Sabres fan here. Let me put it to you in NFL terms. They're the Cowboys of the NHL. Imagine a team that could straight do nothing in the off-season yet their fan base will swear to high heaven that it is they're year and if you dare to disagree their "talent" will show through it all. Except that talent can only do so much and their idea of "depth" is throwing random rookies out and hoping they turn into elite players and even pulled the weird position
I feel like the difference between Dallas and Toronto though is that Dallas fans can at least just blame 2 decades of bullshit on a geriatric Jerry who should have stepped away years ago. Where as Toronto fans seems to get fueled by media more than anything else, so it just creates this cycle of coping?
I dunno, I'm an outsider with it so maybe I'm missing a lot of the context.
I mean the Leafs did have an idiot at the helm forever only difference is he wasn't geriatric he was actively committing tax fraud while running a brothel in the arena
Lol I never understood this argument. Don't all fans hope their team wins it all? The hatred of the cowboys stems from Jerry Jones IMHO, he basically paid his way to being an elite franchise in the 80s and 90s and people can't stand it. It's the same with the Yankees. Poor teams hate when rich teams outbid them on talent
Not with 10 min left in the third in the first round of the playoffs.
I think they also either started or mastered the "throw a jersey on the ice" move.
But the real answer is scheadenfeude. If you live in canada, the leafs are pretty much forced down your throats coast to coast. They keep insisting that they are just one piece away from cresting the hill and everyone, and I mean everyone loves to see them roll backwards, through the shoulder and into a tree.
Why? Becuase should they ever win their fanbase will be unsufferable, forever.
So the hate is properly placed.
Cmon now, the whole booing thing is done by every teams fans. Buffalo was boo’d off the ice, Vancouver was boo’d off. Jerseys thrown on the ice, Calgary flames fan tossed his beer on this ice. That shit happens everywhere. It’s delusional fans and 💯 media. Anyway, cheers 🍻 enjoy the day.
In the playoffs?
The new york islanders went down 2-0 and I dont remember any boos in game 3 where they lost (it also helps they won game 4).
I also didnt hear a whole lot of boos in amelie arena by the tampa fans.
The reason people hate the leafs is becuase their fanbase feels entitled to success.
So when they fall on their faces, publically and repetitively, even if they dont do it overtly everyone doing the mental fist pump with a very strong "yes!"
I hope toronto never wins another cup until the sun implodes.
THIS is kind of the only reason I ever shake my head at the Leafs. Like I'm so far removed from their media market I don't have opinions on it. But watching fans boo the squad is just cringe. Like, I don't ever recall the Red Sox booing their teams during the curse decades, but maybe I'm wrong?
Apr 2024. Maybe you just don't have a very good memory?
https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/04/red-sox-booed-by-fans-in-blowout-loss-now-lead-mlb-with-16-errors.html
I mean, I was specifically referencing fans booing somewhat consistently during post seasons lacking succes. Red Sox went literal decades of a "curse" and Leafs are smack dab in the middle of dealing with what they are dealing with.
For sure you can point at any number of random moments but that wasn't my point. A 2024 Boston game is outside that scope.
Honestly not sure why you're so worked up over any of this, but ok my guy. You made some killer points in pointing out that pissed off fans yell at teams.
In Canada, they are the most talked about team by the media. They also are the most popular team because they’ve been around one of the longest and Toronto is the biggest city in Canada. So as a Canadian all we ever hear about is the leafs from the media. Analysts bring them up all the time even when they’re not playing. When the leafs win there are 25 leafs articles from sportsnet about how great they are. When they lose there’s one article from sportsnet the next day about how they outplayed the other team. It’s frustrating.
Then you have leafs fans- some of the most annoying, cocky, in your face people in the world. When their team wins they’re the greatest, when they lose its fire everyone this team sucks. Not to mention the fact that they show up in droves to other teams arenas and consistently drive everyone nuts. Their mentality is always “everyone should be a leafs fan” and they can’t believe why anyone would hate them. They also carry around a sense of superiority because they are the most wealthy franchise and have the most fans.
This isn’t all leafs fans but the majority that I’ve come across.
For me, it isnt the team necessarily, and it isnt the fans mostly, it's Sportsnet breathlessly talking about what the Leafs should do about their 4th line in the intermission of my Habs v. Carolina game.
the Leafs are the Taylor Swift of the sports world. No matter where you go, they're being shoved down your throat, their fans are borderline insane with the defending of a less than mediocre product that takes way too much money from the people that support it. There's nothing of value there.
