pdawg81 wrote:Criticism is warrented; to bash your team is not acceptable as "the biggest Leaf fan out there." Yes I understand they haven't won since '67, but you decided in 2007 to bash the team because you thought they were going to take it all this year?
I didn't just decide to start bashing the Leafs in 2007. I've only started posting here abit more seriously since 2005 and I've been calling for change way back then. If my old posts are still around, I'm pretty sure you'll see that I've been hoping the Leafs would rebuild from even back then.
And outside of realgm and the internet, I've been telling my friends since the end of the 2001-02 season after we got beat by the Canes that we should just blow it all up and start over. So for me, its been at least 5+ years that I've been calling for the Leafs to rebuild.
By your philosophy what would you have done as a Red Sox fan (before they won in '04) or a Cubs fan? A loyal fan is entitled to criticize his/her team, but like I said loyal fans just don't bash the team when they're down. I flew to NYC on Sunday to watch them play in MSG; does that make me more loyal than the next guy? No, but what it does say is you support the team through all times.
I bash the Leafs because I don't see change. I'm sure there are plenty of Sox fans (pre-championship) and Cubs fans were bashing their teams too. If you go to any Cubs forums I'm sure by the end of each season you'll read Cubs fans saying 'just lose already and get this season over with', 'this is horrible, just tank it already' etc etc etc. Does this make them any less of a Cubs fan? No. They're still there cheering for their team year after year. They're just frustrated that their team isn't going anywhere and they want to get things over with for the year.
Look at the Raps board here even. For the past few years, how much bashing have you seen on that board? How about like INSANE amounts of bashing? Fire O'neill, fire Mitchell, fire Babcock, get rid of Peddie, trade every single player on our roster etc. Yet we both know that those Raps fans are fanatically passionate about their team and they only want the best for that franchaise despite all their negativity and bashing.
Even now when the Raps are finally successful again, there's still bashing going on with TJ and Bosh and Mopete etc. when they're not doing well.
Bringing up what AOC said, this is the Leafs we're talking about not Nashville or Atlanta or Florida where being a crappy team for a few years is going to start affecting your attendance and TV ratings. The Leafs are pretty much bulletproof when it comes to this and maybe it must take a huge crash before the Leafs make changes. And that's what I'm hoping for, moderate if not huge changes.
The current regime is not responsible for the Ballard years so it is is what it is. For the most part since 93 the Leafs have had a competitive team on the ice and on more than one occasion have had a shot at the cup.
True, the Ballard years are in the past. But since his death the Leafs have only had decent success and still haven't gotten back to the cups finals yet in 17+ years. The lack of steady improvement with the Leafs is what I'm pissed about. We had great runs in 93' and 94' and then we suck again. Then we comeback moderately and then we suck yet again. But through all this time we were never considered cup favorites.
Why I'm bashing the Leafs and Leafs management is because since the mid to late 90s we've had a chance to get this team on the right track and make it great again, but we haven't. We had the chance again after 2002 and we didn't.
Look at the Redwings. Before their recent cup wins, they hadn't won a cup since '55. And they were utter crap throughout the 1970s and 80s, even moreso than the Leafs if that were possible. But guess what? Since the 90s they've been improving ever since and became a powerhouse in the mid to late 90s and have remained on top ever since even in the cap era.
Why can't the Leafs be like that? They had just as much time and money as the Redwings, just not the same management. And they still don't have a good management team now to make the Leafs great again. That's why I'm frustrated and bashing the Leafs. They had the chance to rebuild all that time and they didn't. They have the chance now to do it and they aren't. I just want the Leafs to take a few years to rebuild properly so that they can be successful for years and years to come with REAL chances at winning the cup.