オーナーの手紙、ファンの手紙

セイバーズのオーナー、トム・ゴリサノがファンに向けた手紙を公式サイトに公開した。

http://www.sabres.com/open_letter.cfm

この手紙の内容がほとんどチケットの値下げの話ばかりなので、ファンは不満を感じている。ファンはセイバーズの未来のヴィジョンを知りたいのだ。そこで、あるファンが掲示板にオーナーへの手紙を書いた。これがなかなか英語の手紙として参考になるものなので、将来のためにここに保存しておきます。

Mr. Golisano,

We at SabreSFans.com, a large contingency of both life-long and brand new Buffalo Sabres fans, would like to extend to you our sincerest and deepest gratitude for saving our beloved franchise. We would also like to congratulate you on the apparent success of the CBA negotiations. We hope, as do you, that the agreement will result in long term solvency for the team, as well as a profitable investment for you. Considering the partnership between players and owners that revenue linkage breeds, these seem like reasonable probabilities. However we, as a collective of relatively savvy hockey fans and a major source of said revenue, would like to respond to the partnership that you touched upon in your recent open letter: The partnership between the Sabres organization and its fans.

First off, we thank you for the reduction in ticket prices. And, while we certainly appreciate your efforts regarding both pricing and customer service, we found the omission of an upgrade in the on-ice product rather disconcerting. We, almost unanimously, find the prospect of another season of the status quo completely unacceptable. You have an unprecedented and unique opportunity to change the face of this team for the better. If you were to create a whirlwind of excitement through free agent signings and/or trades, we are confident that you would get a return on that invested capital both monetarily, and through the respect, admiration and appreciation of the Western New York community. In other words, speaking as a partner in this endeavor, if you improve this team we vow to spend our hard earned money and fill the seats of HSBC arena.

Finally, at the risk of sounding conceited, Buffalo hockey fans are among the most knowledgeable in North America. We hope that you and the Sabres organization have enough confidence in us to keep us informed of the long term direction of the team. We would like to know how management plans on building a team that contends for the Stanley Cup. It is much easier to financially support a team when we feel as if we are truly in the loop. The more we know, the more we understand. The more we understand the more money we will spend.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,Sabresfans.com