Do you care about the Sabres anymore?

[LGR4GM]

There's no right answer and this isn't a trick. 

After the 3rd goal last night, I went to sleep. Saw the Benson goal in Twitter after I brushed my teeth. Got into bed and didn't think anymore about this team. I suppose I just care on some level because I'm here but also... I think I'm just bored. 

Honestly, I don't think I care anymore after 13 seasons of missing the playoffs. 

[Radar]

I've lost a lot of interest. Haven't watched much lately. So, yes I certainly don't care much at this point. Some might be age. Sports in general don't mean as much anymore.

[phil_soisson]

I could put them away in a box, and just check where they are at from time to time, not actively following them, and if some how they turned into a championship calibre team, I would start following again.  I could do this without feeling like I'm just a "fair weather fan" because I feel like I've earned the right;  I've put in the time, going back 53 years. I've done that with the Bills.

[sabrefanday1]

Yesterday was my birthday (born on a Friday the 13th long time ago) and after my nasty heart attack in 2010 I have been going to bed early as I get tired real easy now and my son asked if I was going to try and stay up to watch the game..I luaghed and said I had no interesat in staying upo to see them get blown out. Sure enough look this morning...I am a day one fan and loved this team with passion (they had passion too years ago) and drove down from north of Toronto to see them nany times way back but now I have lost total interest which is so sad. It is hard  to watch this team play and I have no doubt that almost all of our players on another team would do really well. I do no tfeel the team is not talented..rather they are not inspired nor motivated apparently. And they sure are not tough enough. I miss the days when we played tough hockey (and I still regret trading Marcus)...aside from a coaching change there is nothing that can right this sinking ship this year...  

[zow2]

Like most people I was a huge fan for  3 decades through the early 2010's.  But they sucked the hockey joy out of me.  I still care about the team but I live out of town so I am just a casual observer now and don't go to the games.   

For example, last night when it became 2-0 and they were getting totally dominated I shut it off.  Didn't know the final until I woke up this morning.  It's like whatever, rinse and repeat.

[PASabreFan]

The Sabres are someone you used to be in love with, that you still love, that you keep seeing in and out of rehab. And you shake your head.

[bob_sauve28]

❤️I love the Buffalo Sabres! ❤️

[inkman]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

There's no right answer and this isn't a trick. 

After the 3rd goal last night, I went to sleep. Saw the Benson goal in Twitter after I brushed my teeth. Got into bed and didn't think anymore about this team. I suppose I just care on some level because I'm here but also... I think I'm just bored. 

Honestly, I don't think I care anymore after 13 seasons of missing the playoffs. 

I did almost the exact same thing.  Not because I don’t care about the Sabres but I care about my sleep as an old fart.  Getting the requisite 6 hours of sleep is way more important to me than watching a bunch of children get smacked around like…welll…children. 

3 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

The Sabres are someone you used to be in love with, that you still love, that you keep seeing in and out of rehab. And you shake your head.

[Night Train]

 I'll always care about the Bills and Sabres. I am grateful that this small market still has 2 major sports teams. Years ago, I thought Buffalo would have the Bandits and minor league baseball only by this time.  Pegula stepped up. 

 However, he's completely dependent on others telling him what to do with both franchises. His Sabres hires really haven't been much more that rebuilding from the basement. His hiring of Beane/McDermott for the Bills finally sent them in a good direction but it's now a question whether they are stuck in park and may have peaked. 

 Sabres have no grit. Soft.  They are easily bullied and cannot respond. Roster makeup error.  Meanwhile, Adams hands out these standard 7 year 50 mil contracts (more or less) to players that haven't earned them yet because he fears losing them. 

They need someone to coach them hard and show results in order to justify those premature deals. But the owner is invisable for whatever reason. 

[R_Dudley]

I grew up in WNY and started following them in the early 70's, yes saw French connection and first SC finals and was hooked, moved away in 1992 and not many options back then to see games unless they were playing the Pens here in PGH until streaming was available. I like hockey and have been to many Pens games and did get to see firsthand their cup winning seasons from 92 on. So, they have become my second favorite team. I admit it's hard to stay invested for my first favorite team when they are so inconsistent and irrelevant for so long. I have become a casual Sabers fan through all that disappointment not allowing myself the frustration they have become on a consistent basis for so many years running now.   

[MattPie]

I pulled away around 2017-18 maybe. I still care enough to hang out here and watch the 10-minute highlights most of the time, but if SDS shut the site down I wouldn't go looking for a new community to talk Sabres. There was a gap in there of a year or two where I didn't come here nor watch anything but I'm back to daily now.

[PASabreFan]

I tried to listen to the game last night. No chance.

So much of Sabres hockey was Rick.

That's not say we can never have another voice that is exciting and passionate and cool, but the Sabres can't be bothered to at least give us that. It's the old boys network. Friends protecting friends.

So telling.

