To my Canadian friends, why do you hate Buffalo???

[TheIronHorse4]

Alright, so the title might be a little off but let me explain.

If any of you are reading TSN's "Why not Canada" series of articles grading 6 Canadien hockey markets and their viability to support a team. Today's city is Hamilton, ON. The only big downside given to Hamilton is their proximity to Toronto and Buffalo, which would make it extremely hard for Hamilton to ever have a team....

Anyways, reading the comments underneath, many of them were talking about boycotting the Sabres, that the Sabres are greedy, Buffalo should move to Hamilton, ect..

What i don't understand is why the animosity? I understand Canadians want more teams in Canada, and i think they should have more as well. But why would you jeopardize one the strongest American markets just to have another team? If it's for the good of the league, you NEED hockey to be successful in America, so why ruin one of the best American markets? I'd like to think that Canadians would respect the fact that Buffalo loves its team as much as the Canadian cities love their own.

I know it's not the same, it is Canada's sport, but I guess I was a little surprised to see how greedy many people were in willing to throw one city under the bus that actually loves their team (despite the constant whining of some of its fans for lack of free agent signings) just so they can have another. If the Buffalo Sabres were the Niagara Falls Sabres (Canadian side of course), I would guarantee you that Canadians would not be nearly as willing to move another team that close by.

Just my opinion, would love to hear what others think!

[capt55]

Did you know, most Sabre Fans sell there season tickets for any Leaf games in Buffalo and it pays for there season tickets for the year.
The Sabres and most of all Leafs don't want a team in Hamilton, maybe there afraid the new team will do better than there teams.

[TheIronHorse4]

I have Sabres season tickets, so I'm aware of the draw...and I won't do it because it doesn't sit well with me. That has more to do with supply and demand then whether or not Buffalo is successful. Toronto fans don't want to spend ACC prices when they can take a short drive and pick up great seats for far less than they would pay otherwise...Can't say I blame Sabres fans for doing it, I just won't personally.

[Walter Sobchak]

I would HATE to have to sell tickets to any games if I was a season ticket holder but....


If the only way I could afford to have season tickets was to sell a couple tickets I would do it in a heartbeat cause otherwise I wouldnt be able to see nearly that many games. The simple fact is that no matter who is in the seats for certain games, Sabres fans are the majority and we fill the seats every night even if we have to sell our leafs tickets to do it

[30ranfordfan]

I live in Cambridge... near Kitchener / Waterloo / Guelph. (I can be in Hamilton in about 35 minutes - and I would drive to Buffalo via Hamilton).

Personally, I've got nothing against Buffalo. I had Bills Season tickets for two years (the lack of price reduction when they moved one game to Toronto is when I canceled).

I don't think I'd want to live there (which isn't meant to be offensive - I'd HATE to live in Toronto) but I have nothing but good things to say about it, anytime I've visited (Hockey, Baseball, Football, Concerts, Chicken Wings).

Not me you need to convince though. In another thread, I made a few comments (though proximity to Buffalo was not one of them) as to why moving a team to Canada would be bad business for the NHL. Personally, I think it's a bad idea to move an existing team anywhere on this side of the border - but Hamilton would be among the worst locations of the ones that TSN has been mentioning.

[TheIronHorse4]

I live in Cambridge... near Kitchener / Waterloo / Guelph. (I can be in Hamilton in about 35 minutes - and I would drive to Buffalo via Hamilton).

Personally, I've got nothing against Buffalo. I had Bills Season tickets for two years (the lack of price reduction when they moved one game to Toronto is when I canceled).

I don't think I'd want to live there (which isn't meant to be offensive - I'd HATE to live in Toronto) but I have nothing but good things to say about it, anytime I've visited (Hockey, Baseball, Football, Concerts, Chicken Wings).

Not me you need to convince though. In another thread, I made a few comments (though proximity to Buffalo was not one of them) as to why moving a team to Canada would be bad business for the NHL. Personally, I think it's a bad idea to move an existing team anywhere on this side of the border - but Hamilton would be among the worst locations of the ones that TSN has been mentioning.

No offense taken, Buffalo is not everyone's cup of tea. Honestly I always wanted to live in NYC or a huge city, but my job and family are here and it really is a great place to live in the scheme of things.

[TheIronHorse4]

I would HATE to have to sell tickets to any games if I was a season ticket holder but....


If the only way I could afford to have season tickets was to sell a couple tickets I would do it in a heartbeat cause otherwise I wouldnt be able to see nearly that many games. The simple fact is that no matter who is in the seats for certain games, Sabres fans are the majority and we fill the seats every night even if we have to sell our leafs tickets to do it

I sell about 20 games a year to friends and family because I simply don't have time to go to 41 games a year, plus it does help to make it more affordable (even though it already is if i were to go to every game.)

[Wickabee]

This has been a point of contention for years. Personally I think Hamilton would be a great market if Toronto and/or buffalo weren't in the leage. But they are which means it would be a terrible spot for a team.
As for moving Buffalo to Hamilton, why not move Vancouver to Seattle? It would be a dumb move as hockey is strong in Buffalo and the last thing Canadians need in this sport is even more "Ontario-centric" coverage on TV.
I'm a Canadian who loves that there is hockey in the "sun-belt" cities. I figure if the people there like the sport who cares what the temperature is outside. There are a couple of teams I wouldn't be sad to see move, though, and I really wouldn't be sad to see one end up back in Winnipeg or Quebec City (I've also wondered if Regina or Saskamatoon could support a team) but I'd also like to see a team in, say, Portland or Seattle, even KC if the fan base is there.
In the end I have no idea why so many Canadians have such a problem with hockey south of the border. Anything that brings more fans into the game I love is a good thing no matter where they live.
my 2c

[capt55]

When I was younger, we made many weekend trips for cheap shopping, cheap booze and cheap wings, it was great, I have to say the best wings are made in Buffalo.

[steen101984]

I have no problems with buffalo either. I live in London and i have been to HSBC a handful of times and its a great arena. My dads suppliers take us for dinner/drinks and a game in buffalo every year and its always been fun. I would personally rather see

-phoenix
-tampa
-atlanta

etc be brought back up north. By that i dont mean canada though. Hockey doesnt survive well in the southern states. Id rather see seattle, winnipeg, hamilton, kansas city, quebec have teams instead of the previously mentioned teams. I believe that having the same amount of teams in florida as in ontario is completely ridiculous.