OT: Do you know anyone that quit the Leafs, and what was the reason they stopped cheering for them?

[AustonsNostrils]

Me. Grew up an obsessed Leafs fan through the Ballard reign of terror and embarrassment. I was raised not to wish ill on people so I accepted I'd have to wait for the old man to die naturally and then in my young dreams some new owner would take over and everything would be better. I actually thought Ballard's son who was a huge success as a concert promoter would take over and do a Rocky Wirtz, undo all the damage his old man did. My last hurrah as a Leafs fan was the Pat Burns/Doug Gilmour led team. When Steve Stavro got control of the team and then the Teachers Pension Fund I had had enough, totally done. To be fair I also lost most of my interest in the entire NHL because of the quality of hockey being played.

I never liked my fellow Leafs fans, always found them dumb when I would go to games at Maple Leafs Gardens, never sat around anybody who knew anything be it in the golds with the rich folks or the greys with the working stiffs. Always dumb stupid comments and conversations. I did love the Gardens, dump that it was, it had its charm.

 

[Ratboy]

my friend went from a leafs fan to a habs fan.

now i rub it into his face everytime I see him. turncoat! your teams gonna suck for a long time, haha.

 

[HerculePoirot]

At the end of the day hockey is entertainment and if someone doesn't like the product I personally don't care if he/she tunes out for a time and comes back after. Of course to a die hard fan that is heresy. My 0.02$.

 

[TMLegend]

I imagine there was a few that did the moment Phil Kessel was shipped out of town.

Somedays, certain posters on here make me want to stop cheering for the Leafs. No one has pushed me over the edge yet though lol.

 

[Spirit of 67]

I know a guy who claims he's done with the Leafs (After the '13 PO series) but if you listen to him or on SM, he's so clearly still a fan. He tries so hard to convince everyone he hates them. It's laughable really.

 

[GoldenGOOSE]

Being a fan, is something that one shouldn't be all that proud of in the first place. I am a Leafs first supporter, but I don't like the word fan, its demeaning.

If the Leafs lose, I will immediately support another team that catches my interest, usually the San Jose Sharks cause I know a few of the guys.

The Leafs could have won game one, despite being pounded by the Bruins. They started to show how good they were before the Bruins scored their second goal.

I expect a better effort in game two.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Personally speaking I don't know anyone who quit being a Leafs fan and for those people who did I say good bye and don't come back, because it meant they were not 100% loyal to the Leafs. I have supported the Leafs my whole life and will continue that.

 

[-DeMo-]

for those saying anyone who quit on being a Leaf fan wasn't really a fan to begin with are a joke really, that's like saying any friends you had in the past and no longer are friends with, that you were never really a friend to begin with.

 

[Nineteen67]

Ive been a Leaf fan for over 5o years and lost faith sometime in the 70s, but I watch every game I can.

 

[Nineteen67]

Being a fan, is something that one shouldn't be all that proud of in the first place. I am a Leafs first supporter, but I don't like the word fan, its demeaning.

If the Leafs lose, I will immediately support another team that catches my interest, usually the San Jose Sharks cause I know a few of the guys.

The Leafs could have won game one, despite being pounded by the Bruins. They started to show how good they were before the Bruins scored their second goal.

I expect a better effort in game two.

And just how is the word fan demeaning?

 

[mmalady]

my husband was a big fan in the 80's ,90's and early 2000...but since then he has no heart for them because of all the "choking" as he says..and he despised Harold Ballard and the teachers pension as owners because he thinks they never wanted a cup because ticket sales would go down afterwards..?? He's coming around a tiny bit now and sees a light at the end of the tunnel as he's watching the "Shanaplan" unfold..

 

[garce]

Several, where I grew up we were either Leafs or Habs. Given that the Habs were a dynasty in the seventies more Habs than Leafs. Over the years some of the Leaf guys have drifted away due to several prolonged periods of awfulness. When the Sens arrived a lot went to them , a whole lot of front running Hab fans immediately switched to the Sens when they got good in the Alfie/Spezza era. There’s still a large Leaf core here and a surprising amount of young ones.

 

[Field of Dreams]

Growing up would you cheer for a different high school football team because they are better?

 

[Sniper99]

about 4-5 years ago, whenever Horacek was the coach. I remember the Leafs lost at home 9-2 to Nashville and I lost my ****. I was this close to quitting on them.Than my Dad told me to chill and go for a walk. I did,(btw I highly recommend this for the "fans" in here that ***** this team out even though they finished 3rd in the conference) shortly after I believe there were rumors of Shanahan hiring after that season and I decided to bite the bullet and see how things played out.

 

[Galchenioretty]

Back in the 90s when the news came out about the child molestations going on in Maple Leaf Gardens in previous years it was the final straw for a long time Leaf fan I knew. Living through the Ballard era was more than bad hockey, it was constant embarrassment.

 

[Westlander]

My Dad left the leafs and started cheering for the Habs when they traded the big M. Frank Mahovlich for those of you who may not know who the Big M is.

Hehe, I had a great uncle who did exactly that as well. When Mahovlich was traded to the Habs my great uncle was traded too, and then on to the Red Wings after that if I'm not mistaken? Anyway he came back to the Leafs after Mahovlich retired.

