I’ve been paying close attention to how Ted Black, specifically, has managed the perception of the Sabres since they began descending in the standings. My respect for him has never been higher. I’m convinced everything Ted Black does that trickles down to the public — from glad-handing or drinking beer in front of a camera, to watching a game from the 300 level, to everything he says in front of a microphone — is calculated.
I remember how exaggerated the praise directed at Ted Black felt last spring. I’ve always liked Black but I decided at the time that T. Pegula was the one and only star — the reason to hope the Sabres would reach greatness. Black, meanwhile, with his Gordon Gekko hairstyle, was filed away in my mind as the deputy director of day-to-day operations, first, and a financial consultant for Pegula, second; a behind-the-scenes type, I presumed. My attitude has changed.
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Sport at the professional level is obviously a very fluid and high profile industry. It’s difficult to overvalue an executive’s ability to effectively communicate and interact with the consumer. Traditional advertising as a means of promotion has become antiquated — replaced with sophisticated efforts in public relations. How better to reach the public in a likable manner than with words that convey humanity?
What happens when someone involved at the highest level of sports remains silent for an extended period of time? Reputations are ultimately shaped by results but silence enables outsiders to shape the public’s perception. Today, perception is best managed through availability — questions and answers. When questions linger and go unanswered, it poisons how people react to future answers.
Admittedly, I never fully understood the value in accessibility until somewhat recently. I’m not someone that spends a lot of time and energy consuming and contextualizing quotes from sports figures. Ted Black has simply been unavoidable. He’s everywhere. I began paying closer attention after I realized his words reveal certain qualities of the Buffalo sports audience.
The Sabres, if you haven’t noticed, are in a bit of a tailspin. From December 17, here is some of what Ted Black told the Buffalo News’ Bucky Gleason.
“Be patient. I know it’s one of the most cruel things I could possibly say to [people who] have been asked to be patient for 41 long winters. Included in that fan base is Terry Pegula. He’s been patient for decades as well as a fan. We’re going to continue to move forward. We are on the right trajectory, and we’re not done yet.
The fans here are great. You can get inside of a bubble and just listen to call-in shows, tweets and chats. When I talk one-on-one to fans, 99.9999 percent, our fans have been fantastic. I should say 100 percent because I haven’t had a negative experience with a fan.”
More Ted Black, this from December 20 via Pierre LeBrun of ESPN:
“And I also recognize the inherent cruelty of asking fans who have been through 40 winters of disappointment to have patience or to ask them to have a sense of hope and promise. Never in the history of the Sabres has there been a time when the ownership put more resources in the pursuit of building a championship franchise. We’re almost 10 months into this; we’re not going to panic. We’re going to do everything we can to improve the team whenever we can improve it.
I get it. I know these fans are so frustrated. I live in the city, I live in the community; I know how badly they want a championship team. We’re going to do everything we can to deliver it. When I say be patient, I’m not asking for blind faith or blind belief or blind trust; because Buffalo fans are smarter than accepting those empty promises. We’re asking them to stick with us. We’re right on the trajectory. Maybe it doesn’t feel like it. Maybe it doesn’t feel like it today, but we are going to continue the vigorous pursuit to bring the Cup to Buffalo.”
Perfect, right? This is why Ted Black is around. He clearly knows Buffalo extremely well already. How long has he been here? He checks every box. It’s like he read this in a textbook. Maybe he’s writing a textbook — How to Manage a Multi-Generation Fanbase in a Rustbelt City That’s Without a Major Sports Championship For Dummies.
Follow his progression. The fans want answers for the disappointing start to the season. Black gives us a dose of reason. Be patient. The fans ask why. Black responds with empathy. I recognize that you’ve waited a long time for a championship. The fans say do better. Black reminds us they can’t possibly be any more committed, and then tells us what he knows. This is not a trick. We’re committed. You’re knowledgeable and I’m trying to learn from you by engaging you in your environment.
Would anyone like to object with any part of Ted Black’s pre-holiday message? Even if there were a lose string to pull, he buries it under a thick layer of compliments directed towards Buffalo’s hockey fans. He just continues to pad that good-will.
The impact is that instead of frustration growing into apathy, it grows into boredom. The difference is subtle but important. Apathy represents a regression of attention. To be bored in the present indicates repetition, which is inherently unmemorable. See how this works? It’s the best case scenario when the team is in a downturn.
I’m sure there are people who are beginning to identify similarities between the Pegula owned Sabres and the stereotypical professional sports team in Buffalo. Someone will eventually conclude that sports teams in Buffalo cannot win big. That argument is coming. Maybe some of this cynicism spills over onto proclamations regarding the fans.
It’s important for the Pegula era of the Sabres to differentiate itself from other ownership groups in Buffalo sports history. Ultimately the favorability of the Pegula era will be based on the talent, the product. Black can be, and is acting as, the buffer between the product and the public’s perception of the product. He’s the force that must slow the assimilation of Pegula’s Sabres with the years of disappointment. A major part of that is in his interaction with media. He’s done a masterful job so far, but everything he says is all predicated on a belief that the product on the ice will rebound. Will it?
The Sabres are boring. Fine, I imagine Ted Black might admit in private, better to be boring and forgettable than to be unwatchable.
Has this what it’s come to?