(This is a guest post from someone who wrote into the site and asked for it to be posted. If you ever are into writing a rant that people can read, hit us up on Twitter.)
The Buffalo Bills are already 1-0 on the season. No they haven’t played a game yet but they still have a win in a matchup that most thought, 3 years ago, would have been a blowout the other way. They have passed the Buffalo Sabres as the “darlings” of Buffalo. This was supposed to be the year for us, the Sabres wowing players with fancy locker rooms and an owner that seemed like your crazy Uncle Ned, not caring what people think about him and throwing his money around not just to look good, but more importantly to win.
Well Terry Pegula has thrown his money around, and he does look like your crazy Uncle Ned. Unfortunately it’s the Uncle Ned that needs to be strapped down to a bed in a padded room. He’s thrown the money at all the wrong places. We don’t need to get into that in much detail here but let’s offer you a quick refresher in case you’ve been under a log for 3 years. The Sabres gave too much money too soon to Tyler Myers. They handed Ville Leino a contract that even Ville Leino thought was ridiculous. They raised ticket prices while lowering expectations, and yes Darcy Regier is still here. They’re suffering? No, we’re suffering.
This all brings me back to my point about the Buffalo Bills. The Bills have done exactly what people have wanted them to do for a better part of a decade. They got younger, everywhere. Starting at the top with Russ Brandon and Doug Whaley. They brought in a new hot shot young coach in Doug Marrone. They’re finally trying something different. Status quo has been thrown out the window at OBD, it hasn’t worked and never really felt like it should have worked. Fans are genuinely excited for Sunday vs New England. If the Bills don’t win you aren’t going to hear people say “same old Bills”, as long as they see flashes of what could be in the future.
The Sabres had us eating out of their hands the last few seasons, it was there for the taking and so far they’ve blown it. They’ve tried to be fun and failed; they tried to be tough and failed. They had a great draft 2 years ago with Grigorenko and Girgensons and we got a total of 1 goal out of them. Grigorenko had more shifts with John Scott than with Thomas Vanek. Are you sensing the problem here? The Sabres want too much control over everything they do. Do you think Pittsburgh ever said “We should really ease Sidney Crosby into the league and let him get comfortable”, No, they said have at it let’s see what you’ve got. Let the kids play. Give them power play time, penalty kill time and last minute of the game time. Find out if they have it and if the answer is no, you move on, because the league isn’t going to wait for you to catch up.
This summer while the Sabres were tweeting us pictures of a jersey that everybody hates, the Bills were….wait for it…….trying to sell us tickets but more importantly selling us hope for the future. They didn’t hide EJ Manuel, they started him week one of the preseason and all he did was lead us on a 92 yards touchdown drive in the final 2 minutes of the half. There is hope in Buffalo for the Bills. We are not loaded with aging stars; we have exciting young players like Manuel, Spiller, Goodwin, Woods, Alonso and Stevie Johnson.
If the Sabres were to start a marketing plan today, who would it be based around? The over 30 grumpy goalie and 29 year old sniper who both would take a change of scenery if presented with the opportunity. Maybe the 19 year old kid who scored once? How about the big canoe of a defensemen whose confidence is shattered to the point where they needed to bring back Henrik Tallinder. Then there’s the coach, with a chance to make a splash and at the very least interview some of the bigger names on the market, they interviewed none and rehired the same coach from last season who seemed to lack the fire this team needs. But don’t worry, he seems like a nice guy and we all know where nice guys finish.
All people in Buffalo want is a winner or at the very least a sense that their teams are relevant and in the national picture. ESPN seems to genuinely care about EJ Manuel; experts are all saying this kid has what it takes. Look, every team had to go through growing pains, most just don’t take 13 years (and counting). The odds say eventually a blind squirrel will find a nut. Well our squirrel got new glasses and a new nose and got dropped into a field with all the nuts he can handle. It’s there for the taking, Bills. Pick up the ball after the Sabres dropped it. When this town has a winner it’s a different place, a place you’ll want to see.
We want to love you, we wear our colors proudly when we are out of town, we deal with the heckling and the “poor guy” looks when we tell people where we’re from. People don’t understand unless you’re from here. You’re all we’ve got to be important again. Two hands on the ball, Bills, don’t drop it.
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