Bills vs Sabres: Who would win a championship first?

[Mr. Miyagi]

I hope in my lifetime I get to see a Buffalo championship.

Do you think the Bills will win a SuperBowl first or the Sabres win the Stanley Cup first?

[THATHURMANATOR]

The Sabres won't be leaving so not sure why that is even a choice.

[justasportsfan]

sabres. They have an owner committed to winning a cup.

[Night Train]

A year ago I would have said the Sabres but they have one of the most baby soft rosters ever assembled in the NHL and refuse to shake things up.

The Bills are actually making more of an effort to improve. I say the Bills.

[THATHURMANATOR]

A year ago I would have said the Sabres but they have one of the most baby soft rosters ever assembled in the NHL and refuse to shake things up.

The Bills are actually making more of an effort to improve. I say the Bills.
That comment on the Sabres is lame. Foligno, Tropp, Mcnabb all regulars next year.

Roy, Hecht, Boyes gone.

I understand on the Reiger and Ruff staying front though.

[Night Train]

That comment on the Sabres is lame. Foligno, Tropp, Mcnabb all regulars next year.

Roy, Hecht, Boyes gone.

I understand on the Reiger and Ruff staying front though.

I like those players you mentioned above but Pegula has too much fan in him right now and Ruff is killing the roster. His message is hollow.

Vanek , Leino and many others have talent but get run and can't do anything about it. Most teams make the playoffs in hockey and yet the Sabres struggle each year to make the final spot, hit or miss. They need a massive overall, led by some of the young guys you mentioned above.

The Vets outside of Jason Pom are soft. Miller isn't nearly as good as he used to be. This off-season will speak volumes and I love going to the games. Yet I saw efforts all too often like I saw the Bills under Jauron..indifferent.

[Johnny Bugmenot]

As I've said before...

The Bills' problems are systemic. There is not nearly enough talent to fill the glaring holes on this team's roster, and it is very difficult to get impact free agents (players or coaches) to come here. Not to mention that this team always seems to find ways to stack up loads of injuries every year. Plus, the way negotiations are going for the stadium, the idea of keeping this team here in the long term is not exactly a certainty. Within the next 20 years, the Bills will almost certainly be gone.

Now, take a look at the Sabres. The problem there is, and always has been, in the front office. They certainly have the ability to land most good talent. Hockey doesn't suffer from the allure of big-market southern cities the way other sports do. Yet, inexplicably, the team has stuck itself in a rut by keeping the same GM and same coach for over a decade, despite their decidedly mixed record and absolutely zero Stanley Cup titles to their credit. It seems nobody-- not Golisano, not even Pegula-- has the guts to change that. (Heck, what more evidence do you need than the fact that the near-miraculous turnaround started when Lindy wasn't behind the bench?) However, this team's in Buffalo to stay, as it appears the league is learning to appreciate the smaller markets where hockey support is intense (case in point, Winnipeg).

So, I guess by default, it will be the Sabres eventually, if only because Lindy and Darcy will eventually die.

[THATHURMANATOR]

I like those players you mentioned above but Pegula has too much fan in him right now and Ruff is killing the roster. His message is hollow.

Vanek , Leino and many others have talent but get run and can't do anything about it. Most teams make the playoffs in hockey and yet the Sabres struggle each year to make the final spot, hit or miss. They need a massive overall, led by some of the young guys you mentioned above.

The Vets outside of Jason Pom are soft. Miller isn't nearly as good as he used to be. This off-season will speak volumes and I love going to the games. Yet I saw efforts all too often like I saw the Bills under Jauron..indifferent.
I hear ya.

[SabreEleven]

I like those players you mentioned above but Pegula has too much fan in him right now and Ruff is killing the roster. His message is hollow.

Vanek , Leino and many others have talent but get run and can't do anything about it. Most teams make the playoffs in hockey and yet the Sabres struggle each year to make the final spot, hit or miss. They need a massive overall, led by some of the young guys you mentioned above.

The Vets outside of Jason Pom are soft. Miller isn't nearly as good as he used to be. This off-season will speak volumes and I love going to the games. Yet I saw efforts all too often like I saw the Bills under Jauron..indifferent.

