Your Local High School Hockey Team Probably Draws A Bigger Crowd Than The Buffalo Sabres These Days
Advertisement
It's preseason, I get it. It's not like this is game 1 of the 2nd round of the playoffs. Which, by the way, kids that are in high school right now have never seen the Sabres advance to. 14 devastatingly long years since the Sabres have won a playoff series. These kids are freshmen in high school right now, have never seen the Sabres win a playoff series, and honestly their hockey games might be a bigger draw than the Sabres right now.
I mean that looks like a pee wee holiday tournament crowd at best. You have the parents of the players, maybe a few grandparents and a couple of siblings. Again, it's preseason. But that has to be demoralizing. Not only for the team, but for the city of Buffalo.
That's a city that loves their Sabres. A city that loves their hockey. In 2019 Buffalo was the 2nd biggest market as far as NHL TV ratings went. And the team sucked so much ass then. Yet Buffalo still tuned in for the 2nd most hockey out of every other city in the country. So they love hockey, they love the Sabres, but this organization has snatched their souls straight out of their bodies. It's a crying shame, really.
Why would you ever expect Sabres fans to show up to a game this season? What would they waste their money for? To see Jeff Skinner make over a million dollars per goal scored? To watch them trot out half a lineup that is making the league minimum? A goalie tandem that is a combined 72 years old? All while their former captain sits at home because the front office won't let the only true star the team has had in a decade get the surgery that he feels is best for his own body and health? You'd think eventually Kevyn Adams and the Pegulas would pick up on the fact that they're the biggest joke in the NHL right now.
In the meantime, at least Buffalo fans have the Bandits season to look forward to.
FREE JACK