Edited December 14, 2023 by PASabreFan

[Eli Cash]

Remember when Sabres were appointment viewing in ‘05/‘06 and ‘06/‘07?  My now-wife was dumbfounded that I needed to watch every game.  There’s 82!  Plus playoffs!  I still watch as many as I can, but now it’s often background.  Like a baseball game.  And, my wife need not worry about playoffs.

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Eli Cash

[Never NEVER Give-up]

Nope.  Seriously - How can I care when they don't? They're coasting. Win one (fat & happy), then they lose one or more (& get pissed), then play well again.  Beat the Rangers, lose to the Blues, Canes, Preds & Wings, beat the Bruins, lose to the Habs, beat the Coyotes, lose to the Avs - look out Golden Knights!!

Until they as a team and organization care - I can't.  I'll check in, and when I see them down 3-0 before getting a shot, I check out.

[Carmel Corn]

Unfortunately, YES.....it's like a disease though.  I moved away over 30 years ago, but the Sabres are in my blood.

[French Collection]

They are making it hard on me because first and foremost I want to be entertained.

They have been my team for 48 years so I am not changing now but they are sucking some of my precious life out of me so I may have to distance myself in order to maintain my health. It really hurts if I think about them too much.

I love hockey and will watch any game but it isn’t as much fun if the Sabres are bad.

They are no longer must see TV.

[klos1963]

I'm out west and didn't bother to stay up to watch the 3rd period.  They were such a fun team to watch last season, they're incredibly boring and bad this season. No fun at all following them.

Maybe handing out mega deals like candy isn't the best strategy. When do we over pay Benson, the current flame?

[Kristian]

Nope.

[Broken Ankles]

I’ll use some lyrics from Drive-by Truckers to sum my feelings. 

Goddamn Lonely Love

I got green and I got blues
And every day there's a little less difference between the two
So I belly up and disappear
Well, I ain't really drowning 'cause I see the beach from here

I could take a Greyhound home but when I got there it'd be gone
Along with everything a home is made up of.
So I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take all of what you got 
To kill this goddamn lonely, goddamn lonely love.

Sister, listen to what your daddy says.
Don't be ashamed of things that hide behind your dress.
Belly-up and arch your back.
Well I ain't really falling asleep; I'm fading to black.

You could come to me by plane, but that wouldn't be the same 
As that old motel room in Texarkana was.
So I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take all of what you got 
To kill this goddamn lonely, goddamn lonely love.

Stop me if you've heard this one before.. 
A man walks into a bar and leaves before his ashes hit the floor.
Stop me if I ever get that far.
The sun's a desperate star that burns like every single one before.

And I could find another dream,
One that keeps me warm and clean
But I ain't dreamin' anymore, I'm waking up.

 

 

[FrenchConnection44]

Yes of course. I will always root for the Sabres and love the team.
 

But when a team loses, is non competitive, and plays poorly I don’t have much interest in watching or don’t have time to put in. Why should anyone? 

I’ve been a fan since 1970 and will watch on occasion but don’t have the time given my life circumstances. At the same time my interest in watching will increase when they are competitive. I will still represent and be a fan and root for them. But I can’t commit to watch unless they are really showing they are in the hunt and special. 80 games is too much time to put in for my world. 
 

 

[WhenWillItEnd66]

I have loved the Sabres since day one and will always love the Sabres. You can only take so many kicks in the nuts though.... They are a lot easier to shut off and i am not even getting angry anymore. I just shake my head and move on. The Coach, GM and owner do not care about the team, why should I? 

[Radar]

Second thought on this. Could this decline be what leads Pegula to sell the franchise? And if so are we looking at no local hockey team down the road anyway. I could see Pegula doing this and focusing totally on the Bills franchise.

[nfreeman]

If they stay mired way below DeLuca .500 -- ie if the games are meaningless -- I will watch fewer and fewer of them as the season wears on.

I won't stop caring about this team, which is in my blood, though unless and until it becomes clear to me that they have stopped trying to be a real NHL franchise.  If they end up well out of the playoff race this year and don't bring in a new coach with a legit NHL track record next summer, I will probably come to that conclusion (I was originally thinking New Year's was the deadline, but @Brawndo may have convinced me to wait until after the season).

Either way, it freaking stinks that here we are again, well before New Year's, and the season is probably over already.

[bunomatic]

They say you are what you eat. I feel like I’ve been feeding at the buffet of broken promises for far too long. What I want to know is what is Donnie and the coaching staff feeding these players ? Lots of you have said Donnie can develop these players but he isn’t the guy to get them over the top. I’m starting to believe he isn’t the right guy to develop them either. What has this group of guys benefitted from Donnies tutelage ? They are an extension of him at this point. It ain’t good. And KA bleeds into their mindset as well. They’ve sucked the joy of hockey right out of me.

[Goldseatsaud]

Not anymore like I did as kid. I was hoping they would have turn this franchise around. 53 years and counting