...by not selling out the most important game of the year.

Cue the normal 'We have better things to do', or 'Fans come when it's important' excuses. If they couldn't sell THAT game out, they don't deserve shit. No excuse for that.

Normally I wouldn't feel good kicking something when it's down, but this specimen has no central nervous system.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

After all the bullshit I've read from those people down there lately, I could care less about shitting on the corpse.

I give all the love in the world to those folks that love the game and the team, but hearing about how great the area is for hockey is just plain bullshit. I cannot fathom how this game didn't sell out.

I've already had the chance to mention the embarrassing attendance at tonights game to a couple 'caniancs'...they did not seem to appreciate it.

Caniacs...lame
Sens Nation...lame
Any team attaching a name to their fanbase = lame*

*excluding "Les Habitants", you can't take that away.

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Hold my beer and watch this...

That's a shame, and too think that if the league wasn't spread so thin Staal might be a Sabres right now...

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"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger

This makes me laugh. I understand why the fans get pissed when teams like the Sabres roll in because they see more blue and gold then red but I'm sure the Mgt loves it. That is one of the only times they have a sellout crowd.

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So pathetic that they couldn't sell out that game. Send that Cup back to Hartford

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"...they came down into the stands and asked if I knew how to do play by play. I said...No. But. I'll take a shot at it if you want".- Rick Jeanneret

They bitch about the rude behavior of other teams' fans, but it's clear that the combination of mixed transplants and complete newbies just doesn't have the passion for their team, and more importantly the game. Part of the reason they get so offended by other fans is because they just don't get it, because they don't have the same passion. To not sell out their biggest game of the season is some serious fail...(a)pathetic.

This is a very good observation which not a lot of attention is payed to. These people dont have a tradition of having hockey rivalries, they dont really 'get' the mixture of scorn and respect, shit talking without it being a life and death situation. If I see a canes fan out in the world, and we're talking hockey, the 06 series AAAALLLWWWAAAAYYYYYSSSS comes up, as if i'm supposed to apologize for the crimes against humanity some sabres fans committed 5 years ago. I'm not sure how many grandmothers were gangraped in the parking lot during that series, but i'm surprised the collective psyche of north carolina was ever able to recover!

http://3rdmanin.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/mutual-disrespect-why-carolina-fans-hate-buffalo/

Read this. Doesn't have much to do with the lack of sellouts but it does put the Canes v Sabres fanbase battle into an interesting light.

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mechaphil

Aren't there other team's fans invade their arena at all?

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"...they came down into the stands and asked if I knew how to do play by play. I said...No. But. I'll take a shot at it if you want".- Rick Jeanneret

Yes, they hate Pens fans also, but there's no big playoff history to go with it.

Side note - The Canes contributed very much to the anger level during games by constantly showing corny/dumb jokes and low blow shots at not just the Sabres, but the city AND Buffalonians in general. I can't possibly be able to recount all the retarded crap they would show on the board in order to insult everything about Buffalo. This past game though, they only showed the Jim Kelly "Let's go (Miami) Hurricanes" video (it's not worn out yet), and some snippet about the Sabres being the only team Carolina hasn't made a trade with. It helped to keep the rhetoric down, and it was about time.

It's about time. I'm all for good natured trash talk, but taking shots at where another team is from? That's just dumb.

OK, I'll bite. My gripe is they act like we're all drunk and ignorant. While most of us are drunk, it gives us an excuse for our ignorance. Their ignorance follows them around like stink on a pig 24/7. Have fun golfing Caniacs, it's probably already mid-season for leagues there. Be 95 in the shade before too long. Enjoy!

Good thing they can't come on here, cuz they dont now how to yuse the enturnet!

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

I always wondered why Jim Kelly would say Lets go Canes, but now it makes perfect sense, I forgot he went to school there, plus my lack of anything to do with college ball or anything.

The problem is, Sabres fans don't let it go either. If you really look at it, who gives a fuck, we have no history besides one playoff series with them. Had injuries not happened, none of this shit would be continuing. There are plenty of Buffalo fans that are perfectly nice and a few that get drunk and obnoxious. And there are a plenty of Canes fans who actually know the game, and follow it religiously and don't care about Buffalo Fans and a few douche bags who really don't know what they are talking about.

