Monday, November 8, 2010

Leafs have made me a bigger fan of hockey

There was a time when I was a die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan. I lived for the blue and white and my actual mood would be affected depending on whether the team won or lost the night before.

Not anymore.

This change didn't come about recently, it's been years in the making, I'd say since the early 1990s when Doug Gilmour led the team far in the playoffs. Since that memorable playoff run the team has been unable to achieve any level of success.

Year after year Leafs fans have been disappointed. The team hasn't made the playoffs since the 2003-04 season when they beat the Ottawa Senators in seven games to advance to the conference semi-finals. Philly put them out of their misery in the next round.

Since that short-lived playoff appearance the team has failed to earn a spot in the playoffs. Actually the team has failed to even compete. That hasn't stopped ticket prices from increasing every season though.

While all this mediocrity has been taking place in Toronto I've found myself watching other teams. That's not to say I've picked a new favourite team because I haven't. I've just learned to appreciate the game of hockey by watching better hockey teams. I no longer have to wait for the Boston Bruins to play the Leafs in this age of cable and satellite television. It's possible to watch the Boston - Montreal game or the Pittsburgh - Washington game whenever and wherever they play. There's a lot of talent in the NHL, you just have to surf a few channels in order to find it.

The Leafs are currently mired in another slump losing their last eight of nine games. The team's sniper Phil Kessel can't score and General Manager Brian Burke is ranting on about fans booing the team's on-ice performance. This hasn't changed my mood in the least as I don't care. The Leafs teams of my father's era were supposed to win, the Leafs teams of my era are supposed to lose.

The Leafs' fortunes may turnaround in the future but before they do I'm going to continue enjoying the game by watching other competitive teams play. Toronto isn't the centre of the hockey universe like many believe. There's a lot of hockey out there and I'm going to enjoy watching  as many games as I can.

1 comment:

  1. I would just like to say... You sir, have offended me! Some of us care so much, it hurts. My final thought is --- GO LEAFS GO!

    ReplyDelete

Feel like commenting? Go ahead, do not be shy.