LaFontaineToMogilny

Since this worked so well last GDT: Let's see Vanek get 50 tonight for an even 300 for his career.

You Sir, have gotten it.

It rubs the lotion on its skin?

Let's see Vanek score two and bring his career total to a nice even 250

Hit head on garage door? Don't wait! Call 8.

Yeah, no joke. I know that if I were him I would let this year play itself out to it's pathetic finale then fire everybody on the staff related to the performance of the team and Kevin Sylvester as soon as humanly possible. So perhaps he is silently sitting in the dark somewhere nourishing the internal flame of hatred awaiting the great purge. Time will tell.

Not sure if it's appropriate or too soon for some, but yesterdays game in Boston is an example of what I have been clumsily trying to put into words in this thread. Sports are more than just entertainment companies, it goes deeper. To me perhaps it runs a little too deep, but it runs deep and touches core values. I'll just leave it at that and hope that at least some of you will get a glimpse of where I am coming from in this thread.

I can't wait for this to be over

Usually a strong indicator that you are on to something good

Not handy by any means. I originally read something about this a few years back in a Norwegian newspaper referencing some Finnish study that covered soccer and hockey (I think). The angle of the article was that while fans and players themselves strongly think that cheering fans increases performance it's more likely that home field advantage is (in part) created by the fans being hostile towards the visiting team. Through the wonders of modern technology I have found but one scientific reference to something like this: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/North-American-Journal-Psychology/256864603.html Disclaimer: 1. I don't usually (as in ever) deal in scientific studies so I have no idea of the reputability of the North American Journal of Psychology and also have certain questions on why this research is made available through freepatentsonline.com, but for all I know these can be pillars of scientific integrity. 2. As most dimwits I can't get passed the Abstract of a scientific article and skipped right to skimming the conclusion to see if it would support my point. I think it does, if it doesn't I retract the link

If the Buffalo Sabres are nothing more than an entertainment company then it makes absolutely no sense what so ever to spend hundreds of dollars to show up and boo. Why would people care enough to even bother? To me, and I suspect to everyone else that bothers go to this board, the Buffalo Sabres represent much more than just being a corporate entity. And, I never made a country flag analogy.

Sorry for breaking up the ironic, self lambasting vibe after last game but I never saw this thread before. I nominate Stormtroopers of Death - March of the SOD http://www.youtube....h?v=Z9q04dt9XSc

I guess I disagree with Miller as well. Not booing is not the same as having to cheer bad play. Some fans use total silence to great effect, but that is only useful for fans that are normally vocal and loud. In Buffalo now, a disconnected crowd would be a return to normal and not send a message. It's possible to show disgust without booing, even vocalize that you are not pleased by yelling, collective sighs etc. I'm not a fan of singling out players and get on individuals on your own team, but sometimes that can be needed as well. But the real arena for fans to show management how they feel is really outside the arena itself. Either through direct communication, but better would be if there was an organization to represent Sabres fans that could coordinate responses. That can be done by mail bombings, weekly demonstrations outside the arena until he's fired, hang banners inside the arena if 'the man' will allow that (which I doubt), organize a no concessions bought until Darcy's gone campaign, hire Tony Harding (or perhaps not go that far). The opportunities are endless and require very little effort (but a little more than booing) but without any coordination between fans it's not going to happen. I have often thought that if I ever move to Buffalo (which is unlikely with my current family configuration) one of the first things I would do would be to attempt to start a 'European style' type of organization for fans interested in developing a stronger arena culture. Taro Ultras anyone?

This is where we differ. The team has fully earned the anger of the fans, but they have not earned disrespect for the franchise. As I have said, there are many ways to show that you are not ok with what is going on that does not dishonor the club. Hang banners, start a pitchfork rally outside the arena, sing songs of mockery of the GM for the entire game and 2 hours after if you wish. Send 50 000 emails to Ted Black or stage a sit down protest that keeps the players from entering the arena before the game. It's all good, booing the team is not, because then it's not about the players or the management anymore, it's pissing on the entire franchise and everything that means. How does it feel when fans in Montreal boos the American national anthem? Do you try to find the reasoning behind that kind of disgusting behavior? I hope not, it's despicable no matter the motivation in my eyes.

I don't think it's being dramatic at all. It is one of the basic tenants of arena culture. You don't drag the team flag on the ground, you don't wear other teams colors or logos with yours, you don't desecrate or dishonor the shirt or crest, you don't boo the team. It has nothing to do with Steve Ott's feelings or how frustrated the fans are, it's a clear violation of what goes into being a fan of a sports team which runs much, much deeper than just paying good money for being entertained for a few hours. This is what I am referring to when I say arena culture in the US in general and in Buffalo in particular is atrocious. I find the argument that fans pay for the tickets so they have a right to boo just as compelling as someone claiming since I paid for this meal at this fancy restaurant I have a right to fart at the table all I want. You have the right, sure, but it's just something you don't do.

