Toronto Maple Leafs: A Series of Thoughts On Rage and Negativity
By James Tanner
Hockey Can Be Fun – It Just Takes Effort
If the Toronto Maple Leafs play poorly, boo all you want. But the Leafs have not played poorly by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t want to tell anyone what to do, but my own person view is that it’s confusing to me why people love a team so much they spend every waking hour talking about and watching them, and yet this experience is pretty much constantly negative.
What is honestly so bad about finding the positives and sticking by your team when the going gets tough? I am still in my thirties, but the way hockey is experienced and consumed today seems so crazy to me that I might as well be 100 yelling “kids these days”…….except, ironically, most of what I’m talking about isn’t from kids, but from people in the 40-60 range.
Maybe they’re just channeling the fact that life didn’t work out for them through their hatred of their favorite team, I don’t know. I just know it can’t be healthy to get so mad about a hobby all the time.
Why is it anathema to feel bad for the team you cheer for when they fail? Why can’t anyone seem to look at a bunch of 25 year old kids who are struggling and feel a little bit of empathy? Where’s the Let’s Get ‘Em Next Time Gang mentality? Mitch Marner is about the world’s nicest kid. He’s paid a lot of money because he’s one of the best at what he does, and just because he has one bad series then goes pointless for a few games, suddenly the guy is on the phone with Jake Gardiner and Larry Murphy discussing real estate in Michigan.
All he did last year was come in second in 5v5 scoring while playing elite defense, which more or less made him the 3rd best player in the NHL last year. In the playoffs he put up the kinds of stats which lead to 100 points seasons but the puck didn’t go in.
Suddenly he’s ice cold and does anyone think “Oh hey maybe this is why literally every great player from Toronto the NHL has seen in 50 years has played for a different team?” No, all they want to do is figure out how they can eviscerate a 23 year old under the kind of pressure to perform most of us will never know.
Personally, if I wrote my true thoughts on what I think about people ripping one of the best players in franchise history, who is also only 23 and also a hometown hero who, by all accounts is absolutely great for the community, they would be profanity filled nonsense. I would lose my composure, and I won’t do that. So on to the next thing…