with the sabres showing you excitement, is your bills fandom suffering?

[trapezeus]

Seriously, with the lockout and the sabres being so hot and hopeful, my bills fandom is at a critical low. i find myself not caring about this draft because:

1. none of the players excite me that we are talking about
2. they sound like they may botch this thing again for the umpteeth time and with the highest pick in a long time, i can't deal.

then mix in the fact there is a lockout, and i'm struggling to figure out if this is just the offseason blues or if i'm at the point of being like, "you know what? ralph and co seem to just love aiming for 7-9 and the sport is no fun when you aren't competitive and have 0 hope of getting to the playoffs."

so what is it for you. is this just a normal offseason or do you find yourself sadly less interested in the bills this year?

this is not a "well then thrown in your fan card, we don't need you anyways." thread.

[justasportsfan]

Their playoff appearance is perfect timing due to the lockout. Not a fan of hockey I'm definitely keeping tabs because I want buffalo to win a pro sports championship. If it can't be in football, hockey is fine.

[DrGraves]

the sabres will be the only team in this town with any chance of winning anything until ralph is gone..

[G Wolly]

I think the looming lockout is causing me to be unexcited this year.

I never get into the offseason stuff too much like the draft or training camp, but of course I look forward to the season.

So as of now, I have nothing to look forward to in the Fall.

Except for the Indians in the World Series.

[OpIv37]

It's not so much the Sabres as it is the lockout and the state of the team.

With no FA, we still essentially have the same awful team as last year, and there are only so many times we can debate over drafting Cam Newton.

More importantly, I find the draft frustrating to begin with. Every other day, there's a new rumor, and every rumor completely contradicts the previous rumor ("Chan likes Newton but Nix doesn't" then "Nix likes Newton but Chan doesn't" then "The Bills like Gabbert and aren't considering Newton at 3") then it goes on from there. It's so frustrating, especially when it's almost impossible to evaluate the credibility of any of this stuff.

So, my interest in the Bills is reduced, but it has more to do with the state of the team and the NFL than the Sabres.

[G Wolly]

the sabres will be the only team in this town with any chance of winning anything until ralph is gone..

Umm helloooo

http://talleywhackers.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/bandits.jpg

http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article379734.ece/BINARY/w620/Bandits+lacrosse+SPORTS+Bandits+lacrosse.png

P.S. I found this when I googled "Buffalo Bandits Championship"

http://www.procheerleaderblog.com/blog/images/2008/Apr/allisonknighthawks.jpg

[Novacane]

Is that the Philster with that chick?

[ddaryl]

not at all.... I have no different of an outlook on the Bills or the Sabre's at this point.

I'm still waiting for the Sabre's to make some moves that build a real dominating team capable of winning it all. I don't see that in this years Sabres.... Hoping the offseason brings new fruit

The Bills are the Bills, and I'm still interested with the teams future and possibilities since we are still in the early stages of the Nix / Chan era.

[trapezeus]

in some ways, i'm more excited to have a season without football because i want both sides to sabotage their golden goose. and then combined with how even if the bills have a good draft, i think the defense is still a ways away from turning it around.

and when they do, we'll be done with our offensive powerhouse. i think the cycle is just becoming tedious.

I'm just happy i'm not alone in my malaise.

[G Wolly]

Is that the Philster with that chick?

Yes it is.

http://www.procheerleaderblog.com/wp/?p=5618


Our friend Phil hit the road and traveled to Rochester to see the Buffalo Bandits take on the Rochester Knighthawks. At the game he ran into four-time Buffalo Jill Allison who is now a member of the Knighthawks Dance Team, the Knightingales.

[YardRat]

I'm pretty psyched about the draft.

Would be better if FA was going on right now, but nothing we can do about that.

[WeAreArthurMoates]

Nope, I love the Sabres but that will never dull my love for the Bills.

[Buffalo Thriller]

I think the looming lockout is causing me to be unexcited this year.

I never get into the offseason stuff too much like the draft or training camp, but of course I look forward to the season.

So as of now, I have nothing to look forward to in the Fall.

Except for the Indians in the World Series.


Good luck with that one.

[FlyingDutchman]

is that a fanny pack on Philster?:funny:

[ServoBillieves]

Bills?

Just kidding. I'm a draft and FA buff. Hell I am here aren't I? But with the millionaire/billionaire's whining about extra change in their pockets, I look to the most athletic sport I'm interested in, that being the NHL.

GO SABRES BABY!

[Night Train]

Never. There's plenty of room for both.

