Buffalo Sabres Fans: An Open Letter To All The Fans, By A Fan

The Buffalo Sabres have been going through one of the worst points in their history this season, and the fans are getting fed up. This is a letter from a devoted Sabres fan towards the rest of the fanbase.

I will never forget the first Buffalo Sabres game I watched on TV when I was a kid. It was late April and the Sabres were playing the Philadelphia Flyers. I had no real clue what was going on, but my dad was watching the game and getting animated over every little play. I thought to myself that I wanted to love a team that much. I wanted to be involved an get excited over a sport that looked fun to play and watch.

The game progressed forwards into overtime and I was watching casually, asking questions about different parts of the game, and without warning I saw this happen:

This hit was my introduction to hockey, and the Buffalo Sabres. I was invigorated and in love with this sport as soon as I saw this happen. This team became something that I wanted to be a part of. This team became something that I needed to have in my life. I promised myself, that good or bad, I would stand by this team every step of the way.

To this point, I find myself still keeping that promise. I do not, and will not hesitate to criticize this team for poor performances, but I will not lose the love that I have acquired for this team. They are in my blood as a part of me, and I will not let losing games change that.

This season, Buffalo Sabres fans have been met with the worst showing of hockey since the tanking years of 2013-2016, and we are all disappointed and upset with the product we see on the ice each night. It just doesn’t seem to make sense; with all the talent on the team, why aren’t they winning more games? Why isn’t the team gelling like they were supposed to?

I see it all the time on social media; all the posts by Buffalo Sabres fans venting their frustration.

“Trade Sam Reinhart.”

“Robin Lehner Sucks!”

“Jack Eichel is lazy! Trade him too!”

“Fire Phil Housley!”

“Botterill has no idea what he is doing!”

The list goes on and on for what Sabres fans are saying these days to vent their frustrations. The confusion and pain of watching this team lose night in and night out is understood and I share your pain with you fellow Sabres fans. I am no more happy than you to watch this team I love lose so much.

But here’s where I want to say something important. I want to be open and honest to all of you fellow Sabres fans. I really want anyone reading this to head these words and take them to heart. Take them to heart with the fact that I too am as unhappy about losing as you. I simply am offering a different look; a different mindset to have in these trying times.

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Trading the entire team is not the solution. Yes there are some players that are not performing up to standard, or their supposed potential right now, but trading them away will not solve the issue. Are there some trades that could be made? Absolutely. But trading the entire team will not solve the issue. On top of that, some of the trade ideas that are blurted out by Sabres fans on social media are just knee jerk overreactions, and just plain ridiculous at times. I’ve seen people proposing the Sabres trade Sam Reinhart for Matt Duchene, Cam Fowler, Jeff Skinner, and many other players that are just not realistic.

I’ve seen people proposing the Sabres trade Jack Eichel. The same people that were excited about his 8 year contract extension at the start of the season, are calling for his head because he “is not producing”. Jack Eichel has 7 goals and 13 assists in 27 games. While that seems a little low for production, he is still on pace for a 60+ point campaign.

Now I understand why Sabres fans are upset about his production. We are all still sour over the fact that the NHL’s draft lottery stole the best player since Sidney Crosby away from the Buffalo Sabres after two straight years of suffering. We are all hopped up on the idea of Connor McDavid being the next superstar of the Buffalo Sabres. That kid that had been hyped up since he entered major junior hockey at 15 years old was going to be a part of our franchise, but the lottery gave us the second pick for the second year in a row.

Here’s more brutal honesty for my fellow Sabres fans. Jack Eichel is NOT Connor McDavid. He is a completely different player, with a different skill set that he brings to the ice. He is still a generational talent with high end skills, but he not Connor McDavid, so the moment Sabres fans stop comparing him to McDavid, the better they will feel about the great player we did get in lieu of being denied the 1st overall pick.

Losing for fans is difficult for sure, but losing for these players is just as hard, if not harder. To us, hockey is our entertainment and our escape from our daily lives. To these players, hockey IS their daily lives. They play this game we love as their job, and to be losing and not doing your job has to feel devastating. We the fans booing their every play, suggesting they all suck, wanting to fire every single person involved is not helping them succeed one bit. I am not saying we need to start cheering when they lose, that would be ridiculous, but showing more support in the face of adversity will go a longer way than calling for every players’ head when they mess up.

Buffalo Sabres fans are an impassioned group of people, with many being dedicated fans since the team’s inception in the 1970s. Losing is not something that goes over well here, but turning on this team; turning our backs on them when they are looking for some support will only make things worse.

I remember the tank years clearly. I knew as a fan that the team was going to be terrible, and that losing a lot of games was an inevitability. So instead of turning my back on the team or hating the players for not winning, I found something to be positive about. I latched myself onto something strange and ridiculous in order to keep myself positive and involved in each Sabres game.

Back in those times, I became obsessed with Sabres forward Brian Flynn. A lot of people will read that and say, “Who is Brian Flynn?”. Thats exactly why I chose him. Nobody knew or cared about this seemingly no name player that the Sabres signed out of college, so I became his biggest fan. I preached at Sabres games about how amazing he was, how he was basically a savior to the team, I bought a Brian Flynn jersey (if you’ve ever been to a Sabres game and seen a #65 Flynn jersey, that was probably me), and I made a big deal about anything involving him. In truth, he was an average at best player that I idolized to keep things fun.

I’ll never forget during those years when I went to games at Key Bank Center (then First Niagara Center) and I would be talking about Flynn as if he were a god. Fans around me sometimes thought I was crazy, others joined in on my optimism about this no name player and had a blast rooting for him alongside me.

At one game, I started talking about Flynn, and a few fans next to me got in on the fun. By the second period, I had my row and the rows in front and behind me in on it. By the start of the third period, nearly the whole section I was in was laughing and having a great time as they saw me cheer for Brian Flynn. Fate would have it that Flynn would score the game winner for Buffalo that game, and the entire section I was in exploded with cheers and laughter. I was getting high fives left and right over something so silly. It was the experience that I helped make through something so ridiculous made those years bearable.

My point behind that story is simple. Sabres fans need to stop dwelling on the negative of every game, and find something positive to cheer for. Let it be something simple. Let it be something trivial, it does not matter in the slightest.

This team is better than the product we are being shown this season, but they need a little positivity and support. If the fans continue to call for every player’s head on a stake they will not want to play here, and we won’t have any winning team any time soon.

This is my open letter to my fellow Buffalo Sabres fans. Cheer for your team and stand by them through this tough time. I know we all expected a winner this year, but the reality is different. Find something positive to grasp onto and make this season fun again. The wins will come when this team pulls themselves together.

If we as fans come together and show unity and support for this team we all know and love, the product we see on the ice will improve.

Next: Jordan Nolan Is Not The Enforcer

The Buffalo Sabres have enough talent to make something special happen this season, but we need to have more support and faith in them for that to happen. Negativity gets us nowhere but the losing column, and showing the players that we trust and support them will give us an improvement by season’s end.

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