The Buffalo Sabres recently announced their season-ticket allotment for the 2026-27 season was completely sold out, a major accomplishment for the previously floundering organization.
It comes on the heels of Buffalo's first trip to the NHL Playoffs since 2011. It was a storybook campaign for the franchise, which saw fan-favorite head coach Lindy Ruff bring the team back to prominence during his second stint behind the bench.
Damon Amendolara of SiriusXM Radio described the continued support, and quick return, of Buffalo fans as the "ultimate sports story" on Wednesday.
"This is an extraordinary story of loyalty, of love, of what sports are supposed to be for all of us," Amendolara said. "The Buffalo Sabres were on a 14-year drought of not making the playoffs and, in most cities — almost all cities — if you were constantly rebuilding and constantly retooling and constantly drafting the next 'would be' savior or prodigy, and they all kept faltering, they all kept failing — even the guys you drafted went on to other places to win the Stanley Cup — while you still in the middle of a playoff drought most, if not all, cities would grow an apathy toward that team. That passion, that love, would dissipate. That would erode.
"In Buffalo, it took one season. One. The Sabres made the playoffs last year. They won one playoff series and went to Game 7 in the second round against the Montreal Canadiens. They lost. And that was enough to light a spark to where season tickets are sold out this season."
14 years of frustration, one playoff run, and now the Buffalo Sabres have sold out their season tickets. Buffalo fans are all in. pic.twitter.com/02qO1mgfXS
— Damon Amendolara (@DamonAmendo) September 2, 2026
That's no surprise to anyone in Western New York, of course.
We've stated countless times over the past year that Sabres fandom in the 716 was never dead, it was merely dormant. People were just waiting for any sign of life to warrant spending their hard-earned money on tickets at the KeyBank Center again.
As soon as the tide began to turn, which happened in mid-December as Buffalo began one of the best runs in NHL history, the arena started filling up on a regular basis once again.
The Sabres had averaged below 16,000 fans in each of the previous four seasons, and they ranked 31st in average capacity during the early stages of the 2025-26 campaign. By year's end, the club's average attendance was 17,853. It finished the regular season with 18 straight sellouts.
Sabres supporters are back in full force and, when you add in the open Super Bowl window for the NFL's Buffalo Bills, it's a great time to exist as a Buffalo sports fan.
Will Buffalo's major championship drought finally end in the near future?
The Sabres and Bills are at different points in their contention arcs. The hockey club is just starting to push toward the Stanley Cup conversation, and it'll probably take another year or two for the team's young players to reach a level where they're ready to make the necessary impact.
Meanwhile, the football team has been in win-now mode for years. Repeated failures in the postseason have raised concerns they're wasting the prime of MVP quarterback Josh Allen, but the organization is hopeful a coaching change from Sean McDermott to Joe Brady will make the difference.
Despite those potentially different timelines, this is still the first moment in decades both the Bills and Sabres are legitimately in the title conversation.
That's an exciting realization for the City of Good Neighbors, which remains without a major North American championship.
The Bills did win a pair of AFL titles (1964 and 1965) before the NFL merger. The NLL's Buffalo Bandits have also been one of lacrosse's most successful franchises, winning seven championships, including a recent three-peat (2023-25).
Yet, the Sabres or Bills being the last team standing is a different beast. A championship parade in downtown Buffalo would be a can't-miss event for Western New Yorkers.
Will it happen? Only time will tell. Having two teams seriously pushing toward the mountaintop makes the chances a lot higher than when one the organizations is mired in a long postseason drought, which was the case for most of the first quarter of the current century.
One thing's for sure: the passion of Buffalo sports fans is pound-for-pound right there with any city in the United States, and the television ratings always prove it.
Hopefully one day that incredible, never-ending dedication is rewarded at long last.
Add us as a preferred source on Google