At least we agree on something, you just don't understand. I've never said that you don't have a right to boo at the games. It is your right to do that, just like it's the right of the fans in Montreal to boo the American National Anthem, it still makes them massive asshats none the less. And as far as fan support in LA goes, you don't need to tell me that it sucks beyond belief. I am well aware of that fact, the LA Kings fan base is the worst collection of fair weather fans on the planet, but at least they don't boo their own team. Anyway, that other fan bases are terrible is no excuse for not striving to be better. For anyone trying to play this off as 'it's x years of frustration spilling over' or 'the fans are really booing Darcy' thing, how do you react when Canadiens fans boo the Star Spangled Banner? Do you think 'they are just voicing their displeasure with Jeremy Jacobs' or 'They must be frustrated with the many years of American military superiority to their own country' ? Of course not, you think they are arrogant disrespectful ###### who deserve a quick fist in the mouth. Booing your own team is disrespecting the Buffalo Sabres, and as frustratingly horrid this season has been they are not even close to having earned that. Someone suggested that turning your back to the PP, just not saying anything, bringing in anti Pegula banners etc. would be worse, but it's not. All of these would be great ways to show disgust with the product. In fact, I would love to see some form of unified fan protest that targets management, but booing the home team is akin to burning a Sabres flag or spitting on the logo in my mind and when the Sabres fans do something like that it reflects very poorly on the entire city of Buffalo.

It will be a busy time for you if you want to go after all the conjuncture on this board. That aside, there's very little research done on crowd effect on games, but a well established home field advantage across sports. The only research I have ever seen on it seem to indicate that there is no performance increase from a supportive crowd, but there is a performance penalty for a jeering or hostile crowd. Usually this is used to explain (part) of what gives a team an advantage at home, but in this case the crowd is hostile to the home team. Nothing good can come from it.

"probably" in the top 5?!? He's probably in the top 2 goaltenders in the history of hockey, not just the NHL. More interesting: is Miller in the top 2 of Sabres goalies?

I think so, I expect that the fans NEVER boo the home team, that's it. Apparently my expectations are too high.

Thanks. You are aware that there are many sports stadiums where people travel around the world just to get a chance to experience the crowd atmosphere? Say whatever you want about the crowd doing this or doing that and the team playing whatever way, but to say that the Buffalo fan base is the best in the world is ... let's just say we disagree. In general, crowd culture in the USA is almost non-existent, and in that sorry collection of crypts, the Sabres currently have one of the worst. Apparently getting called out on it is too much for some to handle. I wouldn't be surprised if the same people throwing fits when the Sabres fans gets served up some criticism are the same who want the players to "man up and take it" when the fans boo. Just as you know, I am mortally embarrassed on the behalf of the Sabres and the city of Buffalo when I hear the home fans booing the Sabres or the arena cheering wildly for a Maple Leaf goal. It is infinitely more embarrassing to the city of Buffalo than anything the Sabres have done on the ice this year.

Yes, it alienates players to be booed by their own fans. Complain all you want that it shouldn't, but it does. As for the crowd not having an impact on the game, if this is what many people actually think I can understand why they would think booing at home is acceptable or even not a big deal. However, it is an absolutely and totally false statement. The level of crowd engagement can have a HUGE impact on the way the game plays out. It is the only real and tangible way the fans of a team have to effect what happens to the team, by booing they are using their only tool to make the team worse. The crowd can pump up the home team, deflate the visiting team, or they can add stones to the burden and kill any spark from their team by booing or by just being quiet. There is NO upside to booing, the only thing it can accomplish is to drag down the team you are supposed to support.

The Buffalo Sabres fan has every reason to be called out in this way. There are no excuses for booing your own team, and that's the end of it. I hear Buffalo fans going on about how passionate and knowledgeable they are about their hockey, but they are not backing that up in the arena. The proof is in the pudding, the Buffalo Sabres fan base is terrible. The worst possible excuse I hear is the 'the fans paid to be entertained they have every right to boo if they desire'. Of course they have a right to do it, it's not North Korea, but there are many things that people have a right to do that still makes them an a s s h o l e. For anyone trying to back the stand that the fans have a right to boo and should do so as they please agenda, you're in perfect alignment on a hockey related topic with such beautiful minds as Jeremy White and Mike Harrington, and in direct opposition of Steve Ott. That should be enough for anyone to take a good look at their position.

No need to bring politics into a thread like this :P Anyhow, great to see and I wish crowds in American arenas would do stuff like this much more often.

Andrew Peters, not the most articulate guy on the radio but he is infinity more qualified to comment on what it takes to play in the NHL and what goes on in the Sabres locker room then anyone here, no matter how many times you want to declare him a moron or idiot. He's rough to listen to, but when he says that Ron Rolston is losing parts of the room (which he in essence said yesterday) I listen to that far more than the people screaming 'HOMER!" on this message board.

How funny, I hope for the exact opposite. That they win this game and every game after it this season. Once we've gone undefeated through the playoffs and won that cup I don't care, then we can lose all next year and blow anything up and fire everyone as much as anyone would like. Just win out first.