- The opportunity is there for the F’N Center to be loud this season.
Amid the whirlwind offseason at One Seymour H Knox III Plaza, a great deal of changes were made to the cosmetics within the First Niagara Center. There are plenty of new features that greet the fans when they enter the building for the home opener. (Note, this was lost in the original post, my apologies).
Personally, I’m interested to see what changes, if any, have been made to the game presentation for the regular season. With a new attitude surrounding the team, I am wondering if the game presentaion will reflect a more aggressive attitude as well. Some have stronger opinions on this than others, but I feel that the overall atmosphere in the First Niagara Center has been somewhat dull in recent years.
The fans are due just as much guilt – or perhaps more – as the arena staff. Ted Black said it right when he described the job as one where nearly 51% of the people watching will be unhappy with what you’re doing. There is no right answer for the Sabres game presentation staff, which is an unfortunate situation to be in. Even if they come and absolutely kill it this season, a major portion of the fans won’t be happy. It isn’t a fair position and I wish them all the luck in the world getting things right.
However, the one thing I hope has changed is the overall attitude of the show the fans witness. The game is paramount to anything else going on around it. Therefore the on-ice product is the main factor in stimulating the fans. Based on the changes to the roster, the Sabres should have little trouble playing entertaining hockey games.
For much of last season the Sabres were pretty lousy, that didn’t help one bit. What made matters worse was the relatively stale atmosphere within the arena. I feel the biggest contributor to that was every stoppage in play was filled with deflating ads and videos. Rather than having the opportunity to create a hostile atmosphere, nearly every second of time outside of the game is being sold.
If there are less Aspen Dental commercials – and more compilations of goals, saves or Pat Kaleta steamrolling people set to hard, edgy music – the fans will be riled up and they will create a little more noise. For the record, more noise = better gameday experience.
Again, the onus is also on the fans. The people in the stands are equally responsible for getting up and making the atmosphere more hostile. If they’re sitting on their hands nothing much is going to happen. The game presentation staff is responsible for having exciting content and the fans have to react to the content. There is also the factor of the on-ice product. If all three work in unison the F’N Center will be loud.
I do have a beef with the goal song. Reason being is that far too much is going on after Buffalo scores. The puck goes in, the horn blows, the goal song starts – is interrupted by the RJ call – and then the song continues. It needs to be one or the other. Pick the RJ call or the goal song.
My vote is goal song. If “Swords of 1000 Men” really catches on Buffalo would have their very own fan-chant goal song. Or another song of the same vein. I don’t mind “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire, but I’d prefer a song with some balls. A few years ago the Wild collaborated to create a fan-chant song, now a ton of teams use it. The Blackhawks have “Chelsea Dagger” and the Sabres can have their own too. They just need to be patient and let it take hold. Once it does the post-goal celebration will be that much better. This is another factor this is heavily dependent on the curmudgeons taking part in the fun.
My final wish for the 2011-12 season is that the Sabres adopt a fan salute. Each year they have clinched a playoff berth they have stood at center ice and saluted the fans. In Germany they took part in a pretty cool salute that saw the team skate towards one end of the rink and raise their hands as the crowd shouted. Thomas Vanek said he would like to see them bring that back to Buffalo and I am right on board. Why not bring back a cool salute to the fans?
As the Sabres went on a late-season run things in the arena changed last season. There was a raucous atmosphere for the playoffs and it was clear things were changing late last season. I fully expect that trend to continue this season. I also hope that some new features are added to the mix. Considering the were probably hundreds of suggestions put into the Sabres Suggestion Box and the new regime’s dedication to the fans, I am certain there will be some new features to the game day experience. I just hope that the changes are for the better and contribute to every game being loud and hostile.
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