Toronto Maple Leafs: It's Tough to Be a Fan in These Hard Times

With the prospect of a third straight early golfing season for our beloved Leafs looming, a fan may find himself facing ridicule from non-fans—or even worse DESERTERS.

Yup, I'm a diehard Leaf fan and YUP the dying is hard right now.  But I'm immortal when it comes to my commitment to this club.  I compare being a hockey fan to being soldier in the Canadian Army, at war against a sworn enemy.  As a soldier it's completely unacceptable to run to the other side just because you're losing the battle.

What would the world come to if soldiers regularly betrayed their nations and started fighting for the opposition, disillusioned by just a few lost battles.

When I hear people say things like "I don't back the Leafs any more because they don't win enough etc., etc.," the first thing that goes through my mind is "Then you were NEVER a true Leaf fan!" 

Sure it sucks that corporate culture has taken over the ACC and is slowly sucking the soul out of the team.  But, the last thing a Leaf fan should do right now is bail.

I also want to clarify that bailing is NOT the same thing as becoming a member of the TANK NATION.  Sometimes it takes tough love to fix a very large problem.

I salute those in TANK NATION for their courage and commitment to understanding the problems with the team.  

I'm not so sure that a first draft pick is always a grand slam home run for teams.  Also, one player, especially a rookie, does not a team make.  Ovechkin is a prime example of this.  Yes, he's awesome (my personal favorite player actually), but one great hockey player cannot single handedly pull a team together all on his own. 

I do believe the team needs to be totally rebuilt—with patience in mind.

As I have said before, I think Paul Maurice is a great coach.  He's just not the right coach for the team as it currently stands.  However, if Maurice gets a whole lot of young players to work with then that's another story.  In this case I think they could do very well as long as they realize a full overhaul could take two to three years of unmeddled time.

Alas, can MLS brass keep their hands off and their mouths shut?

I doubt it.

To all those ex-Leaf fans who have bolted to the Sens camp: How can you sleep at night knowing your rooting for a guy like Daniel Alfredsson.  Ewwwww, puke, choke, brain cramp.