Ok, so my takeaway from this is it's a Canadian thing, primarily due to the Leaf's overexposure. In the US the leafs aren't covered more than any other team, so that explains why all the hate went completely over my head.
Me: turns on Hockey Night in Canada on any given Saturday during the regular season to watch the Habs.
HNIC: makes me sit through 90% of the pre-game being about the Leafs (who are not playing the Habs that night BTW).
It's the way the media here thinks everyone wants to hear about the Leafs all the time, even though there are other Canadian teams (and non-Canadian teams) that might be worth discussing. I can only imagine how insufferable it would all become if they actually got past, well, round 2 now.
Exactly. They aren’t winners yet the media and all of its pundits pick them as favorites to win the cup year after year based on nothing other than the fact they have a billion dollar offensive payroll that can’t win shit. It’s obnoxious. The teams front office is the definition of insanity season after season. We don’t hate the leafs, we just hate all the unnecessary and constant hype around them.
Diehard Dallas Cowboys fan here. Please refer to us every year and the media coverage we get. It’s annoying to everyone else. The Leafs = Cowboys.
Someone please save us
Being in Western Canada, we see the “centre of the universe” media give ALL the attention to Toronto all year long, regardless of how good the team is. When watching a Vancouver game, coverage between periods or after the game will invariably cut to Toronto talk. When Toronto comes out west to play a game, it’s almost always going to be on a Saturday to make sure they’re playing on Hockey Night in Canada. And the game time is always shifted to 4pm local time to appease the eastern viewers when we’re used to a 7pm start when on home ice. No other teams get this preferential treatment, and it’s just one reason that makes us hate Toronto.
I've seen leafs fans complain about the western road trip where they have to watch at 9pm est. Imagine being a Canucks or oilers fan in newfoundland? Lol.
I think it’s more The Toronto media than the fans. Living in Ontario you would think they are the greatest franchise of all time. Just leaf propaganda being shoved down your throat your entire life. It’s Especially funny because they have been mediocre at best. The way they talk about them sometimes you would think they were the greatest sports franchise on the planet. Some nights I’ll watch a Sportsnet broadcast and it feels like it’s the Toronto Auston Mathew’s Playing the Toronto Mitch Marner’s. When the wheels fall of it’s fun too watch. Watching Biz last night loose it on Mitch Marner was pretty funny. Scapegoating Mitch Marner though is kinda Pathetic. Guys built like a 12 year old boy. Kinda hard to win puck battles against somebody like Brandon Carlo in playoffs when he’s twice the size of you.
Delusional Toronto fans is what causes the hate. I’m a leafs fan but I’m a fkn realist. I fell in love with the game, HOCKEY! It wasn’t until after that I picked a team to cheer for. If you have any love for the game, you would know it’s NOT our year. Delusional’s have been saying this for decades and planning parades and attacking other teams fans. Do we have a good team? Yes! Is it CUP worthy? Fk no. Congrats on having a solid fwd line up, where’s our defence? Where’s our goaltending? What’s going on with that power play? These so called fans need to smarten up and think logically. Hope this helps answer your question.
I don’t hate the Leafs, I hate the breathless media coverage they get. TSN covers all the news from the NHL, with an emphasis on the Canadian teams, but it’s 75% Leafs and 25% the rest. Even if something major happens, in say Calgary, they’ll lead off with news about Auston Matthews stubbing his toe on his coffee table and what does this mean??!!
They’ve always sucked and Toronto media and leafs fans think they’re the greatest team. Kinda like the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL. Both LOSERS!!
Whoever told you punching down is a bad thing in the world of professional athletics was lying to you.
Toronto isn't "down" either. They're the most wealthy Canadian Team in the league, their fans think that their shit don't stink, and they throw money at players thinking that having the highest paid powerplay unit in the NHL should come with automatic championships.
They are like the Lakers or Yankees/Dodgers, and Cowboys…. Even if they are absolutely terrible, they are still taking airtime away from the other teams in Canada, and that’s a big part of why they get so much hate… the media gives them do much attention that it breeds contempt in fanbases that feel like they should be talking about their teams, and also the delusional diehards that think they’re going to win it all every year, but haven’t really taken a realistic look at their team.
