE SIGNIFICANCE IS THAT THEY ARE NOT DOING IT AS DELIBERATE SHOW OF CONTEMPT FOR THE MOST ABUSED FANS IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF PRO HOCKEY.

This is the point right here. It’s not whether a player is standing at centre ice holding their stick up. It is that a team that has not made the playoffs in 13 years is spending more time thinking of a way to get back at their own fans then a way to improve and actually be competitive night in and out. 
Maybe the leadership has decided that they should just not win any games at home so that the fans don’t get the satisfaction of being happy for the team.😛

[Stoner]

5 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

If the salutes are lame then why use them for special occasions only?  

What is lame about them exactly? 

I really want to understand what is wrong with a connection between the team and the city it represents? 

Why is it bad?  What does it hurt?  Why is a show of courtesy and admiration on both sides not a good thing?  

Why can the Bills stay on the field afterwards, walk to the stands, salute the fans, give them balls, gloves, jerseys, and whatever - but the Sabres cannot do this simple gesture for their fans, which are mostly young kids looking for a connection?  

Have we come so jaded as a society that being nice is a bad thing? 

I will never understand this point, and I am thankful for that. 

 

I think most of us have forgotten what it's like to be a kid. Or that certain kind of fan who is almost childlike in adoring the players.

I'd customize the stick routine and have the players playfully fence with them like sabres.

Don't get me started on all the ways the Sabres have not taken full advantage of their namesake lo these many years.

[shrader]

8 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

If the salutes are lame then why use them for special occasions only?  

What is lame about them exactly? 

I really want to understand what is wrong with a connection between the team and the city it represents? 

Why is it bad?  What does it hurt?  Why is a show of courtesy and admiration on both sides not a good thing?  

Why can the Bills stay on the field afterwards, walk to the stands, salute the fans, give them balls, gloves, jerseys, and whatever - but the Sabres cannot do this simple gesture for their fans, which are mostly young kids looking for a connection?  

Have we come so jaded as a society that being nice is a bad thing? 

I will never understand this point, and I am thankful for that. 

 

They’re lame because they’re done all the time. They’re the old choreographed fights of the Andrew Peters era. They’re participation trophies.