Are the Buffalo Bandits more Popular than the Sabres

We all know that things haven't been so good for the Sabres lately here in Buffalo.  In fact, it’s been since the 2010-2011 season since The Sabres last made the playoffs, and with the way they have been playing this season, it looks like we may have to wait until the 2022-2023 campaign for the next, long elusive playoff berth.

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And by now, the team's hot 3-0 start is just a distant memory. But there is another team, that also calls the KeyBank Center home, that is thriving so far during the 2022 season.

The Buffalo Bandits are sitting atop the North Division of the National Lacrosse League with a perfect, unblemished 6-0 record.  Now, let's hope that my writing about them doesn't cool their hot start as it did for the Sabres.

The Bandits are 4-time NLL champions, so their hot start doesn't come as much of a surprise as the Sabres 3-0 start did to start their season.  What is schocking though are the attendance numbers at KeyBank Center.

The Bandits so far are drawing the 4th highest amount of fans in the NLL.  The Sabres on the other hand are drawing just over 8,000 fans a game, which is the lowest in over 20 years in the NHL.

And the icing on the cake, The ECHL, a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada has a team called the Toledo Walleye.  Why do they matter? Because the Walleye are nearly drawing as many fans a game in Toledo, as the Sabres are drawing at their NHL arena in Buffalo.

What does all this mean?  Years of lousy hockey have soured the Sabres fan base to the point that they are just not showing up at the games.  Meanwhile, Bandits Nation is showing up strong game in and game out.  Have the Bandits overtaken the Sabres in popularity in Buffalo?  The attendance numbers at KeyBank Center suggest....Yes.