Sometimes, in the most trying times, there are beacons of light that people look towards. Like during a tough tribal council, a Survivor tribe might look to their strongest link and where they’re leaning to vote…during a rain delay, the officials of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest might defer to Joey Chestnut’s decision making rather than their own.
The same can be said to a certain degree about Sabres Twitter. The community is never one to withhold from completely losing their brains, whether it’s lines from the morning skate or PTSD from watching Erik Johnson in the defensive zone. In a sport with so many variables and uncertainty it’s nice to have some data, some evidence to turn to in an effort to try and explain the sometimes inexplicable. That’s Chad DeDominicis and xBuffalo. You don’t have to subscribe or agree with them, but just like the proof is in the pudding there’s no questioning Chad, Anth and his team have provided some form of sanity when this Sabres team has done their best to put us all in strait jackets with padded walls.
That’s why this tweet/thread caught my attention:
A lot of what Chad says here is (no surprise) super accurate. This fanbase has entered a ‘lack of playoffs tailspin’ where any failure is met with a Kel Mitchell-like ‘aw, here it goes.’ (insert Kel clip) As a matter of fact I’m surprised William Fichtner didn’t catch more shrapnel or that Sabretooth hasn’t become the target of internet disdain given how this season’s gone.
So, the question has to be asked just like in any internet debacle…who is right? Well, it would seem like there’s cases for both.
Sabres Fans Are Overreacting: Sometimes getting out of a rut is more diffcult than staying out of one, and the Sabres are certainly experiencing a rut of historic proportions. 3 years ago, the Sabres Captain hated the organization, the goalie was half blind, and people were talking about Tage Thompson peaking as an AHL All-Star. There is no doubt the Sabres are on an upward trajectory from that. JJ Peterka is realizing his potential right before our eyes as a potential 30 goal scorer…Zach Benson was able to contribute at 18…the Sabres had their best goalie in a decade this season and he’s a homegrown talent! Everything supports that the Sabres are a young team whose future is bright and best days are ahead. While it might be frustrating to fall short again this year, in the big picture it’s just a stepping stone.
Sabres Fans Aren’t Overreacting: Depending on how you view the moves within the roster the past couple years, fans make the argument that KevYn’s complacency has cost them yet again. Lack of a steady backup tendy forced them to play UPL for 4 months straight, while lack of secondary scoring has forced fan strifes about whether Peyton Krebs (less than a goal every 10 agmes for his career) can be a contirbnuting member of this squad moving forward. Package that with the Samuelsson and Cozens deals looking sus af this season and you have all the evidence you need to charge KevYn with a 4th-degree gMisdemeanor.
So are Sabres fans right to be losing their minds at every misstep and shred of misfortune that occurs for this franchise? No. Are they wrong to be overreacting to any failure or lackluster performance when a potential playoff spot hangs barely in the balance? Also no.
That’s the thing about precedent, it paves the way for what one should do and how one should act. When you’re without precedent, aka the fans of the longest playoff drought in NHL history…what’s right and wrong quickly become blurred lines.