Why are the Leafs hated so much?

Question

I'm a Canucks fan myself and i always hear people bashing Toronto. I understand they have been to the playoffs in 4 or 5 years, but how does that make people HATE them?

When Sundin was playing for the Canucks in 09 and got the winning shootout goal against the leafs... That game was awesome! The Leafs fans also showed lots of class in that game too.

when the Canucks were down 3-0 after the first and eventually came back to win 5-3. That was also a awesome game! .. if your a Canucks fan that is :)

Answer 1

Because some people say they are a bad franchise and stuff like that, but ever since the lockout we have not made the playoffs. Also, even though we kinda suck, we still get lots of coverage on CBC Hockey Night in Canada because of the ratings and people get all angry that they are not getting coverage and they are a better team.....so I guess that's part of the reason. Some people who even live in Toronto like hockey and hate the Leafs ( i could give you so many examples ) cuz they are a bad franchise and crap.



Ok, and I still don't understand why they hate the fans too, some guy once said that there are 2 types of Leafs fan

1) The fan that thinks the Leafs are the best team ever even thought the stats prove otherwise.

2) The fans that know the Leafs suck, and are not afraid to accept it.



I think that's stupid personally, I don't know a single Leafs fan that thinks they are the best team, but even if people do they are probably just passionate fans. That's all

Answer 2

Simple answer: Jealousy.

The Leafs get more attention than any other Canadian team despite having a long running cup drought. If you look at the numbers, the Leafs bring in more money than all the other Canadian teams combined. That's why Balsillie is so intent on bringing a team to Hamilton to take advantage of the Market.

Leafs fans are very passionate about Hockey and unlike other fans, generally, won't bash their teams every time they lose a game.

I'll never understand how people can call themselves a hockey fan and then start hating their team when they don't do good. Every team can't win every game and the cup every year.



If the Leafs go another 43 years without a cup, I will still be a fan.



P.S. I saw that game with the Canucks, it was pretty great and Sundin got a standing ovation from the fans at the ACC. That man has done a lot for the team.



Bob: Damn, I though you had taken my advice and deleted your account. You should have, because once again you have embarassed yourself.

If you had bothered (for once in your life) to actually READ THE WHOLE ANSWER I gave, you wouldn't be asking another of your obvious questions (even though you're supposed to be answering a question as opposed to questioning my answers.... I'll give you a second to let that sink in.)

I clearly established that the Leafs have NOT been a successful team for quite some time, the question (which you obviously didn't read as well) is Why are the Leafs hated so much and my answer was Jealousy.... which you are a prime example of BTW. Jealous because the Leafs get more exposure, because they have more fans than anyone, which is why they get so much attention. Supply and Demand my simple friend. This may be news to you, but just because a team doesn't do good doesn't mean you dislike them. That's no different than liking a team only because they do well, and that, dummy, is called BANDWAGGONING. Look it up....but make sure you read the WHOLE definition when you do.



Sometimes I wonder if maybe you're a closet Leafs fan judging by the amount of passion you seem to have in writing about them... I don't even know what team you cheer for because all you do is focus on the Leafs.

Answer 3

It seems some people didn't bother watch a Leaf game last year. Boring team? The Leafs were far from boring. They may not win very much but to call them boring is ignorant. Anybody who finds the Leafs boring needs to check out some of the other teams around the NHL. Teams like Boston just sat there and trapped the entire season, something the Leafs never did.



Anyway drifting back on topic, the Leafs are hated for so many reasons and it goes beyond hockey.



First and foremost, let's set aside the "their bad" argument because nobody really hates some other teams that haven't been successful post-lockout. See: Atlanta, Florida, etc. To take it a step further, let's set aside the "No cups in 43 years" argument as well as you don't see St. Louis and Los Angeles hated nearly as much as the Leafs. The bottomline for that is that people really don't care how poorly a team does on the ice unless its a rival or a 2nd favorite or what not.



What people do seem to find annoying is that the Leafs are still "relevant." Oh look, the haters are licking their chops to get a chance to say "The Leafs aren't relevant! their bad!" Guess what guys, they are. Despite the inepitude, every hockey board including this one has a new Leaf topic daily. When 7th defensemen like Brett Ledba are signed, they instantly become the "Trending" topic on Twitter. Some say its jealousy that the Leafs can still be so popular while other franchises in the same position become practically irrelavent to the hockey world. Personally? I think people just get sick of hearing about the franchise.



Pushing it further, Leaf fans seem to be endlessly optomistic. Every year is a chance for the playoffs or the cup, no matter how poor the team played the year before. Eventually, people tire of that too. They tire of the overrating of players, they tire of a franchise that finishes 29th place and yet still can't seem to do any wrong. The Leafs also have a greater concentration of fans then most teams which leads to more less versed fans.



Finally; the media. The Leafs are the front page news. Every national newspaper is Leafs first, every news network is Leafs first, every sports channel (See:TSN and HNIC) is Leafs first. You could understand people would feel their team is not getting enough attention, given this situation.



Taking the hate outside of hockey, many Canadians outside of the Greater Toronto Area hate the city of Toronto themselves. They claim everything stupid from the city being too "American" to the city being the attention of attention in the country's media to it being extremely dangerous (Hence the nickname "Trauma", Ironically the city is the safest of the "Big 6" in Canada and is safer then the majority of US cities as well).Don't believe this hate exists? CBC actually made a comedic movie about it if your interested. It's called "Let's all hate Toronto."

Answer 4

Simple math:



Size of fanbase+occasional misguided optimism (lawnchair planting on Yonge St*10)/four decades of futility (Ballard+Ticket Prices/Ratings)+"Plan The P***de" contingent=Hatred of the Leafs



Pretty simple, really.