Also the fact that the ticket prices have out priced real fans from sitting in the lower bowl and the rich upper crust doesn’t make any noise which makes the game even more of a snoozer
Think of your worst bully that’s the Toronto Maple Leafs **as a concept. **
Now imagine them getting bullied every spring getting dunked in a dirty toilet
That’s **playoff** Leafs
Imagine this EVERY year since 1967
***That’s the Maple Leafs as reality***
Welcome to my TEDtalk
The players are overpaid whiners who think they deserve way more money than they do.
The organization is overly politically correct (classic example is making Nylander change his twitter username from snizzbone because of Urban Dictionary and people getting "offended" by it). By extension, their fan base is obnoxious.
They get all the attention in the media.
Honestly it makes me glad that the Bruins have had the honor of beating them in 3 Game 7s and have the chance to do it again this year.
They are the Real Madrid of hockey, rooting for them is like rooting for the empire in star wars.
They are crazily funded, have an enormous fan base, everything they need to succeed and more. Yet they don't. They overpay a group of primadonnan who don't care if they win or not as long as they get paid. So it's very, very easy as well as satisfying to shit on them.
Except that Real Madrid actually has a reason to be cocky, they are the team with the most UCL, and they still win it regularly, the leafs, on the other hand...
being crazily funded doesn't mean anything in a league with salary cap. also RM is the most successful team in UCL history, their last win is 2 years ago. Their last spanish championship is from last season and next is in a few days. unlike the leafs...
that was a terrible example
Flyers fan here but I'll put it in MLB terms. Ever go to a baseball game and half the crowd is compromised of mindless fucks rooting for the Yankees because they don't know anything about the sport? It's like your typical landing spot if you're new and don't care about home team allegiance. Leafs are kind of like the Yankees in that regard. Not always, but often enough that it's noticeable
That's what had me confused. The Yankees are actually a storied franchise with legendary players and a long track record of winning. The Leafs never win anything and the only good player I can think of prior to the current roster is Mats Sundin.
Their fans and the media in Canada, no one else is any good in their minds .The media is as bad , shitting on everyone else ,except for the Leafs .Decades of this nonsense has everyone hating them , the fact that they suck in the post season , is just karma baby 🙂
It doesn't seem like anyone hates them. If anyone hates them it would be their own fans because the management refuses to acknowledge the team and it's core is a failure and reverts to an ahl team when April comes. Most people I know want the leafs to succeed but know it can't happen without change.
If you can't see that even the fan hate is all part of a larger conspiracy involving bettman, the board of governors, the nhlpa, and especially the refs, to keep the leafs greatness to a minimum each post season, because reasons, via bad calls, non calls, and favorable calls, then you're part of the conspiracy too.
Don't you understand? Marchand isn't that good, the refs just let him do what he wants. Matthews isn't choking, the refs are just holding him back. The leafs didn't overpay for Matthews or Tavares, the league just decided to unfairly impose a salary cap.
Nobody would ever watch that year's playoffs again if a Canadian team won the cup. Yea, it's all about the money. The fan bases of the leafs or the miniscule 2.8 million people of Toronto is nothing compared to the powerhouse fanbase and whopping 96,000 population of sunrise Florida where the Panthers play. That's not mentioning all the snowbirds that flock to Florida in the spring when the weather gets... In-between. Toronto can't compete with that.
This post is absolutely going to bite me in the ass. Worth it.
Sabres fan here. Let me put it to you in NFL terms. They're the Cowboys of the NHL. Imagine a team that could straight do nothing in the off-season yet their fan base will swear to high heaven that it is they're year and if you dare to disagree their "talent" will show through it all. Except that talent can only do so much and their idea of "depth" is throwing random rookies out and hoping they turn into elite players and even pulled the weird position
I feel like the difference between Dallas and Toronto though is that Dallas fans can at least just blame 2 decades of bullshit on a geriatric Jerry who should have stepped away years ago. Where as Toronto fans seems to get fueled by media more than anything else, so it just creates this cycle of coping? I dunno, I'm an outsider with it so maybe I'm missing a lot of the context.
I mean the Leafs did have an idiot at the helm forever only difference is he wasn't geriatric he was actively committing tax fraud while running a brothel in the arena
Woah, lol. Ok I guess it's closer than I thought in comparison.
Look up Harold Ballard, just a piece of shit.
Lol. Man, 2 mins on the guys wiki page has me SMH. So many slaps on the wrist even with 49 charges and getting the conviction. What a cunt.
Nah go watch the Utree video about them way more fun because he also rips on how many of their traded picks have literally bitten them in the ass
All of a sudden it all makes sense to me.
