Patt Quinn

“QUINN, STOP CHEWING THAT GUM AND COACH YOUR TEAM” were words that I heard throughout my entire childhood (granted, i can guarantee you that there were a few profanities thrown into that sentence).  Even when Pat Quinn was no longer the coach of my beloved leafs, I would still hear my father yelling Quinn’s name at the TV, simply because yelling “QUINN” was just easier to say. For a long while, Pat Quinn’s name was the soundtrack to my life and as you may have heard, he has recently passed.  

He was a man who will forever be remembered by the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, and the National Hockey League itself without a doubt.

I think it’s only fitting that I take this time out of my day to pay tribute to the great Pat Quinn, so thank you Quinn. Thank you for the memories, thank you for coaching the leafs, even at their worst. Thank you for putting up with us rowdy leaf fans, and thank you for being one of the best coaches to ever have coached the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Rest in peace, Coach.

Positivity, People!

I watch Sportscentre and I wonder if the media likes to stir up drama or if what they say actually means something. Granted, my dream is to be apart of this media world, but it’s something to talk about.

Today in particular, the city of Toronto went into frenzy because the Leafs didn’t give their traditional game salute after they won against The Tampa Bay Lighting. Was it the Leaf fans to make a big deal out of this or was it the media? Is this snub something that is actually worth discussing? Was it a snub at all?

Here’s what I think;The leafs have been through a rough 10 days. After the Boston beat down, things went downhill. But I mean, that’s classic leafs right? The loss to Pittsburg wasn’t something to go crazy over, but after losing to Buffalo and Nashville in the fashion that they did, there was reason to worry.

Maybe the leafs made this gesture because they were frustrated with fans throwing jerseys on the ice. Maybe they were trying to make a point. I truly believe that the fans at the game last night went home happy because the team won, I don’t think the fact that they weren’t saluted at the end of the game was on their minds until they got home and saw that the media was talking about it and blowing it out of proportion.

But really, the city of Toronto right now should be discussing something much more positive. This of course being the Raptors. THE TEAM IS 10-2, LET’S BE HAPPY ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND WHY DON’T WE!!!! Let go of the anguish that you feel about this supposed leafs snub (because really, who cares) and be excited about where we are as a city in the NBA. Not for anything, but this is big. Let’s rise together and be proud.

#WeTheNorth

Growing Pains

Every great professional sports team has had a low point. Not one team in professional sports history has won every season in a row, which is not likely to happen… ever. Teams go through the growing years, the growing pains and all of the ridicule that comes along with it, but soon enough it will be the day that the team reaches it’s ultimate goal. The Stanley Cup. The World Series. The Super bowl. The NBA Championship. The World Cup. A Gold Medal. The Masters. The British Open. Whatever it may be, all those days, weeks, months, maybe even years of growing pains and ups and downs will be completely worth it.

I’m writing this more from a student life standpoint but trying to relate it back to sports because that’s what I always find myself doing somehow. High school is an experience that we all go through. We all go through heartbreak, loss of friendship, humiliation and maybe your hopes and dreams crashing down around you. What I’ve come to realize lately is that we can’t dwell on the fact that bad things are happening to us. We have to grow from where we are. If bad things never happened to us then we would never be able to grow and learn from experience.

My grade 12 year has been a lot less of what I have expected it to be so far, I’ve lost friends and I’ve been heartbroken. But that’s apart of it all.

If the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t go through years of humiliation and pressure from fans, do you think they would have won the World Series back to back in 1992, and in 1993? No. They went through their own growing pains.

The point I’m trying to get across while writing this is that if you are feeling low just remember that this is all apart of life. Every aspect of the world goes through a cycle of sadness and disappointment, but it’s only temporary.

You will get to your World Series one day, I promise.

The Reverse

            Imagine you wake up one morning and things feel different. You go downstairs, turn on Sports Centre and realize that the highlights on your screen aren’t just regular hockey highlights from the night before. You are watching the Toronto Maple Leafs hoist up hockey’s most prized possession. But how could this be possible? Didn’t they start off the season on a losing streak? What could possibly be going on…?

Every year it’s the same thing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. We go through a cycle. Each and every leaf fan knows it. We start off strong, continue strong, and run out of gas when it actually matters. The leafs put all their energy into the first part of the season just to prove that they have come back better, but in the end we still end up at the bottom. It hurts, but its true.

            But what if this year we reverse the cycle. Let’s say the leafs start the season off on a slump (which seems possible after watching the past to loses to Montreal and Pittsburgh). How about this year we start of bad, and end off good? Could that be a possibility? What if we go on a losing streak to start off the season and end up winning the cup? Is that a long shot?

            I mean, I know it’s a long shot, but imagine if that were to ever actually happen. How awesome of a story would that be. The headlines would read “The leafs; a failure again” but would then turn into “The Leafs; Champions”.

Maybe I’m dreaming, but it’s nice to dream, right?

"Eternal Sunshine of the Epic Collapse" - Response

            Recently I read an article. The article was titled “Eternal Sunshine of the Epic Collapse”. Many things can come to mind when seeing a headline like this. You automatically think it has something to do with the sports world, and if you’re a hockey fan, you know for damn sure that you are about to read about the Toronto Maple Leafs.

            Us Leaf fans have something of a curse upon us. We love our team more than any other fan base in the world. There’s nothing that excites us more than to see the leafs step onto center ice. There’s nothing that invigorates us more than to see our beloved Leafs win a game (even in pre-season). What is sad about this fact is that we haven’t seen our beloved leafs win when it matters… ever. Most who are reading this haven’t even been alive since the last time the leafs won the cup (because lets be honest, those who were alive probably don’t know how to work a computer).

            As I was reading the article, I was infuriated. The author of the piece had bashed the leafs on and on throughout the entire article. It talked about how each and every leaf fan has blind hope going into each and every season. It talked about how every year is another failure that new management won’t be able to fix the following year.  

            Here’s what I would like to say to the author of this piece… You’re right. Now if you know me, you know I hate admitting when someone is right about one of my teams. Despite the trash talking that occurred in that article, every word of it was true. We do have blind hope and we always think that new management is going to change things but it won’t. What needs to change is the dynamic we are forced into when we talk about the leafs. Someone brings up the leafs in a casual conversation and it is instantly changes to a negative aspect.

            How can we expect our leafs to do well if we cant even have faith in them through the entire season? We build our hope in the pre-season, they lose a few games in the first 3 weeks and just like that the negativity starts.

            Maybe the issue is that we as fans don’t carry out that “sunshine” all season.  We only carry it out when we think its the leafs allotted “sunshine” period. Then we go back to being cynical until we see a glimmer of hope that says “hey maybe they will make the playoffs” and we then become negative again when they don’t and the cycle repeats itself.

            Here is what I propose: Let’s go into this season with our blind hope. Let’s show everyone the kind of fan base that we are. Let’s let the league know that this year we aren’t gonna bring our team down. That maybe this year will be our time, and if not… maybe the year after that.

            Let’s just keep showing our sunshine leaf fans.

GO LEAFS GO