[ddaryl]

Never. There's plenty of room for both.

always was and always will be

[Ed]

I've become a huge Rockies fan over the past 5 years and with the Bills continual ineptitude and failures I've found myself more excited about baseball than the Bills the past couple years, which would have shocked me a few years ago. I'm always an optimist, but between their lack of improvement and the lockout my feelings towards football in general definitely feel kind of indifferent right now. I'm still excited about the draft as I am every year, but after that it doesn't seem worth it to invest much thought into football until something gets worked out.

I was excited when I heard the Bills would be playing a preseason game in Denver this year because the Bills Backer bar out here throws an awesome tailgate, but then it's like the game may not even happen so I don't even want to think about it.

[Johnny Bugmenot]

In a word yes. But it's not just the Sabres succeeding-- if the Bills, somehow, someway, found a way to make some sort of freak miraculous playoff run I'd be just as excited as the next guy. There's room for both.

But it's the fact that the Sabres were able to turn a bad situation and bad decisions around and make themselves playoff contenders again that leaves me discouraged about the Bills. When you see a team that is at the verge of bankruptcy in the early 2000s turn things around and make two consecutive runs deep into the playoffs... then you see Larry Quinn bungle up free agency that year and see the team fall again... then slowly rebuild and climb the ladder yet again to the point where we're more excited now than ever before... you can't help looking at the Bills and the eleven years of "not good enough" and saying... yeah, this team's going nowhere.

Part of it is, of course, money, and the Bills are a mid-money team in a big-money league (the biggest money league there is). Part of it's the exclusive playoff structure: five wildcards per conference in hockey, only two each in the NFL. Part of it's the seeming stagnation of the AFC (you can make safe bets about the Jets, Patriots, Colts, Ravens, and Steelers making the playoffs more years than not). But yeah, certainly you can look at the Sabres winning and then look at the Bills and conclude the situation is hopeless. In fact, I have.

[BillyT92679]

Seriously, with the lockout and the sabres being so hot and hopeful, my bills fandom is at a critical low. i find myself not caring about this draft because:

1. none of the players excite me that we are talking about
2. they sound like they may botch this thing again for the umpteeth time and with the highest pick in a long time, i can't deal.

then mix in the fact there is a lockout, and i'm struggling to figure out if this is just the offseason blues or if i'm at the point of being like, "you know what? ralph and co seem to just love aiming for 7-9 and the sport is no fun when you aren't competitive and have 0 hope of getting to the playoffs."

so what is it for you. is this just a normal offseason or do you find yourself sadly less interested in the bills this year?

this is not a "well then thrown in your fan card, we don't need you anyways." thread.
Nope, not at all
A LOT of it is, even though I live in the Buffalo area, I am not a hockey fan at all. The Sabres to me are on the same level as the Bandits or Bisons. Nice they win, but it ultimately matters little to me. It's strange actually now that I live here surrounded by hockey-heads and I just am not one.

However, I am a HUGE SU basketball fan, and loved how they did up until the Marquette. Still I was still rabidly in love with the Bills as always, and checking the stuff here about the draft even during their season.

Nothing, outside of the team folding or relocating, would ever temper my fandom. The Bills are my first and best sports love.

[OpIv37]

In a word yes. But it's not just the Sabres succeeding-- if the Bills, somehow, someway, found a way to make some sort of freak miraculous playoff run I'd be just as excited as the next guy. There's room for both.

But it's the fact that the Sabres were able to turn a bad situation and bad decisions around and make themselves playoff contenders again that leaves me discouraged about the Bills. When you see a team that is at the verge of bankruptcy in the early 2000s turn things around and make two consecutive runs deep into the playoffs... then you see Larry Quinn bungle up free agency that year and see the team fall again... then slowly rebuild and climb the ladder yet again to the point where we're more excited now than ever before... you can't help looking at the Bills and the eleven years of "not good enough" and saying... yeah, this team's going nowhere.

Part of it is, of course, money, and the Bills are a mid-money team in a big-money league (the biggest money league there is). Part of it's the exclusive playoff structure: five wildcards per conference in hockey, only two each in the NFL. Part of it's the seeming stagnation of the AFC (you can make safe bets about the Jets, Patriots, Colts, Ravens, and Steelers making the playoffs more years than not). But yeah, certainly you can look at the Sabres winning and then look at the Bills and conclude the situation is hopeless. In fact, I have.

One correction: the Bills are definitely a small market team in terms of the NFL, not mid-money. We tend to forget this because our fans are so die-hard, but the economics of the game have changed, and having die-hard fans is no longer the biggest contributor to a team's income.

