Being a Toronto Maple Leaf Fan Sucks!

My hockey memories started like most youngsters in Canada, in front of the TV on Saturday night watching Hockey Night In Canada (HNIC). If you came to visit my house on Saturday night, you could be sure of two things, that HNIC was on TV and if you wanted to visit, you watched the hockey game. There was always food and drink to be had, and the heated discussions in between periods was usually not for my ears, but it didn't matter, you could hear my father complain loudly about the Leafs where ever you were. I think the first time that i heard my father swear, was to curse on Harold Ballard. I guess because of this, i became a Leaf fan, not that i really had a choice.
Being a Leaf fan is not easy. First, its you against everyone else. Ever sports league has that team, the one that nobody likes and everyone hopes will lose. In hockey, that team is the Toronto Maple Leafs. Being a Leaf fan since birth, i was born to carry the burden for rooting for an organization who it seems, is determined not to win. I remember my first lesson in economics in hockey. This is when my father explained to me why my favorite players were being traded from Toronto to places like, Buffalo, Colorado and Philadelphia. He said that if you ask Harold Ballard for too much money, you would be traded. Being a naive child, i asked, isn't it about winning? Not for the Leafs it isn't.
The end of the Ballard final arrives and the people rejoyce. Everyone blamed Harold for the Leafs lack of success because of his unwillingness to pay top salaries to top guys. With him no longer controlling the purse strings, the team is going to win again, so everyone thought. In 1992-93, there was a brief glimpse of a better team and the hope of winning again. Unfortunately, it was over, really before it started and the team never got close since.
Fast forward to 2004 and John Ferguson Jr has come to save us and build a team to win. Ken Dryden tried for alittle while, but we all know that his heart is not in hockey, and he was fired and went back to politics, or anything besides hockey ( Thanks Ken) . Since JFJ took over the hopes of the Toronto Faithful has been to just make the playoffs. We are not rooting for a Cup, we just want to make 8th place! If can only make the playoffs, well then who knows what we can do? What kind of fucked up logic is this? Some how, they have managed to sell the fans on the idea that just making the playoffs is great.
When did being mediocre become something to shoot for? This mentality starts from the top, with the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund and Richard Petty and has worked its way through the entire organization. No one is ever going to convince me that winning is more important than how much they are making. I don't think the OTPF were so passionate about the Leafs, that they couldn't wait to buy them. This is an investment, it has nothing to do with passion for the sport or for the Leafs.
Richard Petty decides that JFJ has not done the job and needs to be removed. This is the same man who hired JFJ, and then 4 years later says that maybe it was a mistake hiring someone with no experience. WOW, you really think so DICK! So what does Richard do now, he dusts off Cliff Fletcher and bring him back as interm GM. They bring him back before the trade deadline so he could make a few moves. Big trouble with that move, the last GM signed the top 5 guys to no trade clauses. So you are stuck with them . Cliff managed to get a few draft picks for a few guys and i thought that we maybe taking a step in the right direction. Cliff also managed to whine constantly about how his hands are tied and he couldn't do anything. Wow, back in the role for a few days and making excuses already on why you can't make the team better. This was also a great time to buy out a few players, Raycroft and Tucker, if they are not in the plans for next year. This way, you make places available so you can call guys up from the minors(Poggee) and give them a shot and see how they do. Did Cliff do any of this, no. So we go to draft day, and we trade a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick so we can move up 2 spots in the draft and pick 5th overall. If management was doing their job, they could of had the 5th pick overall and still had the 2nd and 3rd round picks. Did they do what was necessary, no. You dont ask coaches or players not to try their hardest. Managements job is to plan for the future. The difference between 5th and 7th spot was 4 points or 2 wins less. So the team is not good enough to win, but to good to lose, so it could get better.
Now we come to free agent signings. We sign Cujo to back up Toskala, which means that Justin Pogee will never see the light of day with the Leafs. Pogee should be the back up this year and get 30 starts, sort of like Price did in Montreal last year, until he took over. We sign Jeff Finger to a 4 year 14 million dollar contract. Who the fuck is Jeff Finger? I have never heard of this guy and i watch alot of hockey. Is this team trying to rebuild? I can't tell anymore with what's being done in Toronto.
The best part of this, is the fact they have been looking 6 months for a replacement for Cliff Fletcher. Even went so far as to hired people to help Richard Petty look for another GM. There conclusion after 6 months, a list of 5-6 guys that they would love to have. The only problem is, these guys all have jobs. They are the same names that anyone can come up with in 10 seconds. Why do people automaticly think that they would even want to go to Toronto. So what does Leaf management decide to do, lets keep Cliff here for another year and then see if we can get the GM we want next year. So they are willing to wait a year for the right GM, but would not buy out or release players at the trade deadline to ensure a better draft pick and also give minor league guys a chance to show their skills with the big club. So whats the plan here guys?
So the bottom line is that they don't want to lose, but they don't want to win either. The things they have done, says that they are trying to just be mediocre. I, for one, have become tired of the complacence of the Toronto Maple Leaf Management. I am tired of the Toronto media talking about the Leafs like Toronto is the best place in the world to play hockey. I am tired of the OTPF and Richard Petty running the Leafs team into the ground. Financially they are great, which is some of the problem.
Nothing would please me more then to see the Air Canada Center empty. I would love to see empty seats, game in and game out. I would love to see ratings of HNIC fall. Maybe, just maybe that would force them to give a shit and try a little harder. The facts remain that Toronto fans will sell out the ACC every game even if they put skates on monkeys. It doesn't matter, the fans will still buy tickets, the fans will still tune in and watch and the Toronto Management will still do a half assed job, while trying to convince all of us that they care.
When was the last time, as a leaf fan, you thought the team was going in the right direction? Year after year, i complain about leaf management, scouts, players, coaches, stick boy, organist, etc...Faces change in the organization, but the mentality of losing is still the same and just making the playoffs is a great accomplishment. We are on the longest stretch in history for Toronto not making the playoffs, and i bet any money that we can add another year onto that after this season. I would be happy if we were trying to win, or i could even accept losing for awhile if it meant we would get better in the future. Trying to be mediocre, i can not accept anymore as a fan. My passion for the Leafs will come back, i believe, when the passion returns to the Toronto Maple Leaf Organization. Until then i will be rooting for them to lose, because in this fans eyes, its what's needed and the best possible thing for this team. Losing is the only way to ensure change.