TBN piece on sagging attendance, enthusiasm in arena

[Eleven]

To speak for LGR, I don't think that's his angle. I don't mind kids being at games. They're often far more entertaining than their stuffy parents. 

 

It's the parents of the kids who expect other fans to cater to their child's delicate sensibilities who are the issue. 

 

 

SO, when I was a young boy, maybe 5 or 6, my dad took me to Rich Stadium for a preseason game against the Browns.

 

This was before "kids' day."  And it was the Browns.  Meaning they traveled and set up their whole drunken Dawg Pound in the endzones.

 

Now, since I'm 5 or 6, all I want, I mean ALL I WANT is to sit in the endzone and see what a field goal or extra point looks like when it's coming right at you.

 

So of course I nagged the everliving out of him until he relented and we relocated.

 

He gave me a very nice talk on the way over about how some adults use some words that I'm not supposed to use.

 

And that was that.  I saw a field goal, it wasn't that amazing, the Dawg people had their fun, I didn't turn into a Satanist, and we went back to our seats.

[Samson's Flow]

SO, when I was a young boy, maybe 5 or 6, my dad took me to Rich Stadium for a preseason game against the Browns.

 

This was before "kids' day."  And it was the Browns.  Meaning they traveled and set up their whole drunken Dawg Pound in the endzones.

 

Now, since I'm 5 or 6, all I want, I mean ALL I WANT is to sit in the endzone and see what a field goal or extra point looks like when it's coming right at you.

 

So of course I nagged the everliving ###### out of him until he relented and we relocated.

 

He gave me a very nice talk on the way over about how some adults use some words that I'm not supposed to use.

 

And that was that.  I saw a field goal, it wasn't that amazing, the Dawg people had their fun, I didn't turn into a Satanist, and we went back to our seats.

I've heard plenty of stories similar to that where the kid doesn't make much of anything about the swearing/general game atmosphere.

 

The biggest issue is that nowadays the parents try to insulate their kids from everything, when it doesn't really make that much of a difference in the long run. You aren't able to be PC Principal all the time and keep your kid in a bubble, and those projecting that attitude in public places seem to discourage everyone else from having a good time. If you want to insulate your kids in your own home that's fine, but in public it's fair game IMO.

[That Aud Smell]

The biggest issue is that nowadays the parents try to insulate their kids from everything, when it doesn't really make that much of a difference in the long run. You aren't able to be PC Principal all the time and keep your kid in a bubble, and those projecting that attitude in public places seem to discourage everyone else from having a good time. If you want to insulate your kids in your own home that's fine, but in public it's fair game IMO.

 

Yep, yep, yep.

 

It occurs to me that what we see being expressed at college campuses -- the whole micro-aggression movement and insistent demands from undergrad groups to be free of anything that remotely offends them -- is related to that awful trend in parenting.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

SO, when I was a young boy, maybe 5 or 6, my dad took me to Rich Stadium for a preseason game against the Browns.

 

This was before "kids' day."  And it was the Browns.  Meaning they traveled and set up their whole drunken Dawg Pound in the endzones.

 

Now, since I'm 5 or 6, all I want, I mean ALL I WANT is to sit in the endzone and see what a field goal or extra point looks like when it's coming right at you.

 

So of course I nagged the everliving ###### out of him until he relented and we relocated.

 

He gave me a very nice talk on the way over about how some adults use some words that I'm not supposed to use.

 

And that was that.  I saw a field goal, it wasn't that amazing, the Dawg people had their fun, I didn't turn into a Satanist, and we went back to our seats.

 

What year was that?

 

I think I was at the same game.

[Samson's Flow]

Yep, yep, yep.

 

It occurs to me that what we see being expressed at college campuses -- the whole micro-aggression movement and insistent demands from undergrad groups to be free of anything that remotely offends them -- is related to that awful trend in parenting.

As an aside - I have found that the parents that let their kids learn for themselves and make mistakes tend to have much better adult children than those that have absolute dictator status with their kids. Those are the ones that grow up to be .

[LTS]

SO, when I was a young boy, maybe 5 or 6, my dad took me to Rich Stadium for a preseason game against the Browns.

 

This was before "kids' day."  And it was the Browns.  Meaning they traveled and set up their whole drunken Dawg Pound in the endzones.

 

Now, since I'm 5 or 6, all I want, I mean ALL I WANT is to sit in the endzone and see what a field goal or extra point looks like when it's coming right at you.

 

So of course I nagged the everliving ###### out of him until he relented and we relocated.

 

He gave me a very nice talk on the way over about how some adults use some words that I'm not supposed to use.

 

And that was that.  I saw a field goal, it wasn't that amazing, the Dawg people had their fun, I didn't turn into a Satanist, and we went back to our seats.

