HockeyRhetoric

Buffalo, more than any other city I can think of except for maybe Cleveland, has an especially adept understanding of what doesn’t work in professional sports. We have a few memorable examples of teams to look back on that worked well, but not well enough to win a championship. Mostly, we watch teams that fail and fail miserably.

This has had a profound effect on how the majority of Buffalo sports fans evaluate Buffalo sports teams, particularly for the older generations. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to best articulate this for a bit and, well, here it goes. I think, as a collective, Buffalo is unusually vigilant for any competitive shortcomings — both on the playing surface and in the executive offices. I estimate that Buffalo recognizes the signs quicker than most sports localities. The slightest hint of dysfunction will cause us to express extreme measures of frustration. Even the teams that seem like they might be working well are met with a lot of skepticism. This is balanced, somewhat, with the high degree of approval that Buffalo tends to express upon identifying something or someone that seems like should work.

Terry Pegula inherited this audience of lunatics when he purchased the Sabres. To Buffalo sports fans, he represents something very unfamiliar in a professional sports owner. It’s almost as if Pegula has inverted Buffalo’s little sports world. Our perspective and preferences are represented at the decision-making level unlike ever before. The hands-off, bottom-line type of sports owner hasn’t won a championship here and up until Pegula we’ve never had any kind of alternative. I think we’re all pretty eager to see how successful a Buffalo sports franchise can be with a fan in charge.

* * *

One year ago from this upcoming Wednesday, Terry Pegula introduced himself to Buffalo. He spoke soft and slow — uncomfortable with all the attention. He smiled like a goofball in his black suit, a tiny Sabres logo pinned to his lapel. He took the time to introduce everyone in his family with a blend of pride and tenderness. He cried like a star-struck nine-year-old.

And just like that Buffalo was sold. It’s easy to understand why. The sensation that Terry Pegula and his message created on his day was positive by any measure. Everything about it was intoxicating. He convinced us all that the Sabres would have every opportunity to eventually, one day, win a championship.

All that positive energy and momentum brought enormous pressure for the Sabres to make progress on the ice. Expectations have grown but mostly that pressure comes from a crazed desire to see this work. We really want it to work. And it’s not working yet.

* * *

There is still a sense that he, Pegula, is one of the people. It feels like he’s one of us. This is a powerful position to be in as an owner of a sports franchise and one that he should make an effort to preserve.

Tom Golisano is charged as an owner who never related to the people and wouldn’t invest enough money on personnel to win it all. Ralph Wilson, I think most would agree, is viewed as an owner who can be flat-out condescending to the people and is a notoriously petty decision maker.

Pegula hasn’t been around long enough to prove himself as a shrewd sports owner. We know he’s capable of delegating. He’s financially committed to the product. He’s engaged in the day-to-day. But he hasn’t had to make any difficult choices that speak to his patience or vision.

* * *

In his effort to make it work, Pegula will inevitably encounter resistance in the form of low approval ratings. We can and will surely tell him he’s making or has made a mistake. This is our prerogative. It’s what fans do. We yell and scream and stomp and point fingers and then eventually something comes along that meets our approval and refreshes our outlook.

Pegula has been a lead character in the news cycle for one full year but now, should he decide to retain Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff beyond this season, he’ll be acting in opposition to the strategic preference of the majority for the first time.

We’ll soon begin to hear a lot of I-told-you-so refrains. We’ll hear about the complacency from past ownership and the new symmetries Pegula has drawn. We’ll hear about tolerating mediocrity. We’ll hear about an irrational degree of loyalty.

Most of that, depending on how things play out, will be accurate but only if the delivery is on point. I don’t like the imperative nature a lot of these arguments are made with but I get it. It was only a matter of time before Pegula began getting treated more like an owner and less like an extension of the fans

As soon as in the next few days even, I predict we’re going to hear and read a lot of people try to reassure the fans that Pegula is a capable owner who will improve through experience. But this is not the message we need to hear.

There is nothing wrong with Pegula becoming more like an owner. I think everyone is okay with that so long as he keeps from becoming any less of a fan.

Tim Thomas is at it again on the book of faces. Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo! Sports’ Puck Daddy blog is all over it.

Here’s Wyshynski briefly recapping:

Why was Tim Thomas’s snub of the White House news?

Was it because of his political differences with the current administration? His disdain for the direction of the country? His awkward capitalization on Facebook declarations of faith?

No. It was news because it may have embarrassed his employer, an NHL team, and affected his relationship with his teammates on the Boston Bruins. It was a hockey story.

» Read the rest of this entry «

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. » Read the rest of this entry «

Suppose Johns Hopkins were to release a study tomorrow claiming that blue-eyed motorists have a comparatively high rate of involvement in automobile accidents. Suppose it gets mainstream attention and gains traction on all the major social media platforms. Whether or not an individual agrees with the data is less consequential than their awareness of the finding and the authority it comes from. » Read the rest of this entry «

Last Monday, Crosby played his fist hockey game in about 10 months — two goals and two assists in 15:54 of ice-time for 87. Not that a single regular season game against the New York Islanders settles anything, but Crosby is the best player in the NHL. I think a lot of people, like for instance the completely insufferable Pierre McGuire, get a little too hyperbolic when talking about Crosby’s talent and greatness. I’m always impressed with Crosby and I appreciate what he can do with the puck but I don’t think the difference between he and some of the other elite forwards in the game is as great as many believe. Crosby is the best, but not by very much. » Read the rest of this entry «