AND THE LEAFS ARE OUT...

I think i've made it quite evident in my previous posts that I'm an ardent supporter of the Montreal Canadiens. Along with this loyalty comes a perennial hatred towards all things Maple Leaf. (The hockey club of course..) i've been asked time and time again why I "hate" the leafs so much. Let's put it this way, i don't hate the players or coaching staff of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now that that's out of the way, let me explain to those who question my lack of love for "Canada's team".

Simply put, because for the 5 million people in the GTA, the country Canada begins and ends in the city of Toronto. There's a saying that i've heard in Canada that americans are narrow minded and that they do not see beyond their borders. To a lesser extent, this is true of a number of Torontonians. Not to generalize, but this has been my personal experience. I don't know if these people have been massively brainwashed by the media, or if they truly believe that failure shud be rewarded. I speak this purely from a sports perspective. More specifically with regards to the attitude of Torontonians towards the Maple Leafs not their attitude in general.

Thanks to the media in Toronto, the leafs have been overhyped as "Canada's team". That in the last 10 years, the Ottawa Senators have made the playoffs 9 times means nothing to Leaf Nation. Yes it's the nation's capital but no they're not "Canada's team". The Montreal Canadiens are arguable the best professional sports team in North America with 24 Stanley Cups in the leagues 90 years. That's almost a 25% success percentage yet they are also not "Canada's Team".. The Edmonton Oilers who housed without doubt the greatest hockey player to ever play the game, Wayne Gretzky, had their glory years in the 80's with multiple stanley cups. Yet, they are not "Canada's Team".. but the media chooses to portray the team that has missed the playoffs 3 years in a row, that has not appeared in a stanley cup final, let alone win, in 41 years..

Now, if you were to look at the two major sports networks in Canada, CBC ( Broadcasting Corporation) and TSN (The / Toronto Sports Network).. Both these networks are national broadcasters, yet they broadcast nationwide, only leafs games. I understand market dynamics making them want to attract a large audience, which is available only in the GTA. Is it so far fetched to promote a team that is successful in Canada to be Canada's team. If the idea is to broadcast leafs games, why shove it down the throat of every market in Canada. People often wonder why all the other city fans hate the leafs organization. This is precisely the reason. They are being forced to follow a losing team, a team that they did NOT grow up watching, a team whose style of hockey they do not appreciate.

I was listening to the leafs broadcast last night right before they were eliminated. With about a minute left in the game, it was evident they were not going to make it. The commentators exact words were.. "It's rough on a team. The Leafs had a tough schedule early on where they had to play their first 10 games at home. That put too much pressure on them. They could never rebound from it.." I hear this and the first thought in my mind is "What BULLSHIT.." they call it home-ice advantage, not disadvantage. It's supposed to relieve pressure playing at home not add pressure. The New Jersey Devils started their season with 10 games on the road, if anything that's adding pressure because you're playing away from your home and you're exposed to travelling pressures, time differences, scheduling conflicts etc. The Devils are battling for 1st place in the conference along with Pittsburgh and Montreal. Playing at home is meant to be more relaxing, yet the media was trying to find excuses for their failure.. I couldn't help blow up laughing at the comment. For those of you that don't understand why Leaf Nation is doomed for years to come, simply look at the Leaf Management over the last 40 years from Frank Ballard, Punch Imlach leading up to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment's purchase of the leafs. It will be quite evident why the leafs never cared about winning and why they never WILL care about winning. Not unless the fans wake up from their slumber.

It's just more proof that no matter how poorly the team performs, they will continue to sell tickets to brainwashed leafs fans, and they will continue to fail, and continue to promote "Canada's team".. yet many torontonians have the audacity to call French Canadians arrogant for being vocal in expressing their support against Leaf Nation.. ironic is it not??