GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. — #WeareallDuane. That's the hashtag trending on Twitter. 7 Eyewitness News sat down with Duane Steinel. He's the man you heard on WGR 550 ranting about the Buffalo Sabres.
"I'm not going to sit here and yell and scream because I think I've done enough of that already," Steinel said.
The @BuffaloSabres are losing to the @DetroitRedWings by two... This is how @DuaneS39 feels about it. Your thoughts? @Matt_Bove pic.twitter.com/SFAcMDubOT
— Olivia Proia (@OliviaProia) February 7, 2020
He's had enough with the issues surrounding the Sabres. One of the problems, he said, is the throwback jersey.
"They missed the deadline for them to wear this jersey. I'm sorry, that's sad. That's just so sad. The one thing we've been asking for since that night was announced was this jersey. Like how do you mess that up?" Steinel said.
But he says there's more issues than that. There's the infamous misspellings too.
"It's a joke! I mean it's a joke!" said Steinel.
Fans have pointed out it gets worse, like bird droppings on season ticket holder's seats or a front row seat repaired with a 2 by 4.
Not only do @BuffaloSabres season ticket holders have to put up with another mediocre team, but bird poop on the seats. It speaks to the decline of the franchise and arena under @PegulaSE. Fortunately, an attentive usher called a crew to clean a number of seats. @ByMHarrington pic.twitter.com/8xQCP1wMFi
— Rick Jensen (@rickjensen1952) January 3, 2020
"We all pay our hard earned money for tickets. For what? What have we been given?" Steinel said.
He said he still loves the Pegulas, but they need to do something about this.
"When you screw up at your job, you have to answer for it. Why shouldn't they?" said Steinel, "Make hockey fun again. Make the Sabres fun again. Make them good again."
Steinel said neglected fans deserve better.
"I'm not going to shut up and these fans aren't going to shut up until something's done about it," Steinel said.
Peter Tripi is also a lifelong Sabres fan. Like many others, he's fed up. Tripi runs Paving the Streets. It's an organization setting up a protest against the Sabres management Saturday at 11:00 a.m. in Alumni Plaza.
There are moments that can define a people, a franchise, and a generation. 🚨 Will you join us Saturday February 8th as we #PackThePlaza and show this Management we won’t stand for another decade of failure. Our voices will be heard! #WeAreAllDuane #Sabres50 #ThisIsOurMoment
— Paving The Street (@PavingTheStreet) January 31, 2020
"We want to show that we're not content and we're not happy with what's going on with the management, but we want to show our support to the players," said Trip.
