This story sort of starts out like any hockey story you have read before. Well, not really. To tell you the truth, I was a Jays/baseball fan long before hockey and the Leafs. I would attend Kitchener Rangers games but never understood the rules, why they made hard passes and so on. Then, I happened upon a Leafs game when I was 12. That was during the 89-90 season. Clark, Ramage, Laforest, Ing, Daoust, Leeman, just to name a few. All of that passing, hitting and fighting started to make sense to me.
Skip forward 3 years and my final stint at Sick Kids Hospital. Timing is everything, so they say. The Leafs were doing their annual visit and I had to stay a little longer. Excited would be an understatement. What else could you want at 15? Hockey Cards collected and autographed. Buying posters and putting them on the wall. Some of the usual hockey fan mannerisms.
Being in high school and not actually playing hockey made a rift in grasping what I was watching on the TV. That’s why it’s nice to have friends who play and will teach you everything you need to know. Connection made.
Many roster changes, management changes, love to hate them. Hate to love them. A roller coaster comparison has been done over and over. How about a relationship? I’m not asking you, the readers for one. Just stating the fact that I have loved the team, hated the organization. Loved the success, and hated the media. I give them attention; they either ignore me (losing) or love me (winning). I know I have no influence on the outcome, but, it’s nice to believe your superstitions have some cosmic pull.
If Lord Stanley happens to pay the 6ix a visit while I am still alive or not, please understand this: I will stand behind them, whether they need a push or not.
I am 28 years a Leafs Fan.
And Counting.
Witten by: @kreebs29 check him out on Twitter!
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