Nearly 25 years ago, I was born in a corner of Northern Ontario far removed from the feverish commotion of the province's south and even farther removed from any obligatory allegiance to the overwhelmingly divisive Toronto Maple Leafs.
Having lived my life aware of but not particularly attached to the iconical franchise, it surprised me - when early adulthood brought me south - that so many could blindly root for a franchise for no other reason than that it monopolized the region in which they live.
Think about it. With a godlike stranglehold on a nation's prized export in the most populous region of that country, it comes with little debate that franchises like the Toronto Maple Leafs could reasonably punch ticket holders in the face before each and every game yet still manage to lead their leagues in sellouts.
The only terrible injustice of it all is that for no other North American franchise, do such circumstances exist.
As a result, when watching the historically disappointing Maple Leafs take the ice, one also watches perhaps the most polarizing franchise in North American professional sport. The question then, if not why so many people revel in Toronto's extremely limited success, is why so many jackasses abhor the fans and the franchise for that same monopolizing reason?
The answer, as I'm sure you could have guessed, lies deeply-rooted in the human psyche beyond the grasp of any simple-minded sports journalist. But let's try to figure it out anyway.
Though hundreds of thousands flock to any and everything Maple Leaf, armies could and can be formed of those who take comfort in each and every painful Toronto loss, lacklustre season, or extended Mats Sundin sabbatical.
Perhaps it's a cultural thing, a bitterness between those markets that have and those which have not. Given the Toronto area's unbridled luxury when it comes to ticket sales, media coverage and unjustified player loyalty, it's easy to discriminate against the team unable to make the most of their natural opportunities. So then what is it that makes the hordes of passionate individuals so diabolically opposed?
Growing up no closer to Toronto than Detroit, Ottawa or Montreal, the Ontario blood that pulsed through my young veins ran anything but blue or white. It was no easier in that time of uncertain youth to claim loyalty to the Maple Leafs than it was to tell my friends that mom wouldn't let me ride my bike without my helmet.
From birth it was engrained in my head that, even on the best of days, the Maple Leafs embodied everything wrong with professional sport and any resemblance of fanship towards the club would result in my permanent exclusion from family vacations.
As any fatherly quirk gets passed on from generation to generation, a hatred for Wendel Clark accompanied my bowleggedness, and watching the Toronto Maple Leafs exit the playoffs early brought sadistic family fun.
Now, as a permanent resident of the active Toronto region, I've had constant exposure to both sides of the nasty spectrum. Resultantly, I find myself left with no other choice but to reflect that the true and most loyal of fans are nothing more than earthbound souls awaiting the next great Maple Leaf dynasty before their own timeless liberation, while the hasty antifans on the other hand, vigilantly plot against the figuratively (and literally) rich in hopes of levelling an unfair, but reasonable, playing field.
And no, if you're wondering, I'm not a Senators fan.
Current Comments
11 comments so far (post your own)You still didn't really clarify 'Exactly why the Maple Leafs are the bane of the NHL'...
Was your point that the team is rich whilst sucking? Or that you grew up a non-Leafs fan and have no love for them?
The Leafs are the opposite of the bane of the NHL, they are it's ideal: steady revenue, continental fanbase, great tradition.
The fact that they don't win is only a detriment to we stupid fans who can't change our stripes no matter how illogical it is to support them.
If anything, we are merely the bane of the NHL in Canada.
1) In NHL corporate hierarchy we are 1-B to New York, yet 1-A in certain subcategories (evidenced by the War Room, the Hall of Fame). Therefore we have the importance that Montreal wishes it has.
2) Playoff encounters and split home crowds have antagonized Ottawa.
3) Calgary and Edmonton could care less about anything east of Saskatchewan.
4) Vancouver is simply envious of Toronto, and keeps hoping to out-Toronto us instead of defining their own city's persona.
5) All previous points are magnified by 1000x because of the annoyance that Toronto dominates all media coverage with such a crummy team. But we have the population and the dollars, so get over it. Pick something other than CBC or TSN.
Posted by Death By Leafs on Saturday, July 25, 2009 @ 4:45am
Well the story certainly is tongue-in-cheek and was never really intended to be taken literally but you make some excellent points. Having lived in Ontario both near and far from Toronto, I've always found it interesting to gauge the general reaction to the team over the years.