For myself, I've never left the team and never will; I became a fan during the first dark age, the mid 80's. I'll admit I didn't renew my NHL TV online subscription for the 2015-2016 tank season and only watched a handful of games that year, but I still followed them.

 

[Raging Bull]

Interaf or whatever he was aka, @The Winter Soldier
Does this thread describe you?

What we're your reasons?

I think he quit when they hired Shanahan as he was upset they didn't get someone with more experience. Foresight is not the Soldiers forte.

 

[ULF_55]

I knew a leaf fan that cheered for them for years, but quit when the Leafs bought out Grabovski.

Of all the things, his meltdown tipping point was when Nonis bought out Grabbo.

My only wishes is that he came back to fandom now that this team is on the cusp of a really special run.

Do you know anyone who completely lost faith, and what reason did they quit on the Leafs?

Funny thread.

I probably know x-Leafs fans, but I probably know x-YouNameTheTeam fans but most people I know have a life, family children, grandchildren, pets, jobs, companies, other responsibilities that occupy the majority of their lifes.

Additionally, people move, new teams come into the league, a fan that lived in Philadelphia may have been a Leafs fan and changed once they got a team, Leafs fans from there may have switched allegiances when there were more options.

Some may have left during the Ballard Apocalypse and of those some may have returned as the team moved from being an utter laughing stock to a respectable franchise.

Teams have ups and downs, and most fanatics can ride out ups and downs, but when the down ventures into the decade category, I'm sure some lose hope. Other may stay around because they are foolishly loyal. Foolishly, because it is a business and this franchise has had periods where the fans was nothing more than an easy mark, a gullible fool, being two-timed by a money grabbing corporation that smiled to your face and then laughed at you behind your back at board meetings.

Should you support incompetence? Do you encourage failure? Do you believe think it is in your own best interest to accept the worst product at the highest price? Then you probably are a lifelong Leafs fan.

We've just been through another Corporate Apocalypse where corporate interfered with management, preventing the rebuild as proposed by JFj, instead going with the American Accelerated retool failure that again had hands in your pocket raising prices for an inferior product laughing all the way to the top of Forbes list. If you've been watching the Leafs since a child and the decade prior to Matthews is your only memory ... you're likely already in the boat headed to the grill ashore.

Not to worry, being grilled isn't all that bad.

 

[mmalady]

It can be argued that us long suffering fans have Stockholm syndrome

 

[Eb]

I know a friend who said if we didn't trade Phaneuf and Kessel in 2014 he would start cheering for the Avs because they knew how to rebuild a team. LOL.

 

[Throw More Waffles]

After more than decade of being the embarrassment of the entire nhl, I pretty much stopped following the leafs. I paid attention here and there to what was going on... but I wasn’t watching most of the games.

But the whole time I always said that I’d be back if they EVER decide to FINALLY do a top to bottom rebuild instead of those Burkeish failed bandaid solutions. I started thinking those would never happen.

Then Lou, Shanny, and Babcock came in and started saying all the right things, and I was cautiously optimistic. Then we got Marner and Nylander and I was thinking about coming back. Then the first overall pick (you know who) sealed the deal.

Last year was a mixed blessing for me. I wanted to bottom out at least another year, and get blue chip defensive prospect. It took so bloody long for this organization to finally attempt a proper rebuil that I wanted to ENSURE they took their time and did it properly.

I still think our rookies doing better than they were supposed to last year hurt/rushed our rebuild. But what can you do? Bench all your star players?

So yeah, I’m not happy that our rebuild ended too early... but at the same time this is still the happiest I’ve ever been with this organization.

So I think there’s probably quite a few people like me. They didn’t abandon the leafs. They just took a break until the organization decided to get its head out of its ass.

 

[MapleLeafistan]

There's a difference between being a fan of good teams and being a fan of a team.

In the early 2000s, I knew a lot of people who were Avs and Devils fans. Nowadays they're mysteriously Pens and Hawks fans. So they only cheer good teams.

Then there's the fanbase.

Need to differentiate between fans of the team, and fans of good hockey teams.

 

[Nylanderthal]

There's a difference between being a fan of good teams and being a fan of a team.

In the early 2000s, I knew a lot of people who were Avs and Devils fans. Nowadays they're mysteriously Pens and Hawks fans. So they only cheer good teams.

Then there's the fanbase.

Need to differentiate between fans of the team, and fans of good hockey teams.

I’m in my mid 30’s and went to high school with a Guy who was a Red Wings/Broncos/Yankees/Bulls fan. Also growing up in Toronto one of my good buddies was a habs fan which always struck me as odd, I get supporting a winning or cool team with a flashy logo/colours or a hype player, but to be anglophone Torontonian and support the toilet bowl just never ever ever made any sense to me.
It’s like finding Red Sox fans on Staten Island or in Brooklyn

 

[MapleLeafistan]

A Habs fan born in Toronto? That's weird. Most Habs fans out west are Anglo Quebeckers who left Quebec after PQ came to power. Those I can understand. LOL. One in a million I guess.

 

[dubey]

There was a poster on here called Faltorvo or something and he rage quitted from being a Leafs fan with the most hilarious post I've ever seen and became a Bruins fan - started posting on their board etc. Probaby during the Burke era?

Switched back when we drafted Matthews I think.

There was another guy (eyeball1?) that switched to the Bruins around that time as well