Jason Pom is just as soft, mentally and physcially, as the rest of the vets. He had a good season this past year but he is most likely to follow it up with 15 Goal, 40 point season in 2012-13.

[alohabillsfan]

http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=438448
its already been done!

[Extremebillsfan247]

I hope in my lifetime I get to see a Buffalo championship.

Do you think the Bills will win a SuperBowl first or the Sabres win the Stanley Cup first?

That's tough to say. I have to be honest here, I don't watch hockey too often. But, what if both teams won their respective championships in the same year? Would the city be divided on the thin line of pitting loyalist Bills fan against loyalist Sabres fan? I mean, it would be a pretty significant event for the entire WNY area. I can see how divisions could happen.

All I can say is when these 2 teams finally do get into the winners circle, it wont last, so enjoy it while it happens as much as you can. When you've followed team sports as long as I have, you begin to realize that everything happens in cycles.

I listen to WGR550 a lot, and the majority of what they cover is Sabres Hockey. Knowing what I know, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if these teams were not destined to win together. It's happened in other cities in the past. It can happen in Buffalo too, and I think it will. JMO

[Mr. Miyagi]

I would completely lose my mind if we won both in the same year. I know Thurm would too.

[DraftBoy]

Bandits

[THATHURMANATOR]

That's tough to say. I have to be honest here, I don't watch hockey too often. But, what if both teams won their respective championships in the same year? Would the city be divided on the thin line of pitting loyalist Bills fan against loyalist Sabres fan? I mean, it would be a pretty significant event for the entire WNY area. I can see how divisions could happen.

All I can say is when these 2 teams finally do get into the winners circle, it wont last, so enjoy it while it happens as much as you can. When you've followed team sports as long as I have, you begin to realize that everything happens in cycles.

I listen to WGR550 a lot, and the majority of what they cover is Sabres Hockey. Knowing what I know, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if these teams were not destined to win together. It's happened in other cities in the past. It can happen in Buffalo too, and I think it will. JMO
99% of Bills fans are also Sabres fans. Why would there be division?

[THATHURMANATOR]

I would completely lose my mind if we won both in the same year. I know Thurm would too.
HAAA yes I would! I would go crazy. Probably need to be locked up!

:thurm2:

[BillyT92679]

99% of Bills fans are also Sabres fans. Why would there be division?
Truthfully, that's overstating it.

I think most Sabres fans (but not all) are Bills fans, but not necessarily the other way around. I think a majority of Bills fans are also Sabres fans, but the Bills penetrate a lot more demographic groups and geographic regions than the Sabres. The Bills are like the third most popular sports team in New York State, behind the Yankees and Giants. 6% of New Yorkers polled by Siena College picked the Bills as their favorite team.

The Sabres trail the Knicks, Jets, and SU Sports in terms of popularity overall in the state. Here in WNY, the Sabre fandom is really an Amherst, Clarence, Niagara County, and the other predominantly white suburbs phenomenon. A Stanley Cup would be huge for the area, but a Super Bowl title would be demonstrably bigger.

[BillyT92679]

For me, I live here. I am a white guy living in Cheektowaga. But I'm not much of a hockey fan at all, and not a Sabres fan. I grew up outside of Syracuse and LOVE basketball.

Been a Bills fan nearly all my life... since I was seven.

[Johnny Bugmenot]

Truthfully, that's overstating it.

I think most Sabres fans (but not all) are Bills fans, but not necessarily the other way around. I think a majority of Bills fans are also Sabres fans, but the Bills penetrate a lot more demographic groups and geographic regions than the Sabres. The Bills are like the third most popular sports team in New York State, behind the Yankees and Giants. 6% of New Yorkers polled by Siena College picked the Bills as their favorite team.

The Sabres trail the Knicks, Jets, and SU Sports in terms of popularity overall in the state. Here in WNY, the Sabre fandom is really an Amherst, Clarence, Niagara County, and the other predominantly white suburbs phenomenon. A Stanley Cup would be huge for the area, but a Super Bowl title would be demonstrably bigger.
Judging from my circle of friends (mostly located in the rural outposts of WNY, for the record) it appears that more of them are Sabres fans than Bills fans.