Why The Toronto Maple Leafs Deserve Their FanSided 250 Rank

It’s that time of the year again- when we find out where the Toronto Maple Leafs rank in this year’s  FanSided 250.

The yearly ranking of the world’s top 250 fandoms and fan bases have placed the Toronto Maple Leafs fan base 59th overall, and second in the NHL.

There were a total of 18 NHL teams in the top 250.

First in the NHL section were the St.Louis’ Blues after their inspiring Stanley Cup win, it was an obvious defeat but the Toronto Maple Leafs placing second over all out of the 18 other teams in the list  is a fair ranking.

With a combined 2.87 million followers throughout social media and an expansive amount of fans who show up to away games, the Toronto Maple Leafs certainly have the Blues out numbered in fan-base.  But what makes the Leafs so special?

What has powered their frankly insanely huge fandom to become the monster it is? I found out myself not too long ago.

Growing up two hours outside of Toronto, you’re pretty much force-fed Leafs content whether you liked it or not. Hockey is a strong part of Canadian culture and while it took me a decent amount of time to get with the program, the Leafs still weren’t my first choice team when I got deep into it in 2015.

In fact I completely denounced them and had felt that it was too cliche to be a fan of the Leafs and swore up and down I could never be,- ha.

Toronto Maple Leafs fans have a reputation of being a bit over the top and aggressive and I wanted none of that. Instead, I stuck with what my friend group followed, the Pittsburgh Penguins and saw them hoist the cup in 2016.

Now i wasn’t tone deaf, i knew the Toronto Maple Leafs had the first  round draft pick that year and when they drafted Auston Matthews it  caught my attention and they were on my radar the beginning of the following season slowly making their way into my life and twitter feed.

At the time i was also watching the Dallas Stars as well as the Penguins so one more team wasn’t all that big of a deal, i added them to my NHL app on minimal notifications.

The 2017 season was the first time I started with full intentions of watching the Toronto Maple Leafs. Their roster had me interested- i wanted to just you know…See what they could do out of pure curiosity.

The next thing I knew, it was knee-deep into the season, I was crying over the I Am Auston Matthews mini documentary and fully invested in each and every player on the team and how they were doing statistically.

Suddenly I owned a Leafs shirt for each day of the week-It was like a flip had switched, i had gone from rolling my eyes at the mention of them to defending their honour in  jovial yelling matches against friends and buying a jersey and being emotionally invested in brutal playoff losses.

They had become part of my life in a way no other hockey team I followed ever had; I met my best friend through complaining about said brutal playoff losses online.

I went to my first NHL game in the preseason of 2018;  it was actually John Tavares first game in the Scotiabank Arena as a Toronto Maple Leafs against the  Buffalo Sabres and although it was just preseason I’ll never forget the feeling in my chest when the crowd cheered in his announcement it was unparalleled.

I of course have continued to support the Toronto Maple Leafs and my passion for hockey has only grown more and more, and this is now my third season cheering for them and I wouldn’t change a thing.

It’s kind of a wonder to see; with a stacked list of why liking the Leafs isn’t beneficial for you as a sports fan-between the general lack of play offs success and seemingly exorbitant ticket prices- why people still flock to them the way they do

There’s something about ‘Leafs Nation’ that draws you in- maybe it’s the teams perseverance despite  their always the bridesmaid never the bride sort of way, or their over a century of history and simple beginnings or talented young roster of the next league greats.

Maybe it was your dad’s favorite team and you stuck with tradition, or they’re your hometown team or maybe, like myself, they found a way into your world and now you’re attached.

It’s easy to see that the Toronto Maple Leafs have one of the largest most dedicated fan bases in the whole league and for good reason. It’s the kind of fan base that sucks you in, no matter how hard you try to stay away and once you’re there you’re a fan for life.