OT: Leafs fans and your relationship with the Bruins

[Stephen]

I hate Boston more than Montreal these days. Between the trades that have devastated the Leafs (let's face it, as good as Kessel has been, Boston has extracted Rask, Hamilton, 3 years of Seguin, one of Eriksson, Smith, and Morrow), and Boston crushing Toronto like big brothers year after year, there's a lot of ill will there...

 

[The Legend]

I hope game 7 between the Habs and Bruins goes on forever.

 

[Warden of the North]

I hope game 7 between the Habs and Bruins goes on forever.

I hope Boston crushes them

 

[oldfan2010]

Now I watCh The Marlies. Mem Cup soon. A few Leaf prospects involved

 

[iceblue]

I hate the habs and I'm wishing they win this series. That should tell you how much I hate the Bruins.

Well said. I don't want either team to win the cup, but barring some freak disaster one team has to win this series. Better be the Habs

 

[ConnorTO]

as someone who's been a fan since 2008

you're not a Leafs fan if you like Boston
that's all i gotta say

 

[yubbers]

When you get to 30 years of fandom, shoot me a pm

Or mind text by that time

 

[Deuce Awesome]

Cheering for Montreal.

I love the city and need someone to root for in the playoffs.

As much as I like the design of the Bruins team, Im just tired of them. Tired of Chara, Lucic etc etc. Tired of that litte "wooooh" after each goal scored.

Go Habs (feels dirty)

 

[Patty Lee]

as someone who's been a fan since 2008

you're not a Leafs fan if you like Boston
that's all i gotta say

as someone who's been a fan since the 60's, you're not a Leaf fan if you like Montreal.

the kids may not get it, but it's true

 

[hotpaws]

as someone who's been a fan since the 60's, you're not a Leaf fan if you like Montreal.

the kids may not get it, but it's true

Why would the kids get it , we haven't played them in the playoff's in 25 years and we haven't had any big trades with them in recent memory so i can see why the younger fans wouldn't having any connection to the rivalry.

I'm closing in on 50 and even i don't have the same sense of rivalry i used to years ago . They were out of our conference for years and since we've only made the playoffs once in the last decade it's hard to have any hate for any team TBH .

 

[Swervin81]

We also have only played one playoff series against the Bruins in 30-something years.

 

[hockeyfanz*]

as someone who's been a fan since the 60's, you're not a Leaf fan if you like Montreal.

the kids may not get it, but it's true

BINGO...LOL @ those who hate the Bruins because they've been a fan since 2008? Hahahaha...thats rich history right there...

The Habs-Leafs used to be one of the most bitter rivalries in all sport...True that it has diminished over the years but how the hell could I ever root for the Habs? NOT A CHANCE.

Vile disdain is all I have for Montreal and their fans.

I hope Chara destroys Patch and PK Soupcan....and Lucic runs over Price...

GO BRUINS GO

 

[Mess]

When I was young I was taught from a very early age that if you're a Leafs fan you never, ever under any circumstances cheer for Montreal other than to lose and lose big.

If you didn't you couldn't call yourself a real Leaf fan as these two franchises are polarizing opposites as arch rivals dating back to the original 6 NHL days as the only 2 Canadian teams along with Boston, NYR, Detroit and Chicago from the USA.

This tradition is something my father lived by already in the 1950's when he was cheering for the Leafs, well before I was even born.

 

[Raging Bull]

Hopefully Montreal gets destroyed tonight and Boston gets swept in the next round. Hate both teams.

 

[BrannigansLaw]

The thought of Montreal's playoff run lasting any longer than tonight makes me want to puke.

I hope Boston ****s them up big time tonight.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Complicated feelings. I like the organisation and how the team is built, and I wish Toronto would play more like them. Being a punching bag for said team was hard, but I really enjoyed the playoff series against them. Good games, fair but hard. I was impressed with Boston fans and found them respectful and insightful, with only a few bad eggs. Ended up cheering for them the rest of the way in the east.

But I'm not big on rivalry as a fan. I value the increased importance and the additional tensions, but I never hate teams because of it. Not that I really hate any team, except Carolina. I don't know why but I just can't stand Carolina.

 

[Swervin81]

I don't hate the Bruins team so much as I hate most of their fans. I'm sure some of you (like yourself) are pretty cool, but Boston by and large is such a lowlife sports city full of mouth breathing, **** disturbing, pseudo tough guy a-holes where I fine it incredibly difficult to cheer for a team that is as talented and rugged as the Bruins are.

Eg: Dumb fat idiot fan in front row who takes Kovalev's stick from him, Cowardly fan who sucker punches Leaf fan and runs away in last years playoff series, Bruins fan who made a joke about Phil Kessel's testicular cancer on Twitter last year.

I can go on and on, but I think I'll stop here.

And yes, I know we have our fair share of dumb ***** within our fanbase as well, but B's fans (for the most part) are on a whole different level of crass and obnoxious imo.

Having said all of that, in a pick your poison scenario, I hope you guys eliminate the Habs just because we'll never hear the end of it up here if they win.

Looking at this as unbiased as I can.

Meh... there's a minority of bad seeds in every fanbase, probably the same per capita across the board. The majority of Bruin fans are level-headed and nice people. It's just the vocal minority that can give everyone a bad name, especially in today's society where negativity is emphasized over positivity. For that one Bruin fan that slugged a Leafs fan in the back of the head, I'd bet there were many more surrounding him, helping him, and calling for help. Yet you never hear about them.

