WilliamNylander
Papi's home
- Jul 26, 2012
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I really think this "Toronto hockey players living in a fishbowl" narrative is completely overblown. I remember back in the early 2000's during the playoffs that some of the Leafs were enjoying a night out at a club called Shark City (which isn't around anymore) and I can tell you from my firsthand account that hardly anyone bothered any of them; and this was during the playoffs!
I think its more of a case of "perception is truth". Thanks to such sensationalistic nerds such as: Steve Simmons, Dave Feschuk, Damien Cox etc writing all about the doom and gloom of playing in Toronto and how any player in their right mind would be crazy to play here if given the choice. Read enough negative articles about playing here, then the reader's subconcious eventually accepts it as truth. The power of suggestion.
Agreed 100%. It seems to be a very media-driven narrative. Leafs fans in Toronto (and around the world) love their team but we are not some rabid fanbase that will swarm a player if we see them in public.
I think it stems from our teams being so bad for the last few years that the lazy media people you mentioned, instead of writing about why we are bad, decided to blame the fans and the "pressure of the hockey market" for the state of the team. Meanwhile, former Leafs always say Toronto is literally the best city in the world to play in when you're winning, but of course that gets lost in all the negativity coming from everywhere else.