It's those few on each side that gives bad names to each team and no one seems or can look past them and have good conversations with fans who do follow the game civilly.

I get the whole attendance thing, but my god, it gets old real quick. Think about it for once, a Southern Market, only has had a team for 10 years in it's current home, roughly been selling 88% or so of it's seats, how is that a failure? If you don't like the game in Southern Markets grow up. Just because it doesn't snow in NC doesn't mean we can't play hockey or have loving fans of other teams and the Sabres here. You all saw the game on Sunday, and saw how many Buffalo fans were there.

I love having a hockey team 30 minutes from my house, I can watch games of teams from around the league and go see my favorite team twice a year too. I have opportunities to get professional gear from their team sales. And I get to play hockey since most of the ice rinks that were built here have been built in the past ten years and have a huge local area hockey league.

There are a lot of people in the area that love hockey, and since most are transplants, they stick with their original team. As my family has done, well me and my dad. Hell my best friend is a Flyers fan and he's live in NC longer than I have. And I know a few of my close friends who are Hurricanes fans too.

This isn't Canada or the more upper North, but the reason the team is here is because Hartford couldn't support the team, don't blame anyone but the people in Hartford who couldn't keep their team financially a float and stop blaming the City of Raleigh.

*Ready for the being pegged a Canes fan now* And if you didn't know, I'm defending the area for having the team, not the actions of a few select fans.

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Wait just a damn minute. Blame the people of Hartford for not financially supporting the team? How about a little history lesson son.

Hartford did EVERYTHING that Karmanos asked of then, even when he made it harder for them to meet the season ticket goal by eliminating the mini-pack option. They banded together and met his number.

Karmanos wanted a new arena. He wanted public money. They agreed to build him his building so the team could be financially competitive. They agreed to have a lot of public dollars set aside to pay for it. What did he do? Last second, he demanded that in addition to all the public money being given to him to build his building, that the public COVER HIS LOSSES until the new building was open.

Hartford was ready, willing, and able to be a partner in making the Whalers a successful franchise, but Karmanos did everything in his power to fuck it up. He never had any intentions of keeping that team there. He bought it to move it, area support be dammed.

How dare you shit on Hartford like that. They did EVERYTHING HE WANTED except subsidize his business.

Now, past that point, selling 88% of your seats isn't the point. I'm talking about putting butts in the seats for IMPORTANT GAMES. This game was the most important game that they had played in 3 seasons. Win and you're in.

AND PEOPLE STILL DIDN'T CARE.

I respect the fans that care. I respect the fans that go. Those folks are great. I like that they're trying to expand the game down there. However, after 13 years and a Stanley Cup championship, NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE CARE. If fans aren't attending really important games, then when are they attending?

There may be a good chunk of people down there that care about the team, and are really into it. But there's clearly not enough to make that a viable franchise. They're not selling seats when they win, they're not selling seats when they lose. Eventually Karmanos is going to run out of partners to help distrubite the financial losses. Then what happens?

and karmonos moved the team a year ahead of the lease expiring, eating the fine. hartford did EVERYTHING. they jumped through every hoop he put them through, and he still bitched out.

karmonos is a dickbag and carolina shouldnt have a team. period. hell, carolina wasnt even his first option when relocating the whalers team. (how many times have i brought this up?)

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Still worse off teams in the NHL than the Hurricanes.

You would need to move those teams before you'd worry about a market that's isn't exactly failing.

I would willing to put money if the Canes make the playoffs again, especially since they are one of the youngest teams out there, and having a payroll of barely over the cap floor, they will draw more people in. Making the playoffs once since a cup run is detrimental to teams. Making the playoffs only helps draw in new fans of area and gets the juices flowing again from the other fans.

It still gets old. You take a team and put them in an area where no one knew about hockey, and then you look at the kids who are currently 10-15 range who are playing hockey now because of the team being here, and you get the fanbase to grow, and that is what is happening. All these kids are growing up playing hockey now.

You simply don't bring a NHL team somewhere where hockey was an unknown and expect instant success.

So keep bitching, the lease agreement runs through 2024 fro the Canes and the RBC Center. Highly doubtful the team is moving anytime soon. Plus I'd have to kill someone if they took away a pro-hockey team in the area I live in, I'm not driving 6 hours out of my way to watch hockey.

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