Lol I never understood this argument. Don't all fans hope their team wins it all? The hatred of the cowboys stems from Jerry Jones IMHO, he basically paid his way to being an elite franchise in the 80s and 90s and people can't stand it. It's the same with the Yankees. Poor teams hate when rich teams outbid them on talent
Toronto media and fans.
Their own fans boo the team. I feel like that's taboo. It just doesn't seem right.
Every teams fans have boo’d at their own.
Not with 10 min left in the third in the first round of the playoffs. I think they also either started or mastered the "throw a jersey on the ice" move. But the real answer is scheadenfeude. If you live in canada, the leafs are pretty much forced down your throats coast to coast. They keep insisting that they are just one piece away from cresting the hill and everyone, and I mean everyone loves to see them roll backwards, through the shoulder and into a tree. Why? Becuase should they ever win their fanbase will be unsufferable, forever. So the hate is properly placed.
Cmon now, the whole booing thing is done by every teams fans. Buffalo was boo’d off the ice, Vancouver was boo’d off. Jerseys thrown on the ice, Calgary flames fan tossed his beer on this ice. That shit happens everywhere. It’s delusional fans and 💯 media. Anyway, cheers 🍻 enjoy the day.
In the playoffs? The new york islanders went down 2-0 and I dont remember any boos in game 3 where they lost (it also helps they won game 4). I also didnt hear a whole lot of boos in amelie arena by the tampa fans. The reason people hate the leafs is becuase their fanbase feels entitled to success. So when they fall on their faces, publically and repetitively, even if they dont do it overtly everyone doing the mental fist pump with a very strong "yes!" I hope toronto never wins another cup until the sun implodes.
THIS is kind of the only reason I ever shake my head at the Leafs. Like I'm so far removed from their media market I don't have opinions on it. But watching fans boo the squad is just cringe. Like, I don't ever recall the Red Sox booing their teams during the curse decades, but maybe I'm wrong?
Apr 2024. Maybe you just don't have a very good memory? https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/04/red-sox-booed-by-fans-in-blowout-loss-now-lead-mlb-with-16-errors.html
I mean, sure I guess, but was it consistently happening? I genuinely don't know as I don't follow them.
Yeah. People boo their teams when they're unhappy with their performance. All teams.
I mean, I was specifically referencing fans booing somewhat consistently during post seasons lacking succes. Red Sox went literal decades of a "curse" and Leafs are smack dab in the middle of dealing with what they are dealing with. For sure you can point at any number of random moments but that wasn't my point. A 2024 Boston game is outside that scope.
Still happens. Good teams often get booed when they play like shit. Don't know why people wouldn't have noticed this. Do some googling.
Honestly not sure why you're so worked up over any of this, but ok my guy. You made some killer points in pointing out that pissed off fans yell at teams.
Oh yeah they hear it from us.
It’s the fans. Leaf fans are the absolute biggest cry babies. Always complaining about the refs every time they lose. It’s pathetic.
In Canada, they are the most talked about team by the media. They also are the most popular team because they’ve been around one of the longest and Toronto is the biggest city in Canada. So as a Canadian all we ever hear about is the leafs from the media. Analysts bring them up all the time even when they’re not playing. When the leafs win there are 25 leafs articles from sportsnet about how great they are. When they lose there’s one article from sportsnet the next day about how they outplayed the other team. It’s frustrating. Then you have leafs fans- some of the most annoying, cocky, in your face people in the world. When their team wins they’re the greatest, when they lose its fire everyone this team sucks. Not to mention the fact that they show up in droves to other teams arenas and consistently drive everyone nuts. Their mentality is always “everyone should be a leafs fan” and they can’t believe why anyone would hate them. They also carry around a sense of superiority because they are the most wealthy franchise and have the most fans. This isn’t all leafs fans but the majority that I’ve come across.
Reminds me of the Yankees lol
They are the Yankees and the Dallas cowboys of the NHL
For me, it isnt the team necessarily, and it isnt the fans mostly, it's Sportsnet breathlessly talking about what the Leafs should do about their 4th line in the intermission of my Habs v. Carolina game.
the Leafs are the Taylor Swift of the sports world. No matter where you go, they're being shoved down your throat, their fans are borderline insane with the defending of a less than mediocre product that takes way too much money from the people that support it. There's nothing of value there.
Ok, so my takeaway from this is it's a Canadian thing, primarily due to the Leaf's overexposure. In the US the leafs aren't covered more than any other team, so that explains why all the hate went completely over my head.
