If you are like me, your interest in the Sabres is seriously waning. This team is just not fun to watch lately. They’re so….lose-y.
I did something last night that I’ve never done before. I turned off the game before it was over. Oh sure, I’ve missed tons of games because of work or socializing, and I LOVE puttering around the house when a hockey game is not capturing my full attention, but I’ve never just shut it off. Last night, about ten minutes into the third I clicked of the television in disgust/sadness/frustration, and then I went upstairs and listened to an audio book.
This morning I was lamenting my general Sabres malaise, and I was thinking in very dramatic terms. I don’t have to watch these jerks! I have better things to do with my time than blog about such a cruddy team! I don’t need hockey! The Sabres are lame! Hockey is lame! Eff hockey! I’m DONE with hockey!
That’s when I checked my email and found this:
The NHL is seriously needy.
Also, that couple is making “come hither” eyes at me, and it’s making me feel like a piece of meat.
The NHL dispatched a hockey clad couple to try to win me back only ten minutes after I had sworn off hockey.
Listen, NHL. I just need some space.
Hey,
Cool site, I’ve been a closet reader for awhile. This post makes my Sabres soul weep. You have to learn to become a bigger fan of hockey and not just the Sabres. The playoffs will surely help with that.
Anyway, don’t loose hope.
-PKB
I think the problem with the Sabres isn’t just that they lose, but the way that they lose. I could watch a losing team that was young and spunky. I could watch a losing team that was working its collective ass off and just not that talented. But dedicating so much time to a team that looks so damn lackadaisical while losing just sticks in my throat. I mean, the skill players are, for the most part, getting out-worked every damn night. And it’s not like they’re going to suddenly wake up and start leaving it all on the ice; they’ve been playing this way for over two years now, they just don’t have as much talent as they did in the 06-07 season.
(Sorry, Kate, you set me off there. Needless to say, I too am in need of a break.)
Hey, thanks for chiming in PBK! I know, I know. Normally I AM a bigger fan of hockey, but this season has really worn me down. Part of my bitterness is that I have begun to hate all the other Eastern teams. :P
Meg, I HEAR you! They’re disheartening. To say the least.
You know what I recommend during a hockey hiatus? Lots of Katamari and “MacGyver” on DVD. That’s what got me through my separation from hockey last Spring. It’s good stuff, that “MacGyver”… :P
I feel your pain, Kate. I’ve been a big hockey fan since childhood, but this season, I have found it impossible to get emotionally involved in this team.
I think the problem is twofold:
1.) It’s difficult get/stay excited about a team that looks alternating great and disinterested in 3-game stretches. Every time you think they’ve turned the corner, they fall apart; and when you’re ready to quit on them, they take off. Too much of a roller coaster, too much disappointment.
2.)The Pink Hat-come-lately season ticket crowd is a real turnoff. So is the tiered ticket pricing. I am by no means impoverished, but I can’t afford a $150 night at the Arena – and with an $80 ticket, parking, three or four beers, and a bite to eat, $150 is not hard to hit. Going to one or two games a year is disappointing, almost embarrassing, when you’re someone like me who used to be able to roam the halls of the arena with impunity. Granted, the team wasn’t always great, but still…it was pretty awesome. I am lucky and get gifted free tickets relatively often, so I see a decent amount of live hockey, but it isn’t the same.
The “Sabres as a social event” crowd may serve an important purpose (hey, they’re bankrolling the team), but they drive up ticket prices, they hoard the best seats, they SELL their seats to enemy fans, and they don’t seem to be that into the game. They aren’t a lot of fun to talk to, either at the game or outside the arena. There’s just a certain…spirit missing. God bless them and their brand-spanking-new Vanek sweaters and their brood of perfectly coiffed youngsters, but they take the fun out of my games.
This also creates the other kind of fan I don’t like to see – the people who can only afford to go to one or two games a year (like me), but then they treat it like a Bills game. In the past four or five games when I’ve sat in the 300s, I’ve seen more drunken mayhem than I ever remember. M
Pardon my ramblings – I’d just been dying to vent about this.
I totally feel your pain, Katebits. I turned the game off at about the same point and just focused on the Canadiens game (who kindly returned the favor and won *sideways squinty eyes towards Sabres*) Unlike my cousin’s dance recital, I don’t have to sit through it even though it hurts my head.
Coincidentally, I received an email from Sabres.com saying I had a “message” of some sorts, but when I read it quickly I thought it said “massage.” I was like, “Good. Those bastards owe me a massage! Roy-Z better bring his damn smoothie maker and scented candles!”
voice in the wilderness, I LOVE your rambling venting! When I first read your comment I was in total agreement, but then I went to the game tonight and had a really fun time. I always sit up in the rafters with the riff raff, and tonight was a good mix of not-slobbering-drunk, engaged-in-the-game, good old fans. I was thinking tonight about what makes a good fan to sit next to. For me it’s someone who is willing and able to engage in a little banter, and some post-goal high fives, but not someone who spends the entire game trying to make small talk.
I also like your point about it being difficult to invest in this team emotionally because of all of the see-sawing. It’s totally true, but I’d never really thought of it like that.
mcguffers, :^::::::::::::::::::::::::: Derek Roy totally owes you a massage and a smoothie.
Oh and Schnookie, I really don’t think MacGyver is the guy for me, but I might have to sit down and watch all the Monks again. He’s good at making me feel functional and not stressed out.
Oooh, Monk got me through my previous separation from hockey, the year before last! Great choice! :D
And I give a hearty standing ovation to voice in the wilderness. That is a fantastic rant, and I really wish more NHL teams would recognize that’s how things are for most fans.