READ THIS AND THEN ANSWER ONE QUESTION

[Sabretooth73]

Bills=4 super bowl losses, the 1st one against a giants team they were heavily favored against, and of course Norwood missed the FG try to win the game. Also, leading their 4th SB 13-6 at the half, and driving in the 3rd qtr only to see Thomas fumble and it get returned for a TD. They of course lost 30-13

 

Also, the "music city miracle", the 6 game win streak iun 2003 only to miss out on the playoffs due to a home loss to $hittsnirgh at HOME and they were playing 3rd and 4th string players.

 

OJ Simpson, arguable the most successful Bill of all time, enough said about him.

 

No playoffs since the Music City Miracle.

 

Sabres, lose in stanley cup finals 2x.... of course 1999 triple OT a "skate in the crease".

Sabres lead ECF 1-0 and 2-1 then become completely devastated by injuries and lose game 7, after leading 2-1 after 2 periods with some players making their "NHL debut" in game 7 of a conference finals.

Also 2000 losing game 7 to $hittsburgh at home, after winning 3 staight to take a 3-2 series lead in the conf semis.

 

UB football=arguable to WORST program in D-1, period.

UB hoops, decent, but had the MAC championship game all but over 2 yrs ago, on Natl TV, leading OHIO U by over 20 pts midway thru the 2nd half, but of course choked that game away and got snubbed for the NCAA's, which wouldve been their 1st NCAA trip.

Saturday, leading $hittsburgh by 11 in 1st half, 10 in 2nd, and leading for 35 minutes, only to blow a HUGE upset in front of the home crowd.

 

Niagara/Canisius/St Bona hoops=pathetic. Especially considering St Bona making national news for half the team quitting. Canisius football team=gone.

 

Arena league football team=gone

Buffalo Braves=just as they were beginning to get good, left.

Bisons, state of the art stadium with hopes for an MLB team=yeah right.

 

OK, sorry for the length of this post, but it is to prove a point, so now the question.

 

Why should I think this years Sabres will finally be the WNY team to NOT let us all down and actually win the whole F-in thing?

 

Thoughts/comments?????

[TM8-PL16]

Because you are a Buffalo fan and we aren't fair weather fans... we believe and LOVE the team(s) no matter what... that's why!

[Sabretooth73]

i never said im not a fan, im as true a buffalo/wny sports fan as they come, just being realisitc.... had my heart ripped out of my chest so many times, and shown to me, and forced down my throat that im a little numb to stuff nowadays. thats all

[phSabres84]

There's two minutes I'll never get back!

[Sabretooth73]

I am only stating facts, say what you want about any "other city"..... youd be hard pressed to find a more tortured sports town than Buffalo. I just want one championship, just one, god i cant even put into words the feeling that would create.

[Bmwolf21]

Gooooood...I can feel your anger. Let the hate flow through you....your journey to the Dark Side will be complete.... :nana:

 

Anyway - in a weird way, part of likes the idea that we are the most long-suffering fans in the nation, and I even think we should have beaten out Cleveland for the top spot on ESPN's Most Tortured Sports Cities.

 

But I don't think some of the stuff in the original post is necessarily bad - getting passed over for an MLB expansion team might have been a blessing in disguise - and while UB is not a good football team right now, they are far from the worst (Duke, New Mexico State, Eastern Michigan and Temple are in the mix) and they have a good young coach who seems to have the program more on track than previous coaches did. Scott Norwood and Music City Mistake aside, many of the other Bills' troubles have been self-inflicted, including bad personnel decisions and bad cap management. OTOH, the Sabres might be cursed, given the No Goal, Phantom Goal, the missed icing call against the Caps, Pat LaFontaine's concussions, Clint Malarchuk, Tim Horton...

 

But newsflash, we ALL just want one championship, and to come close so many times is the worst torture (for lack of a better term) I can think of as a sports fan. That's why I am trying to not get too excited about the team's early success - I don't want to get ahead of myself and have my hopes dashed again...I am calling it a "restrained excitement."

[hopeleslyobvious]

Who made their NHL debut in game 7? Paetsch played earlier in the year against NJ.

[TM8-PL16]

I'm with you with just wanting ONE in my lifetime at least... several would be nice, but I will be happier than any other human in the history of the world if we get ONE.

 

I live in Pittsburgh now and I can tell you that this city is spoiled... they love their teams, but I can honestly say that they didn't appreciate last years SuperBowl victory the way the Buffalo fans would have... The "die hard" fans I know and work with didn't even shed a tear... come on, I will be cheering, yelling, jumping, and hugging everyone I see all while balling my eyes out and running thru the streets of Buffalo for at least a full day. I get teary eyed just thinking about what it would feel like if we won the Cup and I know I can't even imagine what that will really feel like until we do, so it will be even more emotional... these people are just like "yep, add it to the pile... 5 SBs, 2 Cups, a few WS in there, just another one on the list"... I'm pretty sure I shed some tears when we just made it to the big game (SB or Cup) finale'.