[Jan Reimers]

Well, let's see. The Sabres finished on a great 16-4-4 run to make the playoffs, and have a super new owner who wants only to win. The Sabres are playing for the Cup.

The Bills have missed the playoffs 11 straight seasons, and have a 92 year old owner who wants only to wake up each morning. The Bills are locked out of their facilities.

Yeah, I'd say I'm a little more excited about the Sabres.

[stuckincincy]

Nope, not at all
A LOT of it is, even though I live in the Buffalo area, I am not a hockey fan at all. The Sabres to me are on the same level as the Bandits or Bisons. Nice they win, but it ultimately matters little to me. It's strange actually now that I live here surrounded by hockey-heads and I just am not one.

However, I am a HUGE SU basketball fan, and loved how they did up until the Marquette. Still I was still rabidly in love with the Bills as always, and checking the stuff here about the draft even during their season.

Nothing, outside of the team folding or relocating, would ever temper my fandom. The Bills are my first and best sports love.

I gave up on the NHL after the rule changes after the 2005 (?) lock-out season. All the penalties for this and that, but especially the ditching of the "two-line offside pass" rule.

It's not the same game, to me.

[trapezeus]

i don't know, pegula's got me aiming higher. While ralph just talks about how we should be grateful to have a middling team that can't break 7-9 (except for once), pegula is talking about multiple championships. He's talking about doing whatever it takes.

I no longer have to just be happy that we found a way to have 7 games in buffalo and watch a ****ty game in toronto and that we have an entertaining offense.

The sabres make me think, "it really could be next year, because this guy just wants great hockey players."

meanwhile the bills are constantly stuck in pathetic situations. They got the number 3 pick, and apparently there are no sure things this draft. Are you kidding?

It's just exhausting to be a bills fan right now and the sabres rally is what following a sports team should be about. To be entertained and have a feeling like you could win it all. the sabres could easily flame out and suck, but the future looks so much brighter when the leader is saying, "i can get this done." vs a guy who says, "you guys need to learn the ecnomoics of the game."

always a bills fan, but hope just keeps fading. and i'm just thankful that the sabres are providing a fantastic product.

[BillyT92679]

i don't know, pegula's got me aiming higher. While ralph just talks about how we should be grateful to have a middling team that can't break 7-9 (except for once), pegula is talking about multiple championships. He's talking about doing whatever it takes.

I no longer have to just be happy that we found a way to have 7 games in buffalo and watch a ****ty game in toronto and that we have an entertaining offense.

The sabres make me think, "it really could be next year, because this guy just wants great hockey players."

meanwhile the bills are constantly stuck in pathetic situations. They got the number 3 pick, and apparently there are no sure things this draft. Are you kidding?

It's just exhausting to be a bills fan right now and the sabres rally is what following a sports team should be about. To be entertained and have a feeling like you could win it all. the sabres could easily flame out and suck, but the future looks so much brighter when the leader is saying, "i can get this done." vs a guy who says, "you guys need to learn the ecnomoics of the game."

always a bills fan, but hope just keeps fading. and i'm just thankful that the sabres are providing a fantastic product.
You never know though right? What if Pegula turns out to be Buffalo's Daniel Snyder... spending a lot of money, getting actively involved and nothing positive really happens? He strikes me as very passionate, perhaps too much so as that can lead to meddling. Then again I'd love for him to buy the Bills to keep them here.

For me I think of it like this with the Bills. I love the Phillies tremendously, have since 1989, three World Series appearances, one win, a few NL East titles, and a lot of terrible seasons. For me personally I didn't wane on my fandom during their rough patches because I love them so much. Winning was great but just having the team in my life meant as much in its own way. Same with Cuse hoops. They had some terrible seasons after the NC but I stuck with them, even knowing that Boeheim is getting older. At least for me my love doesn't diminish. Maybe I'm foolish, I probably am, but it's a part of who I am I suppose.

[trapezeus]

i think on a fandom meter, i'm still at 100 for the bills.
on the excitement level i am at below 50% and falling.

i'll watch all these games, but the last couple years i've noticed i don't even get into the smack talk with opposing fans. they second they stood behind the jauron extension and wanted us to believe he could get the job done, i no longer was just blindly hopeful. I noticed hope was just gone and then to go from the cowher discussion to end up with gailey was a kick in the nuts.

i know that's all old news, but even with gailey injecting life into the offesne, it still just feels stale and like we'll never get anywhere. It's easier to watch knowing that everythign will go wrong.

as for the sabres, even at 10 points down and pegula information coming out, if felt like something was changing and that reinforcements are on their way.

