I get that, but I am honestly at that point.
This team and franchise were so important to me. I probably watched about 98% of all action from about 1987 to around 2013. When I was in college ('96-97), we didnt have empire for a year and my mom would mail me VHS recordings of the games and I would watch them after the fact. When we did get Empire, we would have giant house parties with beautiful women everywhere and I would be sequestered in a room until 10 or so glued to some Sabres game.
I took great pride in this franchise and always defended it as if it was a truly unique and great franchise. From the uniforms to the aud to the Knox family to Hasek to RJ. We always had the 3rd best winning/points percentage in NHL history I would tell my friends who supported other teams.
The Sabres were ingrained in my personal identity. I am sure people had referred to me as 'that Sabres guy'. People knew that I was who they should chat with about the Sabres or hockey.
But at the hands of this owner it has been completely ruined. I take no pride in this organization, and I think it is the most poorly run pro sports franchise who isn't purposely tanking to get a ballpark built in Las Vegas. As a fan, I have felt positioned as an adversary of ownership, management, and sometimes players since the moment Lucic laid out Miller with no response. Going to games is depressing and frustrating. It is not like going to watch the Buffalo Sabres. It is like visiting a once favorite relative in hospice care in a nursing home. Watching games has become a waste of time because this team never has games of any consequence. They are a dull team with dull weak players with dull coaches and bad management. I do not believe that ownership generally cares about winning as much as protecting his/their ability to be intimately involved. Ownership killed the clock on the last 10 years of RJ's career and robbed the world of a decade more of calls.
Kevyn Adams is not a serious NHL franchise's general manager. Don Granato is not an NHL coach hired in good faith. Neither would land their positions with other NHL teams. The lack of decent and experienced people in management positions in the front office is heinous.
If my kid were 18 and we knew he was getting drafted in the NHL, I would actually be distraught if Buffalo selected him. My kids now are 12 and 9, live locally, are hockey nuts, and have zero interest in the Sabres. That is a pretty bad sign for the franchise.
I would rather them not move. However, this existence is just as bad, if not worse. What highlights or fun over the last 13 years do we even have? How many games is that? More than 1000? I once thought during the bankruptcy times that the Sabres moving would be unthinkably horrible. Now, I don't really care all that much. It costs like $200-$300 to take my family to a game... to watch what? And players actually thought of a way to protest.... me?
But Jeff Skinner has a funny embarrassing goal song that they pierce my eardrums with when he scores.
So why do I post? I don't know. I didnt for years. I do feel like we could be nearing another inflection point with ownership needing to make changes. Hoping beyond hope he makes changes and does the right thing this time. A lot of it is habitual too. I have been posting on Sabres message boards since the really early days of this stuff, around 2000? I am like a ghost stuck in some activity loop.
Terry Pegula has effectively killed something that I loved. I feel like he needs to be called out on that. Unfortunately, the Buffalo News has been neutered, and so many people are largely indifferent to the Sabres at this point there is little push-back. We cannot boo to show our displeasure either apparently.
Just being honest with meandering thoughts here. Not saying I am 100% right and this is the only way people should think. But that is authentically how I feel. This owner in my eyes is delusional at his abilities to sit in as an NHL executive and he is highly selfish.