 

anyway, I didn't mean to say you weren't a fan earlier, that's not what I meant... but I will take them ripping my heart out every year rather than the alternative of not having a team.

[blugold43]

 

 

UB football=arguable to WORST program in D-1, period.

 

 

Thoughts/comments?????

it's not arguable at all...UB (as i predicted) beat my alma mater Temple to cement the Owls' standing as the suckiest D1 program in the history of the game. They've been so bad for so long...and so EXPENSIVE to the University in the process...that i have joined the long list of alums who refuse to donate a dime to the university until the program is cut.

 

by the way, you should root for the sabres and expect them to win it all, because they have the best team.

[Eleven]

 

 

Why should I think this years Sabres will finally be the WNY team to NOT let us all down and actually win the whole F-in thing?

 

Thoughts/comments?????

 

What you think doesn't matter. What you HOPE matters. I don't think the Sabres will win it all this year. But I sure as hell HOPE they do.

 

Does that invalidate your question enough that we don't have to answer it?

[hopeleslyobvious]

Boston Red Sox. If they can break their curse, then we can break ours.

[inkman]

Why should I think this years Sabres will finally be the WNY team to NOT let us all down and actually win the whole F-in thing?

 

You shouldn't. :bag:

[kingcongkorab]

Boston Red Sox. If they can break their curse, then we can break ours.

Amen. :thumbsup:

[LabattBlue]

Why should I think this years Sabres will finally be the WNY team to NOT let us all down and actually win the whole F-in thing?

1. They are playing at a high level

2. They have the 2nd most points in the NHL to date despite a steady stream of injuries

3. Coming off a great playoff run last year

4. Will be playing in front of packed houses for the rest of the year

5. They have some dynamic young players who should be better the 2nd time around the playoffs.

 

Hopefully those are enough reasons to make you think the Sabres can win the "whole F-in thing" <_< aka the Stanley Cup.

[apuszczalowski]

1. They are playing at a high level

2. They have the 2nd most points in the NHL to date despite a steady stream of injuries

3. Coming off a great playoff run last year

4. Will be playing in front of packed houses for the rest of the year

5. They have some dynamic young players who should be better the 2nd time around the playoffs.

 

Hopefully those are enough reasons to make you think the Sabres can win the "whole F-in thing" <_< aka the Stanley Cup.

And its still early in the regular season. ANYTHING can happen. Remember the Sens last season? Most people were handing them the cup at this point of the season, then Hasek goes down and they became Mortal again. Detroit had the best record in the league in the regular season, out in the first round. Edmonton went to game 7 of the cup finals after entering the playoffs as the #8 (and barely making it too). If it wasn't for Roloson getting hurt in game one, they probably would have won the series.

[Doohicksie]

getting passed over for an MLB expansion team might have been a blessing in disguise

Actually, didn't the ownership group pull back from consideration? I thought I heard that was the case, figuring it would be easier to make ends meet with a AAA team that drew 1,000,000 fans annually compared to a major league team that would draw probably about the same but have the major league payroll...

[Chilly]

Because they're the god damned Buffalo Sabres, and you are a fan.

 

If you need any proof other than that, I cannot give it to you, as I have not even thought about the team letting me down.

[BMWR100RT]

A couple of years ago, I stopped to watcha sabres/bruins game in a little sportsbar in boston, while there on business. It was the opening week of baseball, and all the red scocks fans and I were comparing notes on who suffered more......buffalo anything fans, or Red sox fans. Anyway, over a few nights of beers in that little sports bar, I learned to love those suffering fans. They were defeatists, for sure, but the passion for their sox were similar to Sabres/Bills fans.

 

I can't remember which came first, but Syracuse (my alma mater) won the national champoinship in basketball, and while I am not nearly the fan of basketball I am of hockey, I have to say, it wasn't what I imagined. I thought the world would be a different color, but after the season started the next year, it was as if nothing ever happenned. I am sure those knuckleheads in carolina are feeling that right now.

 

When the Red sox won the series, all I could think about was how I wanted to be in that little bar, watching the joy on all those peoples faces, the ones, who like you, didn't believe, but stayed on being fans anyway.

 

Me....I look at it another way. I loved last year's season. sure I would have liked to get rid of the sugarcanes, but it wasn't to be. and if we'd have lost to Edmunton (not), I still would have been thrilled. A team I folow winning another championship in my life would be sweet, but every game is where my joy lies. It's the hunt more than the kill.

 

That said......when we win the Stanley cup, I'm gonna get liquored up, go out in the driveway, flip my car over singlehandedly, and set it on fire.

[hopeleslyobvious]

That said......when we win the Stanley cup, I'm gonna get liquored up, go out in the driveway, flip my car over singlehandedly, and set it on fire.

 

Please tell me you have a video camera! :lol:

 

In all seriousness though, I really understand what you are saying. As disappointing as it was to get so close and lose last year, I really was not upset at all. Despite everything that went wrong, they went down swinging and didn't give up until that final buzzer sounded.

