Leafs Owner Larry Tanenbaum has in a one-page letter to fans in most of the Toronto papers apologized for the team's bad season. As every letter deserves a response, here's mine:
Dear Leafs,
On behalf of my fellow disgruntled Leaf fans,I'd like to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I haven't found another team to root for; I just didn't pay more attention to say the Habs, or the Penguins or even heaven forbid the Senators. But call it a misguided sense of eternal optimism, or hope but I really thought you were going to do better this year.
I'm sorry too that I can potentially see myself never going to a game. You have long priced your tickets out of the realm of affordability for anything but the nosebleed sections. Granted, they probably have more fun up there- still there's a lot to be said for watching the hockey game without binoculars. If you wanted to reward us for putting up with seven years of bad hockey perhaps a price reduction on tickets may be an order?
I'm sorry that Brian Burke comes across as being well to put it nicely a bit of a jerk. Let's face it: in hindsight being he probably should've fired Ron Wilson a long time before he actually did. If it happened at the all-star break maybe you guys might well be playing hockey right now. And that whole fiasco with a certain well-known Toronto morning show host? He was just doing his job; asking the question any journalist or fan who has five minutes alone with Burke would ask.
I'm sorry Leaf management is delusional. Your constant search for the next Gilmour, or the next Gretzky, or the next Crosby keeps you distracted from surrounding the decent players you have with other equally decent players through drafts and trades. You are "The Leafs," one of the richest franchises in all of sports, it wouldn't go amiss if you spent some money out on the players? There probably is an endless supply of players who would do anything to play here.
Perhaps though what I'm sorriest of all about is that you guys don't appreciate the fans passion. The fact that this whole hockey thing.. has sinisterly morphed from being about those fans to being merely a game of dollars and cents. It has gone from being the game that is practically a national religion in this country to being based on a philosophy of "how can I make the most money?" And you don't even realize it. It's so bad that it's as if the passionate fans; the ones that paint their faces for every game... the ones who watch on television with the endless supply of hope this would be the year aren't being heard.
I hope I've given you a lot to reflect as you hit the links and spend time with your families. Have a great summer.
From:
One Sorry Leaf Fan