 

Perhaps this is where the seed for AngryEleven first was planted?  :)

 

I don't care about the language people use around my kids.  They are words.  As I tell my kids, you can say everything they are saying with different words and it won't sound as ignorant, as angry, etc.  You can also choose to use those words if you want, but not around me. I demand higher for them. I already know my son swears when his parents aren't around (age 11).  I do it so I shouldn't expect any less.

 

Still won't take him to a Bills game.  Hell I won't go to one.. I am offended by the crowd there.  :)

[Taro T]

Perhaps this is where the seed for AngryEleven first was planted? :)

 

I don't care about the language people use around my kids. They are words. As I tell my kids, you can say everything they are saying with different words and it won't sound as ignorant, as angry, etc. You can also choose to use those words if you want, but not around me. I demand higher for them. I already know my son swears when his parents aren't around (age 11). I do it so I shouldn't expect any less.

 

Still won't take him to a Bills game. Hell I won't go to one.. I am offended by the crowd there. :)

The crowd in the stands or the one on the Bills' sideline & side of scrimmage? ;) Edited December 31, 2015 by Taro T

[Kristian]

Here where?

Rungsted, Denmark - Rink capacity, 1500.

[PASabreFan]

Rungsted, Denmark - Rink capacity, 1500.

Wow, all this time I didn't know you were in Denmark. Have you mentioned it before?

[Kristian]

Wow, all this time I didn't know you were in Denmark. Have you mentioned it before?

Several times over the years. Never made much of a big deal of it though, so I'm sure lots of people missed it :flirt:

[PASabreFan]

Several times over the years. Never made much of a big deal of it though, so I'm sure lots of people missed it :flirt:

Native Dane? Or did you move there?

[Kristian]

Native of Rochester, but moved there when I was nine. 42 today. My parents are Danes.

Edited December 31, 2015 by Kristian

[PASabreFan]

Native of Rochester, but moved there when I was nine. 42 today. My parents are Danes.

Did you take the Sabres there with you or pick them up later on? It's 20 questions for Kristian!

[Kristian]

Did you take the Sabres there with you or pick them up later on? It's 20 questions for Kristian!

I knew *of* the Sabres, but really only got into them in 1992-1993, the LaFontaine/Mogilny season.

[Skibum]

I think the biggest problem is just general fan apathy. When you have an overwhelming majority of the arena seats accounted for by season ticket holders, you have a lot of people for whom game night is just another night. Someone mentioned that the Bills' games are much more raucus. A big part of that is that there are 8 Bills home games per year (sometimes only 7). There are 41 Sabres games.

 

The lack of enthusiasm is especially pronounced in a small market city not known to attract a lot of tourists, people who might consider a Sabres game a special experience. It doesn't help that we haven't had a really entertaining, playoff caliber team for almost a decade. 41 games is a lot of mediocre hockey.

 

I live pretty far from an NHL arena, but I try to get to a couple of games every year. When I go, I'm really pumped up for the game because it's something I don't get to do very often. But lately, when I do go to First Niagara, I am amazed at how dead it is in there. I want to make some noise, but it seems inappropriate in that kind of atmosphere. It's as if everyone is subconsciously watching the game at home on their couches. I feel embarrassed for the players.

 

I went to a game in Vancouver a few years back and it was completely different. Even though they were hosting a lousy Sabres team with a bunch of warm bodies they had probably never heard of, the crowd was still hyped from the intros to the final horn.

[Iron Crotch]

I think the biggest problem is just general fan apathy. When you have an overwhelming majority of the arena seats accounted for by season ticket holders, you have a lot of people for whom game night is just another night. Someone mentioned that the Bills' games are much more raucus. A big part of that is that there are 8 Bills home games per year (sometimes only 7). There are 41 Sabres games.

 

The lack of enthusiasm is especially pronounced in a small market city not known to attract a lot of tourists, people who might consider a Sabres game a special experience. It doesn't help that we haven't had a really entertaining, playoff caliber team for almost a decade. 41 games is a lot of mediocre hockey.

 

I live pretty far from an NHL arena, but I try to get to a couple of games every year. When I go, I'm really pumped up for the game because it's something I don't get to do very often. But lately, when I do go to First Niagara, I am amazed at how dead it is in there. I want to make some noise, but it seems inappropriate in that kind of atmosphere. It's as if everyone is subconsciously watching the game at home on their couches. I feel embarrassed for the players.

 

I went to a game in Vancouver a few years back and it was completely different. Even though they were hosting a lousy Sabres team with a bunch of warm bodies they had probably never heard of, the crowd was still hyped from the intros to the final horn.

 

Good post.

 

I've had season tickets for the Preds for years and the season ticket holders around me get just as loud as the "night out on the town" fans. But, I'd say most Preds fans treat the game as entertainment, not as a life or death quest for the Cup.

