Saturday, October 24, 2009

What does Johnny think of the Toronto Maple Leafs?...



My father worked for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce for 40 years. Although I never heard him say that he loved his work, I do think he enjoyed his time at the branch located in at Church and Carleton Street in Toronto. This is where Maple Leaf Gardens, the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs , was located.

One year, I believe it was 1968, the Leafs were in in the Stanley Cup playoffs and they were facing the Boston Bruins. Tickets to the game were a hot commodity and my father was given two rink side tickets from a generous supervisor. (That was the least the bank could have done for him considering the number of hours he worked there, but that is another blog). Anyway, my father decided to take me with him to the game.

Going to Leaf games then was considered the height of civility. Although I was quite young, I remember that men wore suits and fedoras. Women wore dresses and minks, without the fear of repercussion from some well meaning PETA devotee. To quote Henry Hill from the movie "Goodfellas": It was a glorious time.

As the two teams took the ice, I remember looking at the Toronto goalie and thinking of how different he appeared from the rest of the team. He looked like he was pushing 50 years of age and he seemed so small. Only later did I realize that this person was none other than Johnny Bower. Bower was a legend, helped the Leafs win four cups and was a fan favourite. The Leafs lost to Boston that year and have never won a Stanley Cup since.

I was looking through a Toronto newspaper the other day and I came across a picture of Bower. He was going to be attending a "sports memorabilia" show in they city, Man, he looked pretty good for someone who has to be in his 80's. As I looked at the photo, I couldn't help but think: If I took Johnny out for a Stella and some wings, what would he think of today's Toronto Maple Leafs?.

The Leafs now play at the Air Canada Centre which is a poorly designed glass and steel monstrosity situated between a series of condos. The once curvy women who occupied the rink side seats, are now replaced by anorexic pale skinned women who talk on cellphones. Men that once wore suits to the game, are now clad in cheesy Leaf sweaters with the name of their favourite player sewn on the back for no less than $150. The programs that once contained glossy photos of your favourite stars,are now hawking everything from designer clothing to Japanese made cars. But the one thing that has changed the most has the been the Leafs themselves. This once proud team that Bower so capably played for, has become a metaphor for everything that has gone wrong in North America in the past five years: Greed, incompetence, poor spending,and excuse making. The team that my father took me to see, is now a professional hockey team that has not won a single game this year, all the while charging the fan more than $150 a pop (if you're lucky) per ticket, while playing at a level that would embarrass even the lowest tier Russian team.

What would Johnny think?...

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