There's no questioning the loyalty of Buffalo sports fans, but lately it's becoming increasingly difficult to be a sports fan here in Buffalo. The Bills are off to their worst start in recent history at 0 and 5 (that recent history isn't that great either) and the Sabres are not doing much better at 1 - 4 and 1. The sports history in Buffalo is rich with triumph and notorious for defeat. Many Buffalo sports fans hang their hard hats on the sports franchises here. Western New Yorkers are passionate and hard working people who expect their teams to reflect that mentality. So far, WNY sports fans have not had much to cheer about or hang their hats on.
I don't think many Bills fans went into this season thinking playoffs, but I'm sure many were hoping to see signs of success to come. Not only are the Bills going to miss the playoffs by a mile, but they may force fans to endure the worst season in Bills franchise history. The Sabres are a bit of a different story with respect to expectations. This is a team that has the talent to make a nice run in the playoffs, but has not been able to pull out another win since it opened the season with a victory at Ottawa. However, there's still time for the Sabres to turn things around at this early stage in the season. So which team is off to a more disappointing start? Admittedly, this most likely seems like a simple and straight forward question, but there are a few aspects of the question to consider. Yes, the Bills are bad, really bad, but the Sabres have fallen disappointingly short of pre-season expectations. I think most fans here expected the Bills to have a rough year. That certainly doesn't excuse an 0 and 5 start by the Bills, but the rough start by the Sabres (who fans have higher expectation for) has been very lackluster thus far.
It stinks to be winless... but I'm more shocked to see the Sabres at 1-4-1. Since I'm not a Bills fan... and I'm a huge fan of Ryan Miller... I'd have to say I'm more disappointed in the Sabres. Hopefully things turn around for you and your sports teams.
ReplyDeleteOh... and one more thing... those are some sweet Ryan Miller autographs... especially the Lee Evans/Ryan Miller dual.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the Sabres are more disappointing. As a fan of both teams (and former resident), I didn't expect the Bills to do anything. I expected a 1985-type season (2 wins). I guess we'll be lucky if they get two.
ReplyDelete- Fuji, I am disappointed in the Sabres start, but I do think things will turn around and they will start playing better.
ReplyDeleteI just got that Miller/Evans card. I'm pretty excited about it and wanted to work it into a post.
- Night Owl, where and how long did you live in the WNY area? I'm with you on your comments. I was hoping for 4-5 wins, but without getting a win by the buy week is going to make that very difficult. I looked at the schedule and there aren't really any wins out there. I guess we'll be relying on the "Any Given Sunday Effect" for 1 or 2.
I went to college in Buffalo and lived there between 1985-1990. I've had family living in Buffalo all my life (my mother is from there, my grandparents lived there. Currently my brother and his family live there, and I have an uncle there, too). Also my wife is from the area.
ReplyDelete