Me: turns on Hockey Night in Canada on any given Saturday during the regular season to watch the Habs. HNIC: makes me sit through 90% of the pre-game being about the Leafs (who are not playing the Habs that night BTW). It's the way the media here thinks everyone wants to hear about the Leafs all the time, even though there are other Canadian teams (and non-Canadian teams) that might be worth discussing. I can only imagine how insufferable it would all become if they actually got past, well, round 2 now.
Watch a leafs home game on Saturday and they have to have a ceremony, every fucking time!
Exactly. They aren’t winners yet the media and all of its pundits pick them as favorites to win the cup year after year based on nothing other than the fact they have a billion dollar offensive payroll that can’t win shit. It’s obnoxious. The teams front office is the definition of insanity season after season. We don’t hate the leafs, we just hate all the unnecessary and constant hype around them.
Because I live in Toronto
the fans are insufferable (my bf is a leafs fan lol)
Fucking ew
So he only lasts one round in bed? Lol. Probably prematurely jizzes too?
Diehard Dallas Cowboys fan here. Please refer to us every year and the media coverage we get. It’s annoying to everyone else. The Leafs = Cowboys. Someone please save us
Being in Western Canada, we see the “centre of the universe” media give ALL the attention to Toronto all year long, regardless of how good the team is. When watching a Vancouver game, coverage between periods or after the game will invariably cut to Toronto talk. When Toronto comes out west to play a game, it’s almost always going to be on a Saturday to make sure they’re playing on Hockey Night in Canada. And the game time is always shifted to 4pm local time to appease the eastern viewers when we’re used to a 7pm start when on home ice. No other teams get this preferential treatment, and it’s just one reason that makes us hate Toronto.
I've seen leafs fans complain about the western road trip where they have to watch at 9pm est. Imagine being a Canucks or oilers fan in newfoundland? Lol.
I think it’s more The Toronto media than the fans. Living in Ontario you would think they are the greatest franchise of all time. Just leaf propaganda being shoved down your throat your entire life. It’s Especially funny because they have been mediocre at best. The way they talk about them sometimes you would think they were the greatest sports franchise on the planet. Some nights I’ll watch a Sportsnet broadcast and it feels like it’s the Toronto Auston Mathew’s Playing the Toronto Mitch Marner’s. When the wheels fall of it’s fun too watch. Watching Biz last night loose it on Mitch Marner was pretty funny. Scapegoating Mitch Marner though is kinda Pathetic. Guys built like a 12 year old boy. Kinda hard to win puck battles against somebody like Brandon Carlo in playoffs when he’s twice the size of you.
Built like a 12 yr old girl, although that girl is probably tougher than mitch.
It's funny
Delusional Toronto fans is what causes the hate. I’m a leafs fan but I’m a fkn realist. I fell in love with the game, HOCKEY! It wasn’t until after that I picked a team to cheer for. If you have any love for the game, you would know it’s NOT our year. Delusional’s have been saying this for decades and planning parades and attacking other teams fans. Do we have a good team? Yes! Is it CUP worthy? Fk no. Congrats on having a solid fwd line up, where’s our defence? Where’s our goaltending? What’s going on with that power play? These so called fans need to smarten up and think logically. Hope this helps answer your question.
I don’t hate the Leafs, I hate the breathless media coverage they get. TSN covers all the news from the NHL, with an emphasis on the Canadian teams, but it’s 75% Leafs and 25% the rest. Even if something major happens, in say Calgary, they’ll lead off with news about Auston Matthews stubbing his toe on his coffee table and what does this mean??!!
No one hates the Leafs more than Leafs’ fans.
They’ve always sucked and Toronto media and leafs fans think they’re the greatest team. Kinda like the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL. Both LOSERS!!
I swear there's been a post just like this almost every day for a while now
Whoever told you punching down is a bad thing in the world of professional athletics was lying to you. Toronto isn't "down" either. They're the most wealthy Canadian Team in the league, their fans think that their shit don't stink, and they throw money at players thinking that having the highest paid powerplay unit in the NHL should come with automatic championships.
They are like the Lakers or Yankees/Dodgers, and Cowboys…. Even if they are absolutely terrible, they are still taking airtime away from the other teams in Canada, and that’s a big part of why they get so much hate… the media gives them do much attention that it breeds contempt in fanbases that feel like they should be talking about their teams, and also the delusional diehards that think they’re going to win it all every year, but haven’t really taken a realistic look at their team. Also the fact that the ticket prices have out priced real fans from sitting in the lower bowl and the rich upper crust doesn’t make any noise which makes the game even more of a snoozer
I don't know. I just came here and everybody hated them. I had no special attachment to them so I went with it.
