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You have to feel sorry for Senators fans these days.
How many more kicks to the gut are they going to absorb?
Not since George Chuvalo took a beating from Muhammed Ali in an epic 15-round battle at Maple Leaf Gardens 50 years ago has a Canadian been hit as hard as they have over the past four months.
First it was the tantalizing, agonizing, double-overtime defeat, one step from the Stanley Cup finals, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then the loss of popular, locally grown defenceman Marc Methot to the expansion draft. Then the indignity of having the only Canadian NHL rink to disguise upper bowl seats with tarps when the owner gave up his fight for sellouts. Then the news that the wildly entertaining Erik Karlsson would likely miss at least the start of the season with a lingering injury, as would the beloved Clarke MacArthur.
And now this?
“The Ultimate Leafs Fan Collection” is being plunked down right in the heart of national capital region, and I can think of no greater insult to go along with all the injuries. Oh wait, yes I can. Because it was purchased for the Museum of Canadian History, at a tidy sum of nearly $2 million, over taxed Senators fans are helping pay for it.
You people, would you not rather throw your money in a well of flaming garbage on Parliament Hill?
The self-proclaimed “Ultimate Leafs Fan” is a gentleman by the name of Mike Wilson, who had a lifetime of blue and white junk, err, collectibles in a 1,000-square foot man-cave at his home in Toronto’s prestigious Forest Hill district.
It took three years of negotiating on a price for Wilson’s 2,000-plus items, which does include some pretty cool stuff that all hockey fans can enjoy. Such as the skates worn by Wayne Gretzky during his NHL record 51-game assist streak, and the stick he used to tie Phil Esposito’s mark of 76 goals. There’s another stick signed by Paul Henderson and the rest of Team Canada ’72. A national treasure, that.
Wilson’s shrine also celebrates Western teams, amateur teams, women’s hockey, black players, First Nations and sledge hockey, and yes, there is a tribute to former skaters with the Montreal Canadiens and Senators. It even includes a blood-stained jersey that belonged to Frank Finnigan. Alas, not the No. 8 that hangs from Canadian Tire Centre, but one he wore in 1935 while playing for Toronto, in his post-Senators days.
No surprise there. Much of the collection centres around a team from the capital of the province, not the country. There’s a dressing room door and original 131 turnstile ticket box from Maple Leaf Gardens. Sweaters from former Maple Leafs George Armstrong, Dave Keon and Tim Horton, as well as goalie pads and chest protector used by Johnny Bower. Skates worn by King Clancy, a Dick Duff Stanley Cup silver service tray, Teeder Kennedy’s 200th goal puck, and player lockers from the last season at MLG.
Listen, it’s great that the Canadian Museum recognizes the importance of hockey to our heritage, but this is also a gross misjudgment of exactly how much most of Ottawa despises the Maple Leafs. And how passionate true Canadian hockey fans are about their team.
Wearing any other logo, players with the magnificent talent of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander might even be appreciated at CTC. But with Maple Leafs on their chest, those young men are more than just the enemy. They represent the befuddling cockiness and obnoxiousness of a fan base that hasn’t even been to the Cup finals since Chuvalo lost to Ali.
If Matthews and Co. do continue their trending pattern to contender status this season — and the Senators happen to fall by the wayside — how many Ottawa fans will be hoping for the Cup to come to Ontario? Probably about half the number that could be covered by one of Eugene Melnyk’s tarps.
“The Ultimate Leafs Fan Collection” should be located where it will be adored and revered. Some place like the Hockey Hall of Fame, 30 Yonge St., Toronto.
At the Museum of Canadian History, in the heart of Senators land, there should be a greater focus on Daniel Alfredsson, Bryan Murray, Karlsson, the 2007 Cup finalists, the magical Hamburglar run of 2015 or last season’s team of heroes that wrestled an unbelievable amount of adversity before finally being knocked out by Sidney Crosby and the eventual champions.
In these parts, a Maple Leafs shrine is just another blow to a Senators fan base that has been a punching bag to misfortune for the past four months. Here, the “Ultimate Leafs Fan Collection” is nothing more than a bunch of blue and white junk.
