So why do I love the Toronto Maple Leafs? I love them for many reasons. Heck, I don’t even live in Canada and they are my favorite sports team of all time. Funny right? Anyway, I love the Leafs. First of all, I love their history and rivals. Even with the longest championship drought in the entire league (with 48 seasons at this point), I still love all that the fantastic organization has done over the years. The franchise began all the way back before the Great Depression, and the team has had so many interesting moments and themes over the years. They have fantastic rivalries with the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, and the Ottawa Senators to name the main 5. They’ve had plenty of strong coaches as well, fantastic players to boot, and the 2nd highest amount of Stanley Cups in the league. Who could forget stars like Dave Keon, Felix Potvin, Ace Bailey, Mats Sundin, Phil Kessel, Darryl Sittler, Tim Horton, Syl Apps, Ted Kennedy, Doug Gilmour, or the current big Leafs star Auston Matthews? The franchise is littered with amazing, fun players. With their history, I also love how they’re an original six team. They’ve made themselves known in hockey and I respect the franchise simply for being around for so long and having a lot of lore behind them. I enjoy older sports team in general due to established rivalries and rich histories.
Secondly, they play some fun hockey. Aside from the years that stretch from 2005-2015, the Leafs have played some amazing hockey. Even after their last Cup win in 1967, there have been plenty of fun Leafs teams with some amazing players. The 70s and 90s in particular were decades that had a ton of great Leafs talent and fun teams. The current Leafs team is also filled with great stars! While our defense is pretty bad, our offense ability is solid. Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Nazem Kadri, Mitch Marner, Tyler Bozak, James van Reimsdyk, Connor Brown, Leo Komorov…man, there are so many good players haha.
Thirdly, I love their team location and logo. Their team name fits the city of Toronto, and while I have never been to Toronto in person, it seems like such an amazing city to visit. My favorite color is also the exact shade of blue that the Leafs wear, so when I first followed hockey, following Toronto just seemed…perfect. Even with the drought, I loved their logo, their team name, their history, their rivalries, the history of amazing players…they just fit me so nicely.
Finally, the fanbase is really amazing. I am honored to be a part of the fanbase. Even through all of the bad decision-making during the 2000s decade slump, and all of the frustrating losses, and jersey throwing…Leafs fans never give up. We always support our team, no matter what happens. We could be an absolute dynasty powerhouse like in the 40s and 60s, or it could be the second half of the 2000s and the early 2010s aside from the 2012-13 seasons slumps, and we are still there. If you want undying loyalty and passion, the Maple Leafs fanbase is a great place to look.
As a bonus, I identify with Auston Matthews a ton. Both of us are American, and yet we both support a Canadian team. The difference is that Matthews is possibly the Maple Leafs best player, while I am a big fan of both Matthews and the Leafs
So that is why I love the Toronto Maple Leafs. They’ve had a fun ride for the first 100 seasons. Here’s to another 100!