Playoffs trigger talk about nature of Toronto fanbase
Maple Leafs fans are, yet again, watching the playoffs from the sidelines, but that doesn't mean there is no way to relate the playoffs back to the team. SportsNet writer Gord Stellick identified multiple series in this year's playoffs that serve as reminders of Leafs teams of past, but it is his conclusion from watching the Raptors that seems most applicable to the Maple Leafs moving forward.
The Raptors are currently under fire in Toronto for losing their first two games of the NBA playoffs at home.
"To me it drives home what I believe about playing in Toronto," Stellick wrote. "The sentiment is, especially with the Leafs, that the media and public 'pressure' are a negative to the MLSE-owned teams and contribute to their futility.
"I think the opposite. I think it is a city starved for any kind of success and it is the unearned adulation and unconditional support that proves to be a negative. To be blunt, they get their 'butts' kissed when they haven’t yet quite earned it."
The Maple Leafs did not earn much adulation this season, but Stellick's words are a good reminder that it is perfectly acceptable for a fanbase to be hard on a team.
(h/t SportsNet)