 

I remember taking my now ex-wife up to Buffalo for her first game there and after hyping up what a great hockey town Buffalo is, she was amazed at how dead and lifeless the arena was. There just isn't enough fun in the arena atmosphere. And, anything the team might do to introduce fun to the atmosphere, folks on here consider "gimmicky." Catch-22.

[Eleven]

Several times over the years. Never made much of a big deal of it though, so I'm sure lots of people missed it :flirt:

 

I certainly missed it.  Very cool that we have so many countries represented on this board.

[PASabreFan]

Sabres are one of a handful of teams under .500 at home and no one scores fewer goals at home. You can't tell me playing in a morgue doesn't affect the players. When will the hockey side, the business side and ownership come together and realize there's a problem that needs to be addressed. Some how, some way. Maybe a good starting point would be an appeal to the fans. A shaming, if you will. Let Gionta do it. No reason to sully O'Reilly with it.

[Eleven]

Sabres are one of a handful of teams under .500 at home and no one scores fewer goals at home. You can't tell me playing in a morgue doesn't affect the players. When will the hockey side, the business side and ownership come together and realize there's a problem that needs to be addressed. Some how, some way. Maybe a good starting point would be an appeal to the fans. A shaming, if you will. Let Gionta do it. No reason to sully O'Reilly with it.

 

1.  All of the arenas are morgues these days.  Except Montreal and sometimes Calgary.

 

2.  It's the players' jobs to get the fans going and not the other way 'round.  You may recall that you pay for a ticket to attend; you are not paid to attend.

[PASabreFan]

1.  All of the arenas are morgues these days.  Except Montreal and sometimes Calgary.

 

2.  It's the players' jobs to get the fans going and not the other way 'round.  You may recall that you pay for a ticket to attend; you are not paid to attend.

1. No. Stop saying this stuff.

[Eleven]

1. No. Stop saying this stuff.

 

Yeah, Verizon Arena or whatever was really on fire the other night.

[PASabreFan]

Yeah, Verizon Arena or whatever was really on fire the other night.

Compared to FNC, it was a raging inferno. I don't know why you've always had such a blind spot about this. Do you take it personally? Do you take it as a slam against the city? I know how proud you are of Buffalo.

 

Almost every out of town broadcast is addressing it now. The Chicago announcers were scornful. Last night the Islanders' announcers, including Jiggs McDonald, who's been around forever, were more diplomatic. Butch Goring called the crowd "quiet" and "polite." Polite?! He suggested the crowd plays a big part in the tenor of a game. Referring to the passive feeling in the game, he said, "As a player it's hard to feel the excitement you see in other arenas."

[LTS]

The crowd in the stands or the one on the Bills' sideline & side of scrimmage? ;)

 

I'm just going to go with Yes.

[Randall Flagg]

TrueBlueGED, and anyone else who was at the game, what was the crowd like yesterday, in general and when Jack scored? And in any other game, is it louder when Jack scores than when other players do?

[MattPie]

Probably middle of the pack, at best.

 

In Boston or NY, you are in (or very close to) th bustling parts of the city.

 

Columbus has one of the nicest areas near the arena, I think they call it the "Arena District".  Much more to do there than in Buffalo.

 

Nashville has theirs in downtown, 5 minute walk from Broadway, their entertainment district.

 

The ACC in Toronto is in a great location.

 

In Minnesota, when I was there the area wasn't surrounded by an entertainment district across the street, but is only a block or two from the river, and musuem..and in a pretty nice setting.

 

Once again, Are there places like you mentioned worse than Buffalo? Sure, but there are a LOT of places with newer, nicer Arenas than Buffalo inn nicer areas. Buffalo is mid-pack at best...Buffalo is mid-pack at best and as every year goes by it is getting worse.

 

All the Philly sports venues are in one place in South South Philly. There isn't much around them, other than a subway stop. There is an Xfinity something of other with a few restaurants and bars and a big projection screen in one of the parking lots.

 

Go to a Flyers game.  Even when they're crappy it's loud.

 

And honestly I know it's childish but it makes me grin every single time they yell "SUCKS" after the opposing player's name during pre-game introductions.  They've always done it, they'll always do it.  Reg season, playoffs, good team, bad team, doesn't matter.  Sets the tone for the building and I appreciate it tremendously.  Took my 9 year old to Sabres/Flyers in Philly this year and it took him a minute to figure out what they were doing, but he loved it.  It got him more into the game himself and he stuck his chest out with his Eichel shirt on to anyone who looked twice. 

 

When I was there in 2006 (a few weeks after the Sabres got Hitchcock fired), they did it for the Flyers starting line-up, too.

Edited January 6, 2016 by MattPie