My name is Dan Dziuba and I am a Toronto Maple Leaf fan. I know, I know. I grew up in a family where if there was a game being played, it was always on the television. The team felt like family, even if I’d never met any of them and our family could never afford to go to an actual game. There was a time where I would have considered being a Leaf fan something of a religion. I was totally and completely emotionally invested in the team. I still have a vivid memory of Darcy Tucker’s hit on Sami Kapanen in the spring of 2004 and the ensuing Jeremy Roenick goal that ended the Leafs’ season. I had such confidence in them that year. I remember the joy and hilarity of seeing Kapanen (clearly concussed) flop over the ice after such a bone-jarring hit then the pure agony of JR’s goal and that fucking dance he did. I sobbed that night. At that point, I didn’t truly care for the health of the players, only that the Leafs win, anyone else be damned. And it was important, damn it! It likely subtly manipulated who I befriended on a level beyond mere high school acquaintance. But it should be noted that hockey was essentially the only sport I grew up with. There was a bit of baseball in the summer months, football was a rarity and basketball might as well have been non-existent.
Then came the lockout — my apathy for televised poker hardened quickly that winter. I started first year university the year after. And there on the other side of that opportunity were young men like myself but who were baseball fanatics, basketball die-hards, faithful soccer hooligans, sworn football fans, and this all happened before March Madness. On a certain level, I’m not sure I was even aware Canadians could be that dedicated to other sports. It was hockey or nothing.
With the exposure to all these new games, my tastes expanded rapidly. There were games where you could stand, cheer, gasp, cuss and slam alcoholic beverages down in celebration or frustration, even without any particular affiliation to a city or player. These were compelling! My appreciation for sport diversified and intensified. Personal dates of importance are measured in relation to sporting events of that day, week or month. Being a sports fan is like having another relationship. You’re high when they’re high, your days are cloudy when they’re in a funk. Just ask my girlfriend, she might say I have a sickness. Let’s just say she doesn’t share my enthusiasm for the Verlander-Sabathia game tomorrow. But back to the Leafs – My fleshed out passion for sports coincided with their fall in the standings over the coming years. It’s hard to describe what has happened since then. Human memory is linked so intimately with emotion. Any emotions that I had for the Leafs atrophied as their mediocrity continued year to year. I can’t name a game or a month that I knew I lost interest because I just stopped caring. There was nothing.
I’m prepared to argue with anyone who calls me a fairweather fan because this apathy was more about hockey than the Leafs. I still root for the Leafs. But as I realized how good other sports were, I started to notice hockey’s weaknesses. The gameplay itself feels cheapened from what I remember it being. The game is too sloppy, despite these men being far and away better athletes than their predecessors. Speed is the name of the game and, in my opinion, this seems to be the downfall of hockey’s entertainment value. I will agree that a great game in-person is thrilling, but in general the sport is now boring to me. I don’t think it helps that teams who are stupifyingly boring to watch like the Vancouver Canucks make it so far into the playoffs.
I believe the shootout does not work to the same effectiveness as penalties in soccer. I do not believe fighting is beneficial to the game and I’m shocked by how many players make a living just being able to give lip without backing it up with shut-down defence or balls-out offence. I’m also concerned by how malicious the game has become. Football is physically brutal as well but tackling is a natural part of the defensive scheme. The actions of some hockey players seem all the more extreme. The owners treat the players like units of meat and the players now treat each other like that. And to all you hockey homers, you Fan 590 phone-in geeks, I get that it’s a part of the game, but my point is that the game is broken. I think perhaps its inherent in hockey’s system. These young men spend much time out of school starting in early high school. Their careers likely begin right after high school, aside from the sparse few who attend the American college circuit. For the three other major sports leagues in North America, athletes play at least one year for a varsity team. Even that one year matters in personal development. Its matters a lot. Born and raised in the locker room, I suppose.
And don’t get me started on the good ole Canadian hockey boy slang. I find hearing phrases like “beauty” and “sick flow” and “top cheese” exhausting and I want to scream for someone to buy a thesaurus. They’re not funny, they’re not cute and I told you not to get me started!
One of my dearest friends, a man I truly love and respect, is a die-hard Leaf fan. He took me to a game two seasons ago in some fantastic seats. The game was fairly exciting but the crowd in the gold section was undoubtedly in attendance for business reasons, rather than fandom. Woo a client by taking them to a game in expensive seats, I get it. But so much of sport is atmosphere and when that many seats are occupied by business men and women who don’t even pay attention to the game, it ruins the emotional investment in the game. I want to hug and high five strangers. I want to scream til I’m hoarse. I do not want to overhear the finer details of your mutual fund. This is a fucking sporting event.
Finally, but subtly important, I think hockey’s upper management is intentionally personality-less. I don’t know why, but NHL owners hide behind some veil while many other owners in other leagues are quite public; Cuban, Jones, Davis and Steinbrenner to name a few. Sports are about entertainment and vocal owners add to that entertainment; something else for the fans to buy into or debate. Sport is about business, now more than ever, but good entertainment is always a shrewd business decision. Hockey has lost its ability to be truly good entertainment. It is now only a pure product. A product that is sold ad nauseum to the Canadian public who hear about hockey so often that they just don’t know what else is out there for their enjoyment. I’m astounded people take off work or skip school for TSN’s Trade Deadline coverage. But I used to be one of those people! I’ve also gotten into debates on Twitter with Canadians who believe hockey is the only sport at all in the entire world worth time and money, so maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised.
What I’m trying to say is that life is short and I want to maximize my enjoyment. So I’m giving the NHL one more season to prove it can be a compelling sport. But beyond this year, I can’t promise I’ll ever again care enough to consider myself a fan; of the game or the Maple Leafs. Do these owners and players really deserve my time and money? At this rate, I’m leaning towards no.
