CURTIS HENRY
Sports Editor
It was the natural next step to nickname downtown Buffalo “Pegulaville” upon Terry and Kim Pegula’s purchase of the Buffalo Bills in 2014. Sports fans all over western New York were enthralled with the purchase, due largely in part to the Pegulas’ promise to keep the Bills in Buffalo.
As a result of the $1.4 billion cash purchase to take over full control of the Bills, the Pegulas now had ownership of three Buffalo franchises: the Bills, Sabres and the Bandits. The city was vehemently ready for change in management for the Bills and Sabres. After Cleveland’s first championship in nearly 150 cumulative professional sporting seasons courtesy of the Cavaliers last year, Buffalo is now the city with the second-highest thirst for a championship. Only San Diego’s drought with 111 completed seasons has gone longer than Buffalo’s 105 seasons without a title.
To find a championship in any of the four major American sports for Buffalo, you have to go all the way back to 1965, prior to the AFL/NFL merger. The Bills beat (ironically) the San Diego Chargers by a score of 23-0 to capture their second AFL title.
Since that season, now 52 years in the rearview, Buffalo sports have been incredibly underwhelming. There have been a handful of close calls: everyone points to the Bills reaching the Super Bowl four straight years from 1990 to 1993 as an incredible feat, and the Sabres lost in the finals in six games both in 1975 and 1999.
However, both teams have failed to get over the hump. Recent years haven’t just been ugly; they have been horrendous.
The Sabres’ playoff drought is now old enough to be a first grader. The Bills’ playoff drought is old enough to have a driver’s license in New York state. The Pegulas were supposed to be a breath of fresh air into the Buffalo sports culture but instead have only constructed dysfunctional teams that have perpetuated a culture of losing in the short time of their ownership.
The Pegulas took over the Sabres halfway through the 2010-2011 season. The last time that the Sabres qualified for the playoffs was in 2011. Since then, they’ve mounted underwhelming win totals of 39, 21, 21, 23, 35 and 33. Not a good look for the Pegulas.
A large part of this was by design. When the Pegulas inherited the Sabres, it was general knowledge that the team was stagnant and nowhere close to being a legitimate contender, despite a string of six seasons in which the team made the playoffs four times. A youth renaissance was necessary for a team with no real identity or future.
That movement was alleged to have begun in 2015 when the Sabres drafted Jack Eichel with the number two overall pick. Eichel has shown flashes of brilliance and finished 12th in the 2016-2017 season in points per game with an average of .93 points per contest. Still, the Sabres have yet to show significant progress with regard to being a contender. The roster surrounding Eichel is still less-than-stellar, and the defensive end of the ice is where the Sabres struggle. Goalie Robin Lehner was toward the bottom of the league with 2.68 goals allowed against per contest despite being top 10 among all goalies with a .920 save percentage.
The reason?
The Sabres ranked dead last with 34.3 shots against per game on the season. Until they amend their defensive units on each of their lines, Eichel and Lehner will fail when it comes to winning consistently.
With regard to the Bills, it has been a long 17 seasons for fans and writers alike. There comes a point when enough is enough with regard to losing.
“We’re sick of it. All of western New York,” explained Tim Graham, who covers the Bills for the Buffalo News. “The fans are sick of it. The writers are sick of it. We don’t enjoy writing about bad teams. We do it because it’s the job, but we are definitely all rooting for them to go out and perform.”
Sal Maiorana, who covers the Bills for the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, relayed a similar sentiment.
Maiorana has covered the Bills for 28 years between his time at the Democrat and Chronicle and his time at Buffalo State University, a span that included the 1990s Super Bowl teams.
“The job stays the same whether they’re winning or losing,” Maiorana explained. “But there’s definitely more enjoyment that comes along with covering a good team than a bad one.”
The Bills currently aren’t the dumpster fire that some franchises in the NFL are, but they seem to be mired in mediocrity. A 24-24 record over the last three seasons and zero playoff appearances in that span has fans in a frenzy. The roster now is more talented than at any previous point during the drought, which the lack of appearances in January all the more frustrating for followers of the team. Who does the dysfunction fall on?
I’m looking at you, Pegulas.
There have been murmurs and rumblings of ownership meeting individually with different departments of the team of the past two years. The owners met individually with Doug Whaley and former coach Rex Ryan throughout the 2016 season. This was public knowledge, but also raised some burning questions.
A common perception is that the Pegulas are currently too hands-on with their franchises. The industry of sports is a whole different beast to achieve success in for businesspeople. Not only are you trying to make money, you’re also trying to win. It’s not surprising that the two directly correlate with one another.
If the Pegulas want to make money in Buffalo sports they’re going to need to start winning on the ice and on the gridiron. That isn’t going to take place until ownership takes a back seat.
My call to action?
Kim and Terry, you need to sit back and allow everyone to do their job. This city not only needs a playoff berth, it needs a championship. That isn’t going to happen until you put the right people into place and allow them to do their jobs without being put on a leash.