The problem is that the majority of fans I know aren't delusional, but just like a majority of Habs fans aren't racists and arsonists (at least 40% aren't...I'm kidding!), there are cheap visuals combined with an easy "low-hanging fruit" target that is easily (and justifiably) ridiculed.



**Now if you'll excuse me I have to go write John Mitchell's HHOF induction speech and explain why the Penguins are idiots for not agreeing to trade Crosby and Malkin for Kaberle...damn, where are my crayons?**



**The previous paragraph was intended to be sarcasm. In the event of an emergency nothing mention should be taken as fact or my personal opinions, sentiments, ideas, dreams, etc. So put the gun down.



Edit: It just occurred to me that the only thing the Kaberle saga needed was a rose ceremony. With soft lighting. The good thing is that I'm sure the trade deadline will be a high water mark for responsible, measured, and non-hysterical reporting through all various forms (radio, tv, online, print).



So "KABERLE DEATHWATCH 2K11- the final showdown!" is on.

Answer 5

Its the fanbase. The leafs have a large group of fans, maybe only rivaled by their rival team who is hated much more, Montreal. I think the problem is that there is so much passion for Toronto that the leafs actual playing doesn`t matter as much to people as how the leafs are doing score wise. So now with the recent streak of being a crappy team :(, the leafs are hated because the fans say they are the best team when they are doing the worst.

Answer 6

Expat Mike is right, it is not the team( they haven't been good enough to hate in most people's lifetime) It is the idiot fans. All teams have them but with such a large fan base the leafs have more. Also most Leaf fans (the loud ones anyway) appear to be Leaf fans and not hockey fans. No one will ever accuse the leafs of having the most knowledgeable fan base.



And finally as Mike says in Canada it is the Toronto centric media that keeps shoving them down our throats. CBC/TSN/sportsnet it is all the same. A non-story like the never ending Kaberle trade has been front page news for 2 years now.

Answer 7

Go Canucks go! :)



Anyways, back to the answering the question....Well, I personally don't like any of the Canadian teams, expect for the Canucks. I know this past playoffs, Canadians were rooting for the Canadiens as they were the only Canadian team left, but I was too angry that the Canucks and Penguins were out already:(



I don't "hate" them, I just do not care at all.

Answer 8

Because of the relentless coverage they get. I remember having to watch awful Norris Division clashes between bad teams like, say Leafs and Wings instead of important games between other Canadian teams. I understand the drive for ratings, but the CBC is a public broadcaster that clearly does not make decisions based on ratings for their other programs so I would like them to show a balanced hockey schedule. TSN is private, so let them show what they want.

Answer 9

Well, think about it... in every sports fanbase, you're going to have a certain percentage of idiot fans. The Leafs have (easily) the largest fanbase in the NHL, which leads to us also having one of the largest populations of idiot fans among our numbers. Now all the casual fan has to do in order to develop a distaste for the Leafs is meet just one of those idiot fans.



Oh, and the Leafs have also long been hated in Canada for their monopoly of HNIC. Blame CBC for liking ratings (see again the point about how large our fanbase is).

Answer 10

It's because they havn't done well in a great number of years. Maybe it's to do with the franchise, maybe not. But notice that everybody routs for Penguins. Ten years ago penguins were NOTHING in the NHL. Now everybody is jumping on the bandwagon. You won't find that with Toronto until they get good and/or draft the next Crosby/Gretzky type player. Sad but true.



Hope this helps!



p.s. GO 'NUCKS!!!

Answer 11

The same reason people here in America hate the Penguins and Capitals: The media shoves these teams down our throats, and I'm a Penguins fan too, and I hate the biased coverage.

Answer 12

To tell you the truth, I really don't know why I hate them. I guess it's because EVERYONE around here is a Leafs fan.

Answer 13

Great answer by Expat Mike and a great example of his logic in the form of `Samsquatch`.....who opines it is due to `jealousy.``



Jealous of what....all those cups in your 25 years as a fan...those Art Ross trophies, Vezinas, Conference titles.......maybe it was that ONE division title since you have been a fan........maybe the Calders or the Pearsons.



Nope, people are jelous because...wait for it.........because they are wealthy! LMFAO Yeah, everyone is jealous because Leafs ownership RAPES their own fan by having (BY FAR) the most expensive ticket prices while putting (BY FAR) the worst product on the ice.



Be proud Samsquatch. You should have a parade to celebrate it.



WOW......SIMPLE answer indeed......we have another new entry in this section for village idiot.

Answer 14

i live in toronto and hate the leafs. I am one of those people. I don't know what it is, but for me, the organization and franchise is run very poorly and i don't care much for thier fans. The Leaf fans are very arrogant and think every player that goes to their team is "gold" (example: Kessel, Phaneuf). Every year, Leaf fans think their team is playoff-ready, and every year their wrong. The Leafs aren't good, and the reason I don't like them is that they are a grind-it-out hockey team. They don't play exciting hockey, and they have all these grinders and goons. They have no talent, just hitters. I hate teams like that. So that's why I don't like the Leafs. Terribly run franchise, terrible off-season decisions, arrogant organization and fans and their rough and tumble style of play.

Answer 15

The millions of Leaf fans across the country really don't give a crap what other teams fans think of us. Especially Habs fans.

Answer 16

Because the get star treatment for being a really bad team. GO WINGSSS

Answer 17

"They suck" is probably why. I'm a Leafs fan myself and I really don't think they suck (but I am more Hurricanes fan, who also don't suck)

Answer 18

I've never really understood that either. They have such a cool logo, too!

Answer 19

Because of Phil Kessel ..... He's a DOUCHE BAG !!