Toronto Maple Leafs: A Series of Thoughts On Rage and Negativity

The Internet is fun, But….

Myself, I stay off the internet most of the time, and I still have a lot of real life friends who I disagree with.  I make it a point to keep them.  For most people though, what’s the one place where people who disagree on things still come together? Sports –  And it’s a nightmare.  “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON”T AGREE WITH EVERY SINGLE THOUGHT I HAVE HOW DARE YOU?”

A TYPO? DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW ABOUT THIS?

And on and on.

Blame the players, hate the fans, yell at everyone. and fight.

Who needs it?

There’s got to be a better way.  I love to have a good natured argument, and I’m not above ripping on players or management I don’t like.  I have been a massive part of everything I’m complaining about, by the way, so don’t think I don’t know that.

For the last  couple of years, however,  I have made a concerted effort to be as positive as possible when it comes to hockey. The results have been hilarious, but they’ve also been enlightening and entertaining, and illuminating and it’s been a lot of fun.  I get insulted way more, but perversely, I’m enjoying myself more than I was in the last full Mike Babcock season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will likely recover from Saturday’s game and ride the talent on their roster all the way to glory.  Or they won’t, and life will go on.  It’s not that big of a deal either way.  I just think when it comes to being a fan of the sport, it doesn’t make any sense to assume they won’t do it. I mean, I like to be realistic, I just try to make sure I take a positive viewpoint when I can.

Several years ago I realized that I was pretty unhappy in certain aspects.  I worked in a dingy basement office (not at my Mom’s thankyouvery much  ahhahaha) and I spent way too much time arguing politics with people on social media.  I recognized this as extremely unhealthy and decided to make a change.

I deleted all my accounts, and I did my best to make 100% of my online activities about hockey.

Additionally I tried to be more positive about the team I cover and to be less mean to people who didn’t like what I had to say.  I haven’t always succeeded in this, but I can tell you I am way happier and less filled with rage.   You should try it.  Maybe it’s just that I have a way better office now (top floor!) and that I realized that arguing politics on the internet was literally choosing to engage with crazy people,  but I like to think it’s because I chose to take a more positive approach to my hobby as well.

It worked for me, and maybe it won’t work for you,  but tell me, is raging out about every thing that a hockey team does working out all that great for you?   Do you enjoy games more now than back when there was no internet? Because for me, I didn’t, but now I do.

And this isn’t self-help positive thinking nonsense – I don’t expect that just being more positive about things will change anything in the real world. But hockey is a hobby, and how you view it really does matter.  I tried to go in a positive direction and it made hockey fun again.

So hate the Leafs it it makes you feel better, I know most of you will.  I don’t expect to change anyone’s mind, I just felt like writing about how I felt, and, if for some reason you actually made it this far, I hope it was as good for you as it was for me.   It’s fun to talk about hockey and we’re lucky to be able to do it.