Toronto Fans Come Up Short in Marlies' First Game of Calder Cup Playoffs

I have always prided myself on being a sports’ fan in Toronto. Our teams may not always come out on top, but our fans have always come out in thousands to support them.

But last night changed my mind of just how much of a “hockey town” Toronto can actually consider itself.

It was game one of the American Hockey League playoffs for the Toronto Marlies. They're the under-rated future of our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs—a team who clinched the North Division title and placed second in the entire Western Conference of the AHL.

You would think tickets would have been flying out of the hands of ticket retailers and scalpers alike, wouldn’t you?

That is what I thought, but the sections of empty seats all around me would say otherwise.

The attendance count for last night’s game was 1,063 people and for a hockey arena that can hold more than 8,000 fans, that number is nothing but completely pathetic.  It was the lowest attendance of any game in the Marlies' 2007-2008 season.

It is somewhat unexplainable since the last two regular season games packed more than 6,700 people just last weekend—even after the Marlies had already clinched their division.

The price of tickets cannot be a factor. I paid $40 for my front row ticket. You would be lucky to get a few beers and some hotdogs for that at a Leafs game.

It cannot be Ricoh Coliseum. Sure it is not as classy as the Air Canada Centre, but are hockey arenas really supposed to be classy?

Who knows why no one came out last night to cheer on the Marlies in their first playoff game? Especially considering they are the only Toronto sports team to actually give our city hope of winning a championship this year.

As Leafs fans, we get so caught up in the dream of winning another Stanley Cup that we seem to forget that other hockey teams in this city exist.

Once the regular season ends and we are left putting those playoff car flags back into the garage for another year, it is as if nothing else matters.

I find it so hard to believe that the Marlies are among the forgotten. Many of the players did such a remarkable job filling in for our injured Leafs this season, including Jiri Tlusty who was just named AHL Player of the Week.

I urge all hockey fans in Toronto to buy a ticket to a Marlies' playoff game. Let’s show this team we support them and appreciate that they are representing the blue and white in the postseason.

LET’S GO MARLIES!