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In Praise of Ted Black


That Aud Smell

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i scored a ticket at the last minute to yesterday's game. as i was waiting among the masses to have my ticket scanned, i spied a well-dressed (but not TOO well-dressed) gentleman just beyond the ticket-scanners who was handing out game night booklets (rememeber those? they're back!). i said to my buddy, "that guy looks just like ted black!" my buddy, god bless him, said "terry who?" HA!

 

with our tickets scanned, i walked up to the guy, thanked him for the program, and told him he was the spitting image of ted black. the guy cocked a half-grin and said, "yeah, one and the same, my friend -- i got demoted!"

 

holy funking sh!t, was all i could say then, and it's all i can say now.

 

we chatted for a minute or so as he continued to hand out programs and welcome people to the arena. (later, as i enjoyed a pre-game beverage and looked down on the pavilion, i saw a guy in what appeared to be a rob ray jersey getting his photo taken with black.) black was a class guy, and also came off as genuine and down-to-earth.

 

i can't recall ever having SEEN quinn in the arena, let alone out in the pavilion pre-game handing out FREE programs.

 

the times aren't just a' changin' -- they've changed already.

 

last point: i don't know how much of the new ownership's efforts to date are responsible for what i perceived to be a very different vibe in the arena. maybe it was the emotional energy created by martin's tragic death. maybe it was the matinee start and the abundance of kids. but i do think that the new culture that pegula & co. are working to forge has had much to do with how different the arena felt.

 

go sabres.

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i scored a ticket at the last minute to yesterday's game. as i was waiting among the masses to have my ticket scanned, i spied a well-dressed (but not TOO well-dressed) gentleman just beyond the ticket-scanners who was handing out game night booklets (rememeber those? they're back!). i said to my buddy, "that guy looks just like ted black!" my buddy, god bless him, said "terry who?" HA!

 

with our tickets scanned, i walked up to the guy, thanked him for the program, and told him he was the spitting image of ted black. the guy cocked a half-grin and said, "yeah, one and the same, my friend -- i got demoted!"

 

holy funking sh!t, was all i could say then, and it's all i can say now.

 

we chatted for a minute or so as he continued to hand out programs and welcome people to the arena. (later, as i enjoyed a pre-game beverage and looked down on the pavilion, i saw a guy in what appeared to be a rob ray jersey getting his photo taken with black.) black was a class guy, and also came off as genuine and down-to-earth.

 

i can't recall ever having SEEN quinn in the arena, let alone out in the pavilion pre-game handing out FREE programs.

 

the times aren't just a' changin' -- they've changed already.

 

last point: i don't know how much of the new ownership's efforts to date are responsible for what i perceived to be a very different vibe in the arena. maybe it was the emotional energy created by martin's tragic death. maybe it was the matinee start and the abundance of kids. but i do think that the new culture that pegula & co. are working to forge has had much to do with how different the arena felt.

 

go sabres.

 

Wow that is great. Thanks for that perspective and may I note some of the best advertising they could pay for. A happy fan experience.

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Terry Pegula's daughter Jessica was there too. Did u see her? She gave me my program. I didn't see Black, but that'd b cool too!

i did not. although, that may have explained black's parting quip, which, i think, was something about how the next time we came to the arena we could look forward to buying a basket of fries from him and jessie [?] pegula.

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i scored a ticket at the last minute to yesterday's game. as i was waiting among the masses to have my ticket scanned, i spied a well-dressed (but not TOO well-dressed) gentleman just beyond the ticket-scanners who was handing out game night booklets (rememeber those? they're back!). i said to my buddy, "that guy looks just like ted black!" my buddy, god bless him, said "terry who?" HA!

 

with our tickets scanned, i walked up to the guy, thanked him for the program, and told him he was the spitting image of ted black. the guy cocked a half-grin and said, "yeah, one and the same, my friend -- i got demoted!"

 

Awesome. But this thread will be hijacked by the negative nannies who will claim Sabres are being cheap for not hiring additional help.

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There are so many recent examples are there where new ownership has come in, replaced stale old ownership, completely changed the culture, and the result has been championships. Heck Boston alone has three very recent examples (Pats, Sox and Celtics). Just look at the Blackhawks last year.

 

This is my wish for us (and for the Bills, very soon, for that matter). Dare to dream that it is actually coming true before our eyes.

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There are so many recent examples are there where new ownership has come in, replaced stale old ownership, completely changed the culture, and the result has been championships. Heck Boston alone has three very recent examples (Pats, Sox and Celtics). Just look at the Blackhawks last year.

 

This is my wish for us (and for the Bills, very soon, for that matter). Dare to dream that it is actually coming true before our eyes.

Rocky Wirtz was nothing like his dad Bill - and I mean that in a good way.

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I don't think I've ever seen a Knox or Swados down among the masses, or a Rigas either. It sure sounds like culture change and that is a good thing.

 

The Knoxes sat amongst the folks. It would be a nice touch for Terry. They decided against it I guess.

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Rocky Wirtz was nothing like his dad Bill - and I mean that in a good way.

 

Yeah in my mind I consider that to be new ownership. The old man was almost like Ralph or Harold Ballard by the end. No home games on TV, etc., had managed to nearly kill one of the great hockey towns in the league.

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It does have that feel of a country throwing off the shackles of an albeit benevolent monarchy. The joy is like that felt in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell. The people have their nation back.

 

Am I going too far?

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The Knoxes sat amongst the folks. It would be a nice touch for Terry. They decided against it I guess.

 

The building's are obviously very different. Did they have much of an owners box back in the Aud? And hey, if we want to put a positive spin on this, we could say that he's just leaving some seats open for the public. ;)

(but hey, if he wanted to give me the owners box while he sits in my seat, I'd cave)

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It does have that feel of a country throwing off the shackles of an albeit benevolent monarchy. The joy is like that felt in Germany when the Berlin Wall fell. The people have their nation back.

 

Am I going too far?

Nope.

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The building's are obviously very different. Did they have much of an owners box back in the Aud? And hey, if we want to put a positive spin on this, we could say that he's just leaving some seats open for the public. ;)

(but hey, if he wanted to give me the owners box while he sits in my seat, I'd cave)

 

I think you just might see Pegs sitting in the crowd in the future, but right now it would likely be a huge distraction. He couldn't even sit in the crowd down here in Carolina without getting called out by Sabres fans.

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The Knoxes sat amongst the folks. It would be a nice touch for Terry. They decided against it I guess.

And Punch and Dodo sat in the 1st row of upper golds every game. Seymour sat in lower golds behind Sabres bench, next to Norty, I think. He always had a head set on listening to the game, I guess.

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