Basically the Leafs are this franchise who, through no fault of their own, are the centre of the hockey universe and love them or hate them that's just the way that it is. I would liken them to the New York Knicks in basketball or the Dallas Cowboys in football, but I think even still the focus on the Leafs in Canada is far more intense.
When you actually break it down, the fact that this team struggles is no different than the fact that the Blackhawks have struggled (well, until recently), it's just that all of their success (even the most miniscule success) is over-hyped, over-published and over-talked about.
The Maple Leafs aren't so much the bane of the NHL as the Toronto media is the bane of my life. Just look at the Raptors a few years ago. Does the name Mike James ring a bell? It shouldn't.
Posted by Austin Kent on Saturday, July 25, 2009 @ 4:14pm
wow... if your article had anything to do with your title or the point of "Toronto media is the bane of my life" I wouldn't be wishing for my two minutes back.. Otherwise I have no idea what the article is about, am I supposed to be interested of the tale of someone from Ontario who doesn't like the leafs? Cause I think a couple million people might have the same story
Posted by DullSkatesBrokenTwigs on Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 9:08am
"it surprised me - when early adulthood brought me south - that so many could blindly root for a franchise for no other reason than that it monopolized the region in which they live."
Imagine people cheering for their hometown team? Shocking.
Posted by furcifer on Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 9:19am
@furcifer
Steamwhistle beer is brewed in Toronto, so by your logic I'm guessing you don't drink anything else?
Posted by Austin Kent on Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 1:02pm
Of course I drink other beer. While I'm at it I also serve in the German, French, and American armies and the Taliban for good measure because why would I want to support the place I live in?
Posted by furcifer on Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 1:59pm
@furcifer
If the Canadian government hadn't done anything substantial since 1967, over-charged you to be an active citizen and refused to reward any of your loyalty to the nation, then I wouldn't blame you for emigrating.
Posted by Austin Kent on Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 2:56pm
Over-charged? You obviously don't understand supply and demand do you?
Posted by furcifer on Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 3:45pm
The top 5 highest NHL average ticket prices for 2008:
Vancouver Canucks $301
Montreal Canadiens $283
Toronto Maple Leafs $272
Edmonton Oilers $244
Calgary Flames $237
factor in cost of living and Toronto being middle of the pack is quite shocking. Also, by your argument Austin, Canucks fans are idiots for following their home town team since they've never won a cup and are getting charged far more than the other Canadian franchises fans. Fans of tTeams, I should add, who've all won a cup.
That's nice that you're not a Leafs fan. That doesn't make you unique or special or give you the right to knock people who are. Being a fan of ANY team is being a member of a community, and the Leafs community is full of vibrant, passionate people who love their team. There are just as many blue and white homers in the community as there are in any other. There will always be "homers."
If that's too much to wrap your head around, then that's too bad. You're missing out.
Posted by blurr1974 on Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 4:04pm
I'm reluctant to stray anymore from the original column than we already have.
An alternative title that this story ran under was "The Psychology Behind Hating the Leafs", so as you can imagine the premise was never to bash those who support the team but rather to shed light on the people who hate them for what seems like no reason.
The reaction from the Toronto Maple Leafs fans here though, is exactly one of the reasons it's so easy to be a hater. The following is just so blind and so intense. To fail to acknowledge MLSE's sad stranglehold on the industry (both financially and emotionally) is ignorant and unrealistic.
The Leafs are huge, the Leafs have hordes of well-deserved fans, but the Leafs are not the lovable losers that the Boston Red Sox were - and those who aren't so caught up in the cult realize that the result is off-putting.
*Though the Canucks and Canadiens may charge more for individual tickets, consider a) Marlies tickets selling for as much as they do, b) the fact that neither Montreal or Vancouver have the NBA to compete with and c) the fact that they brought in LeafsTV back in 2001 at a time when people were doing just fine watching games on national broadcast.
Posted by Austin Kent on Monday, July 27, 2009 @ 10:06pm
I think the fact that the Leafs don't have a "lovable losers" tag is more to do with Canada's love for putting down Toronto. Google for the movie "Let's All Hate Toronto", which is a pretty funny piece that doesn't focus at all on the sports side of things. Do you think there's a "Let's All Hate Boston" movie?
Posted by DullSkatesBrokenTwigs on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 @ 8:36am