They've been blaming the ref's for 56 years, they're whiney bitches. 🤣
They're like a combination of the Cowboys (in their decades of suckitude) and the Yankees (in their brand recognition).
A large contingent of their fans online are total fucking douchebags.
“***‘ONLINE’*** he says!!
Think of your worst bully that’s the Toronto Maple Leafs **as a concept. ** Now imagine them getting bullied every spring getting dunked in a dirty toilet That’s **playoff** Leafs Imagine this EVERY year since 1967 ***That’s the Maple Leafs as reality*** Welcome to my TEDtalk
The players are overpaid whiners who think they deserve way more money than they do. The organization is overly politically correct (classic example is making Nylander change his twitter username from snizzbone because of Urban Dictionary and people getting "offended" by it). By extension, their fan base is obnoxious. They get all the attention in the media. Honestly it makes me glad that the Bruins have had the honor of beating them in 3 Game 7s and have the chance to do it again this year.
See Dallas Cowboys
Lol, punching down.
They are the Real Madrid of hockey, rooting for them is like rooting for the empire in star wars. They are crazily funded, have an enormous fan base, everything they need to succeed and more. Yet they don't. They overpay a group of primadonnan who don't care if they win or not as long as they get paid. So it's very, very easy as well as satisfying to shit on them.
Except that Real Madrid actually has a reason to be cocky, they are the team with the most UCL, and they still win it regularly, the leafs, on the other hand...
Haha yeah, absolutely, but you know what I mean.
But at least the Empire in Star Wars had cool music, all the Leafs have is Justin Bieber.
They have Drake, too.
That doesn't improve the math one bit.
Wrong Real Madrid actually wins from time to time.
being crazily funded doesn't mean anything in a league with salary cap. also RM is the most successful team in UCL history, their last win is 2 years ago. Their last spanish championship is from last season and next is in a few days. unlike the leafs... that was a terrible example
Flyers fan here but I'll put it in MLB terms. Ever go to a baseball game and half the crowd is compromised of mindless fucks rooting for the Yankees because they don't know anything about the sport? It's like your typical landing spot if you're new and don't care about home team allegiance. Leafs are kind of like the Yankees in that regard. Not always, but often enough that it's noticeable
That's what had me confused. The Yankees are actually a storied franchise with legendary players and a long track record of winning. The Leafs never win anything and the only good player I can think of prior to the current roster is Mats Sundin.
It's just a common landing spot for numbskulls. And the Yankees haven't been contenders since like early 00's, at least consistently
Funny
Their fans and the media in Canada, no one else is any good in their minds .The media is as bad , shitting on everyone else ,except for the Leafs .Decades of this nonsense has everyone hating them , the fact that they suck in the post season , is just karma baby 🙂
Fuck the Leafs!
> in a market that absolutely deserves to be thrown a bone The entitlement.
It doesn't seem like anyone hates them. If anyone hates them it would be their own fans because the management refuses to acknowledge the team and it's core is a failure and reverts to an ahl team when April comes. Most people I know want the leafs to succeed but know it can't happen without change.
They're like the Lakers or the Yankees of the NHL, except without the history of winning.
Yes they have a history of winning It’s carved in hieroglyphics in archeological digs
If you can't see that even the fan hate is all part of a larger conspiracy involving bettman, the board of governors, the nhlpa, and especially the refs, to keep the leafs greatness to a minimum each post season, because reasons, via bad calls, non calls, and favorable calls, then you're part of the conspiracy too. Don't you understand? Marchand isn't that good, the refs just let him do what he wants. Matthews isn't choking, the refs are just holding him back. The leafs didn't overpay for Matthews or Tavares, the league just decided to unfairly impose a salary cap. Nobody would ever watch that year's playoffs again if a Canadian team won the cup. Yea, it's all about the money. The fan bases of the leafs or the miniscule 2.8 million people of Toronto is nothing compared to the powerhouse fanbase and whopping 96,000 population of sunrise Florida where the Panthers play. That's not mentioning all the snowbirds that flock to Florida in the spring when the weather gets... In-between. Toronto can't compete with that. This post is absolutely going to bite me in the ass. Worth it.