Booing won’t get us nowhere

Ronald Neal
Contributor
If you want a better understanding of the problems facing the Maple Leafs this year, all it takes is a look in the mirror.
One of the biggest problems facing the team is the constant booing and negative attitude coming from fans. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve fallen from only a few weeks ago.
I remember opening night when I had just gotten off work and went home to refuel before class. Now, being an impoverished student, I have a digital satellite and can only afford the channels I get for free. The Canadian Broadcasting Centre (CBC) is thankfully one of them, and from the time I got home to the time I left, there was nothing but exuberant and enthusiastic fans parading in front of the screen. This, by the way, includes the talking heads that make up CBC News.
Fast-forward to present and the Leafs find themselves with only a fraction of the support and on the end of a fickle fan base that has little patience and is demanding a winner.
Even a valiant effort against the Washington Capitals, where the team roared back from a two-goal deficit in the third only to lose in a shootout, was not enough to satisfy the crowd. The bottom line is this: we should not be booing them.
I know there are arguments available that justify giving the home team a hard time, especially in a market like Toronto, where some families have to mortgage their homes to buy a ticket and we still haven’t seen a legitimate winner since ’67. One might argue this gives fans an excuse for spewing venom from the green seats, but as a fan base, we can’t afford to do this.
Despite their best efforts, we find ourselves with a very fragile team and we need to encourage them and give them our undying and irrational support. We are not their opponents, but the second we get into their heads with all of this incessant booing, hissing and cackling we turn into opponents. If we hope to avoid completely destroying this very young team emotionally and psychologically – and, yes, we as a horde of obnoxious Leafs fans have that potential – we need to stop now.
Perhaps the climax of this most recent trend came Oct. 30, 2010, when some fans at the Air Canada Centre (ACC) started booing Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf. Days later, we all received a verbal reprimand from the general manger himself; Brian Burke called the fans’ behaviour “disgraceful.” Seriously, if we are in a position where a 55-year-old man is calling us out for our support, or lack thereof, we need to take a look in the mirror. There is a place to boo, but not in November for a team that needs a lot from us to shake the spectre of failed seasons past.
For those who thought it wise to boo the man, I think we’ll all quickly come to realize how important Phaneuf is to the team. Early in the second period of their 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, Phaneuf left the game after a collision with Peter Regin. He was later found to have suffered a deep cut and will be out of the lineup for the next four to six weeks. Captain is a huge role to fill. Not only does he play nearly half of every game he’s in, but he’s also invaluable for his contributions to the culture of the dressing room and bench as a whole. Realistically, we may not be able to recover.
Now, more than ever, they need our support.