OffThePost

 The Problem With Leaf Fans Is...

... they're delusional.

 Oh and why are their team colours blue and white? When was the last time you saw a blue or white maple leaf?

 1967, wasn't that a few years before Confederation?

 Oh, and don't get me going about Toronto.

Hi, I am Joseph, the rational one of this motley hockey blog duo. You see I am the Habs fan. You know, the hockey team with the most Stanley Cups in NHL history, the team that magically qualified for the COVID Playoffs and made it to the Finals (representing the Western Conference), the team from Montreal, Canada's true hockey mecca. 

Right, I know, I know, trust me I KNOW, how bad the Habs have been going on 20 years now. Hell, they haven't won a Cup since '93. There have been spurts of excitement. Carey Price dragging a ragtag team of mostly 3rd liners deep into the Playoffs every few years. It hasn't been all bad, but I am beginning to understand the madness that it is to be a Leaf fan. Cheering for the Montreal Canadiens, for the last 30 years, has been akin to being trapped in a passive-aggressive relationship. Why are they so mean to us when we love them so much?

Shit, come to think of it, this sort of blind loyalty/delusion can be pegged on the fans of any Canadian NHL hockey team. No team from Canada has won the Cup since 1993. The majority of the Canadian teams have made it to the Finals (Nucks, Oilers, Flames, Sens, Habs... tee hee look who is missing) since '93, but it's really been a rough go of it for NHL hockey fans in the Great White North.

Who's to blame for this crime against hockey?

 The Canadian dollar?

 Taxes (geezus are we blaming Trudeau again)?

 The ghosts of the Forum?

 Harold Ballard?

 Complacent owners and fans?

 Gary Buttman... er Bettman?

 All the above? 

The larger question is why are we all still watching (if we can, what with streaming and local blackouts, but that's a rant for another day)? Is our love for the game stronger than the sting of constant failure? Are Gold Medals every 4 years, and World Junior Championships almost every year enough to fill the void left by no Cups?

I don't know. 

Ask David, the Leaf fan, he knows how to cope with never-ending disappointment, it's his superpower.