I'm pretty sure he won't go synder on us. so far he's not making big splashes. He just making little changes that have a big impact with the current team. he had every reason to slide in and cut darcy, but he stayed with him.

[BillyT92679]

I'm just as excited about the Bills as ever. I mean we have the 3rd and 34th picks in the draft, some good young talent, and a coach/front office that appears to have a plan.

[trapezeus]

I'm just as excited about the Bills as ever. I mean we have the 3rd and 34th picks in the draft, some good young talent, and a coach/front office that appears to have a plan.

all good stuff for sure, but in the weakest draft class i can recall. maybe it's only weak because everyone from reporters to players are talking down the QBs.

It's like in 2002 when we took Mike Williams. out of the top 10, only four made the pro bowl and that was generous because bryant mckinnie adn roy williams aren't really in the same category as julius peppers. But i think the optimism in the top 10 that year was very high.

It almost felt like at the time that you had an outside chance of drafting a bust.

But this year it seems like chances are in the top 10 most people are getting busts. That's just frustrating.

[BillyT92679]

all good stuff for sure, but in the weakest draft class i can recall. maybe it's only weak because everyone from reporters to players are talking down the QBs.

It's like in 2002 when we took Mike Williams. out of the top 10, only four made the pro bowl and that was generous because bryant mckinnie adn roy williams aren't really in the same category as julius peppers. But i think the optimism in the top 10 that year was very high.

It almost felt like at the time that you had an outside chance of drafting a bust.

But this year it seems like chances are in the top 10 most people are getting busts. That's just frustrating.
Oh I hear you. I guess that's why I enjoy the draft to a degree, but mostly it's just a fun oasis in this football wasteland of April. I know that a lot of these players drafted are going nowhere.

But at least I have hope! What if we get"the man"? That would be great!

[Jeff1220]

I'm not really missing FA that much since we, as Bills fans, haven't really experienced FA in several years now anyways.

[Figster]

I'm pumped about our Sabres, no doubt, but I'm still very excited about the upcoming 2011 NFL Draft.

There's plenty of love in my heart for both of them...

[trapezeus]

I'm not really missing FA that much since we, as Bills fans, haven't really experienced FA in several years now anyways.

I think you aren't giving the bills all the credit they deserve for bringing in kawika mitchell. he had that one interception vs. the chargers. don't you remember that?

[stuckincincy]

I'm pumped about our Sabres, no doubt, but I'm still very excited about the upcoming 2011 NFL Draft.

There's plenty of love in my heart for both of them...

Good for you!

I don't know your age - but if younger, I regret that you didn't see the French Connection in action. Played together for 7 years, IRRC - not possible in these days of free agency.

Perreault was such a marvelous player...

[djjimkelly]

i love the sabres however to me

the sabres could win 5 cups and 1 superbowl by bills would make me happier

[TigerJ]

I'm in the boonies as far as the sports world is concerned. I know the Sabres made the playoffs, but our local news never mentions it. They are all over the Elmira Jackels though. LOL

[stuckincincy]

I'm in the boonies as far as the sports world is concerned. I know the Sabres made the playoffs, but our local news never mentions it. They are all over the Elmira Jackels though. LOL

Heh.

We have the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) here. They won their championship the last 2 years, but players moved up as is usual - so no dice this season. Their previous HC got a gig in the AHL - I'm happy for him.

I don't know who runs the club, but they're good. They get decent, reliable attendance. Cheap tix and concession prices, the usual 50 cent promotional trinkets etc.

Florence, KY (IDK - 20 miles south of me) has a minor league BB team called the Freedom. They get a nice gate - a number of free hot dog days, 50 cent bag 'o peanuts, etc. If you have a gaggle of kids in tow, that's important.

I'm a big fan of minor league sports. You can have a fun time yourself, as well as with your family without having an undue bite into the budget.

And the kids remember going to a game with Dad and Mom, or whatever stands for the current family unit these days. Kids don't give a rat's patoot that it's minor league.


Little known facts:

In the '50's, if on the day before, you showed your Bflo. public school system teacher an opening day ticket for the baseball Bisons, you were excused so you could attend. Same thing with the opening performance of the Buffalo Philharmonic.

[TigerJ]

Yeah, the Jackels are ECHL too, as I'm sure you know, following the Cyclones. I attended BB games in Jamestown, NY a few times. I even sang the National Anthem for them once. I'm not a huge baseball fan. III don't watch it on TV at all, but it's all lot of fun to go in person, even single A NY Penn league games.