Twitter is an interesting tool. If used properly it can be a great new gathering source for a sports fan, politics fanatic or someone who just wants to keep up with the Kardashians. As someone who is immersed in sports, I happen to use Twitter to not only connect with fans but to keep up with breaking news.
During games Twitter is always a great barometer for how fans feel (track a Bills or Sabres follow list for evidence) along with a haven for those breaking down the game as it occurs. Bills fans have even spawned their own little group called the #BillsMafia that grew from the Stevie Johnson “why God” tweet and has now become a banner for certain fans to rally behind on the social media service. In fact, many players use the hashtag as well.
No matter what you feel about the #BillsMafia, it has become kind of fun to use the hashtag #BerlsMerfia as a way to joke about the consistent #becauseitsbuffalo ways of the city’s beleaguered football franchise. However, there is no such group for the Sabres. But this may be a good thing.
I think the #BillsMafia group is a great thing. Those guys have found a rallying call and staunchly support their team. But that doesn’t mean you need the same thing for the Sabres.
As someone who firmly believes that the NHL and its fans are more tapped into social media and other online avenues of conversation, I think that the game of hockey and those who follow it drive the use of social media tools in the coverage of the game. Maybe this is by necessity due to the lack of mainstream coverage from outlets like ESPN. Regardless, the community of Sabres bloggers and Twitter users is enormous despite the lack of a true rally banner on any sort of site. Yet, this is a good thing. There is no need to have a specific police force on Twitter for Sabres fans, players or even employees to tag their tweets with. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t have a bit of fun, right?
Last night myself and Scott from Buffalo Sabres Nation started joking around with the #SabersMerfia hashtag and I think this could be a terrific way to poke fun at certain Sabres fans who like to call the whiner line and complain about other obnoxious things.
For example, when Fan A is always talking about how lazy Thomas Vanek is on a nightly basis; he is part of #SabersMerfia. A Ryan Miller shutout? #SabersMerfia. The examples can expound from there and can pretty much apply to everything and anything surrounding the Sabres that don’t count as serious matters. Pick and choose your spots, it isn’t as if there is some sort of set of rules for when or when not to add such a hashtag.
Bottom line, this is no more than a running joke. I like to have fun on Twitter, it’s a great place for conversation and insight. Stuff likes this makes things that much more fun.
Two in the Box 
#SabresMerfia: hilarious.
I was going to write a post about my thoughts on this, but I’ll add to yours here (and then hopefully the “Sabres Mafia” idea will die a quick death).
“Sabres Mafia” is a ridiculous idea. Sabres Twitter was solidified when Jeremy White created his #SabresChat list. When that list was put together, it brought us all together, as fans, on Twitter. Game nites became something new – and fans got together, socially, under the banner of the Blue and Gold. What would a “Sabres Mafia” do for us, as a fan base? Where is there a need for a new hash tag, or social fan group?
Here’s the main problem I have with this.
One of the main reasons the #BillsMafia is so successful, is that the Bills suck. Holy crap, they have been terrible, historically terrible, for 13 years. Still, the Bills’ fan base is a proud one. It’s passionate, it’s nation wide, and it is constantly berated on all the medias for its crappy football product. The Bills “mafia” is almost like a psychological defense: it keeps (some) of our fans proud of the Bills and keeps them (mostly) immune to the chirps from outside of WNY. (And of course the “mafia” does great things for Roswell, so there’s that.)
Meanwhile, the Sabres have been pretty good. The club hasn’t won a championship, but they’ve been damn close, and have been popping up in the playoffs every so often. The team itself is solid, respectable, and somewhat of a contender moving forward.
We just don’t need a gimmick. We don’t need free tickets after the lockout, and we don’t need a social umbrella to protect our egos from a decade+ long deluge of losses. And sorry to all of you Bills mafia members – we certainly do not need an endless stream of fans wearing blinders and filling up the Twitter timeline with crap like “BILLS 4 EVER,” “Bills RULE no matter WHAT” and all the other delusional crap that comes out of some members. Whatever. It’s called “There’s always next year,” people.
All that being said:
#BreakfastMafia #SnowMafia #BuffaloMafia #ImCoiningALLTHEMAFIAS #BanditsMafia #BisonsMafia #BuffaloPhilharmonicMafia #ArchtectureMafia
Did I miss anything?
Oh yea – #GrainElevatorsMafia
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Right. I’m in agreement with what you’re saying here. There is no need for a “Sabres Mafia” because the social media community that surrounds the Sabres is already unified and is typically not looking out for potshots from those outside our bubble. Trying to create a “Sabres Mafia” type group would indeed be pointless and gimmicky. Even though there are about 7,000 Sabres blogs floating around, that variety allows for a variety of conversations independent of any sort of true group.
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