查看原文...
How many more kicks to the gut are they going to absorb?
Not since George Chuvalo took a beating from Muhammed Ali in an epic 15-round battle at Maple Leaf Gardens 50 years ago has a Canadian been hit as hard as they have over the past four months.
First it was the tantalizing, agonizing, double-overtime defeat, one step from the Stanley Cup finals, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Then the loss of popular, locally grown defenceman Marc Methot to the expansion draft. Then the indignity of having the only Canadian NHL rink to disguise upper bowl seats with tarps when the owner gave up his fight for sellouts. Then the news that the wildly entertaining Erik Karlsson would likely miss at least the start of the season with a lingering injury, as would the beloved Clarke MacArthur.
And now this?
“The Ultimate Leafs Fan Collection” is being plunked down right in the heart of national capital region, and I can think of no greater insult to go along with all the injuries. Oh wait, yes I can. Because it was purchased for the Museum of Canadian History, at a tidy sum of nearly $2 million, over taxed Senators fans are helping pay for it.
You people, would you not rather throw your money in a well of flaming garbage on Parliament Hill?
The self-proclaimed “Ultimate Leafs Fan” is a gentleman by the name of Mike Wilson, who had a lifetime of blue and white junk, err, collectibles in a 1,000-square foot man-cave at his home in Toronto’s prestigious Forest Hill district.
It took three years of negotiating on a price for Wilson’s 2,000-plus items, which does include some pretty cool stuff that all hockey fans can enjoy. Such as the skates worn by Wayne Gretzky during his NHL record 51-game assist streak, and the stick he used to tie Phil Esposito’s mark of 76 goals. There’s another stick signed by Paul Henderson and the rest of Team Canada ’72. A national treasure, that.
Wilson’s shrine also celebrates Western teams, amateur teams, women’s hockey, black players, First Nations and sledge hockey, and yes, there is a tribute to former skaters with the Montreal Canadiens and Senators. It even includes a blood-stained jersey that belonged to Frank Finnigan. Alas, not the No. 8 that hangs from Canadian Tire Centre, but one he wore in 1935 while playing for Toronto, in his post-Senators days.
No surprise there. Much of the collection centres around a team from the capital of the province, not the country. There’s a dressing room door and original 131 turnstile ticket box from Maple Leaf Gardens. Sweaters from former Maple Leafs George Armstrong, Dave Keon and Tim Horton, as well as goalie pads and chest protector used by Johnny Bower. Skates worn by King Clancy, a Dick Duff Stanley Cup silver service tray, Teeder Kennedy’s 200th goal puck, and player lockers from the last season at MLG.
Listen, it’s great that the Canadian Museum recognizes the importance of hockey to our heritage, but this is also a gross misjudgment of exactly how much most of Ottawa despises the Maple Leafs. And how passionate true Canadian hockey fans are about their team.
Wearing any other logo, players with the magnificent talent of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander might even be appreciated at CTC. But with Maple Leafs on their chest, those young men are more than just the enemy. They represent the befuddling cockiness and obnoxiousness of a fan base that hasn’t even been to the Cup finals since Chuvalo lost to Ali.
If Matthews and Co. do continue their trending pattern to contender status this season — and the Senators happen to fall by the wayside — how many Ottawa fans will be hoping for the Cup to come to Ontario? Probably about half the number that could be covered by one of Eugene Melnyk’s tarps.
“The Ultimate Leafs Fan Collection” should be located where it will be adored and revered. Some place like the Hockey Hall of Fame, 30 Yonge St., Toronto.
At the Museum of Canadian History, in the heart of Senators land, there should be a greater focus on Daniel Alfredsson, Bryan Murray, Karlsson, the 2007 Cup finalists, the magical Hamburglar run of 2015 or last season’s team of heroes that wrestled an unbelievable amount of adversity before finally being knocked out by Sidney Crosby and the eventual champions.
In these parts, a Maple Leafs shrine is just another blow to a Senators fan base that has been a punching bag to misfortune for the past four months. Here, the “Ultimate Leafs Fan Collection” is nothing more than a bunch of blue and white junk.
查看原文...
