Sports Blog

I watched and listened with great interest the fan reaction Saturday night in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre as the members of the 1966-67 Stanley Cup winning Toronto Maple Leafs were introduced. I sat (and stood) at home applauding as each former player came out onto the ice. I’ve heard all the comments from older fans who complained that the applause for Dave Keon and the rest of this victorious team was “polite”. Why are we surprised? First of all, most Leaf fans in attendance fall into one of two categories - either they are too young to know any of these players (Tim Horton? – Yes, he was a big, strong defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs, not only the original owner of a donut operation) or too Corporate to get off their hands to join in the celebration.

And it would have been great to see Captain George Armstrong come out carrying the Cup. Even the most reserved fans would have roared. If you are one of the fans whining that this was nothing more than a ceremony exemplifying mediocrity, well, get over it. This was a ceremony to express appreciation. As painful as it is for Leaf fans to accept failure year after year, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to show the players of today what they’re playing for. Not just a trip to round one of the playoffs – no, we want the Cup. Since I don’t have access to Leaf tickets and certainly couldn’t have afforded the prices being demanded by scalpers Saturday night, I want to take this opportunity to thank the players of that very special team. I get very emotional about my Leafs and appreciate just how special the 1966-67 victory was. After all, 40 teams since haven’t been able to duplicate your success – and the current group is striving for eighth place.

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