It's not like we were spotless that series either. That one fan holding a "Toronto Stronger" sign at Maple Leaf Square and all those #TorontoStrong(er) tweets were disgusting to see and was shameful. Mocking the Boston Marathon bombings like that . Yet for those couple of bad seeds, there were MILLIONS of Leaf fans condemning their actions, showing the great side in us. Yet again, you never hear about them in today's negative minded society.

 

[Patty Lee]

BINGO...LOL @ those who hate the Bruins because they've been a fan since 2008? Hahahaha...thats rich history right there...

The Habs-Leafs used to be one of the most bitter rivalries in all sport...True that it has diminished over the years but how the hell could I ever root for the Habs? NOT A CHANCE.

Vile disdain is all I have for Montreal and their fans.

I hope Chara destroys Patch and PK Soupcan....and Lucic runs over Price...

GO BRUINS GO

while I don't share your want for players to be destroyed or run over I do agree that no matter how much the it has diminished my feelings for the team won't change because the two haven't met in the playoffs. Rivalries don't come and go with playoff games.

 

[LeafsFIO*]

Sort of torn but at the end of the day I'm 100% behind Boston in the playoffs and especially in this series.

I actually respect the Habs and everything but I still hate them, the way they've always played instigator, I just find the aura around them too annoying.

I equate my love-hate with Montreal to Conservative and Liberal voters in Canada. Sure they hate each other and are on polar opposites on the political scale, but at the end of the day, the two parties have a mutual respect for each other that they wouldn't have for the NDP (I guess the Senators in this analogy, I was pissed to see a Mickey Mouse franchise like the Sens beat an original six team like Montreal last year).

But I just can't back them against a team that exudes toughness and playing the game the right way like Boston. Hell, Ottawa is the only team I'd ever want Montreal to beat in a playoff series. For 30 years the Habs have been all about instigating and skating away. They're masters at it and it's frustrating as hell.

It also sucks because I see the way the Habs are winning, it's exactly how the Leafs were beating them last year. Depressing to say the least.

Maybe it's because I feel like I have to hate the Habs, maybe it's because my boss is a Habs fan that rubs it in every day, I'm fully behind Boston here.

(and the collapse in game 7 is officially over a year now. I'm moving on finally )

 

[Hurt]

as someone who's been a fan since 2008

you're not a Leafs fan if you like Boston
that's all i gotta say

I hope this is a joke but in case it isn't, I think most of us have been fans since we were young children, whether we are 15 or 80. Not sure that someone who has been a fan for 5 years and a bit should be commenting how big of a fan other people. I think we'd all be besides ourselves if our team could emulate the Boston style of play.

There was a time not that long ago where Boston wasn't so great and Toronto was pretty good but we failed to capture the Cup. In this case, Boston has succeeded where Toronto failed and continues to succeed because they don't have 'complacency' issues, don't have players who give up, don't have coaches who refuse to change their coaching game to keep up with the opponent. "We're a run and gun team"... Ring a bell? I think you were watching hockey back then.

 

[namttebih]

I hate the Habs enough already. I especially hate the bandwagoners that come out of the woodwork in the GTA when the Habs have the slightest amount of success. I am cheering for Boston despite them also being division rivals. TBH with a gun to my head the Bruins would be my second favourite team historically. Always like the Oates, Neely, Bourque, Wellesly era teams. As mentioned earlier in this thread, he modern version is pretty nasty as well.

 

[Lilou]

I only started cheering for mtl once those racist tweets came out. I gave bos a pass when they did it to joel ward but not anymore. I wish nothing but suffering and destruction for the bruins fanbase and their organization. Go habs.

 

[namttebih]

as someone who's been a fan since the 60's, you're not a Leaf fan if you like Montreal.

the kids may not get it, but it's true

It will always be Montreal and Russia/USSR for me. The Sens, Bruins, USA rivalries just don't give me the same anxiety.

 

[BonMorrison]

I am a rather large Bruins fan.

That said, I don't hate Montreal - actually like a lot of their players. It's their fans that piss me off more than anything.

 

[zoA]

Rivalries change. For whatever reason, I've loved seeing a once underdog Canadiens team take it to Boston. A lot of what was once a Leafs' identity seems to have been adopted by Montreal.

I actually used to like Boston...Right up until we traded Rask. After the Kessel trade there seemed to be this Toronto self-hatred which really bothered me. The Stockholm Syndrome like admiration for Boston seems weird. How the Bruins aren't considered our mortal enemies over and above Montreal is confounding.

That said, if either make it to the Final, I'll take Chicago over either of them.

Exactly how I see it. I never thought of it as Stockholm Syndrome, but it actually looks like it after reading through the thread, lol.

It was the Rask trade that started the hate for me as well. A lot of it has to do with the Boston fans though. There's this Jack Edwards persona running through the fanbase that irks me to no end. I think if I wasn't on HF I would probably feel a bit more neutral toward the Bruins.

I went into the series feeling pretty neutral, but I ended up cheering for Montreal after each goal they scored. There's something to be said for the underdog vibe though. I think I've just been enjoying the misery of whatever team lost the game, and along with the amazing games played, there has been some wonderful misery to enjoy. I hope Montreal wins game 7 and then loses four straight to New York, haha.

Something to consider is that one playoff series against Montreal would entirely eclipse any hate I have for the Bruins. There's something to be said for being raised to hate the Habs; it's easy to reignite it.