[LabattBlue]

Actually, didn't the ownership group pull back from consideration? I thought I heard that was the case, figuring it would be easier to make ends meet with a AAA team that drew 1,000,000 fans annually compared to a major league team that would draw probably about the same but have the major league payroll...

Two different occassions...

 

1. Back in the late '60's when MLB was moving the Washington Senators, Buffalo was in the running, but they ended up moving the franchise to Montreal. I'm not sure why Buffalo lost out.

 

2. Prior to the last wave of MLB expansion(late 80's/early 90's), Bob Rich Jr. was running around a MLB owners' meeting waving a blank check and stating that he wanted in. When the going got tough, he folded like a house of cards.

[PromoTheRobot]

You conveniently left off the lacrosse titles the Buffalo Bandits have won. Oh, but it's lacrosse so who cares, right? But I'll bet if they hadn't won, they'd be on your list, a-hole.

 

PTR

[BetweenThePipes00]

2. Prior to the last wave of MLB expansion(late 80's/early 90's), Bob Rich Jr. was running around a MLB owners' meeting waving a blank check and stating that he wanted in. When the going got tough, he folded like a house of cards.

 

If by "when the going got tough" you mean "when baseball salaries started getting insane and the owners showed no interest in sharing revenue with smaller markets, Rich realized a team could not survive and be competitve in Buffalo so he stopped trying," then, yeah, he folded like a house of cards.

 

Even if Buffalo had gotten a team they would be no better off than Kansas City or Pittsburgh (or Montreal for that matter) and it would have been a bigger embarassment than never getting one.

 

If it wasn't for Bob Rich, there would be NO baseball in Buffalo, let alone AAA baseball in a still-pretty-damn-nice stadium. Before he came along they were going to get kicked out of AA and there is no way a downtown stadium ever gets built. He's not the only one responsible, there were lots of people and lots of luck involved (like lucking into The Natural being filmed at the Rockpile), but to take a shot at him and say he "folded like a house of cards" is a cheapshot when you consider he has been proven 100% correct by the financial climate of baseball.

[X. Benedict]

If by "when the going got tough" you mean "when baseball salaries started getting insane and the owners showed no interest in sharing revenue with smaller markets, Rich realized a team could not survive and be competitve in Buffalo so he stopped trying," then, yeah, he folded like a house of cards.

 

Even if Buffalo had gotten a team they would be no better off than Kansas City or Pittsburgh (or Montreal for that matter) and it would have been a bigger embarassment than never getting one.

 

If it wasn't for Bob Rich, there would be NO baseball in Buffalo, let alone AAA baseball in a still-pretty-damn-nice stadium. Before he came along they were going to get kicked out of AA and there is no way a downtown stadium ever gets built. He's not the only one responsible, there were lots of people and lots of luck involved (like lucking into The Natural being filmed at the Rockpile), but to take a shot at him and say he "folded like a house of cards" is a cheapshot when you consider he has been proven 100% correct by the financial climate of baseball.

 

The bid was a credible one and never folded until Denver and another city were selected for expansion. That year I think the Bisons outdrew 5 or 6 MLB teams.

[LabattBlue]

If by "when the going got tough" you mean "when baseball salaries started getting insane and the owners showed no interest in sharing revenue with smaller markets, Rich realized a team could not survive and be competitve in Buffalo so he stopped trying," then, yeah, he folded like a house of cards.

 

Even if Buffalo had gotten a team they would be no better off than Kansas City or Pittsburgh (or Montreal for that matter) and it would have been a bigger embarassment than never getting one.

 

If it wasn't for Bob Rich, there would be NO baseball in Buffalo, let alone AAA baseball in a still-pretty-damn-nice stadium. Before he came along they were going to get kicked out of AA and there is no way a downtown stadium ever gets built. He's not the only one responsible, there were lots of people and lots of luck involved (like lucking into The Natural being filmed at the Rockpile), but to take a shot at him and say he "folded like a house of cards" is a cheapshot when you consider he has been proven 100% correct by the financial climate of baseball.

Baseball salaries have been escalating steadily for longer than when he was waving his check around. This was nothing new at the time.

 

I'm not sure what you are implying in regards to the stadium, but Rich did not fund any portion of it. I could be wrong, but I don't believe he even pays maintenance and upkeep costs during the season. This is taken care of by the city or county.

 

I guess Bob Rich has achieved "savior" status. Move over Quinny, you need to share your throne. :worthy: :worthy:

[Sabretooth73]

You conveniently left off the lacrosse titles the Buffalo Bandits have won. Oh, but it's lacrosse so who cares, right? But I'll bet if they hadn't won, they'd be on your list, a-hole.

 

Lacrosse? Are you serious? Maybe I should have mentioned the Bisons winning the Triple A title a few years ago, in front of crowds less than 2500 for some of those "playoff games". Give me a break, Lacrosse. Should I also have mentioned Buffalo winning the "perogie title" this year also, "A hole"

 

 

 

i remember the 1st game in Pilot field, it was snowing, man that place is a great place to watch baseball