Psychology 101 and fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs
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Now for a pause while we discuss sports.
One of the lesser-recognized manifestations of the particular psychosis that afflicts fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs is the ongoing need for a bum.
The Leafs need a saviour. That much is recognized. They've been wandering in the desert for 42 years, longer even than the Israelites, and no salvation in sight. The fans, understandably, are a bit restless, and like to have a ready target on which to concentrate their bile. That's why they also need a bum.
The bum is the guy Leaf fans choose, usually from among numerous candidates, to treat as if he alone is responsible for the fact the team stinks. Leaf fans know that's not the case -- they like to think of themselves as sophisticated observers of the game, even while buying every available ticket for a losing team, so somewhere deep in their subconscious they appreciate that Leaf problems are deep-rooted, the result of decades of mismanagement, lethargic ownership and too much easy money.
But it's easier to pick a player and let loose their lungs. They hounded Larry Murphy relentlessly for the better part of two years, convinced he was too old, too slow and overrated as a defenceman. They booed him right up to the time he was traded to Detroit, where he became a key part of a team that won two Stanley Cups. Turns out it wasn't Larry's fault that the Leafs stunk; the problem was that they had such a lousy defence they had to rely too heavily on Murphy, one of the few guys with skill.
Later they homed in on Aki Berg, who had a bad habit of giving the puck to players on the other team (not that he was alone in that). They harassed Berg right out of the league: he headed home to Finland, where he was no doubt a lot happier than toiling on the Leafs blue line.
They got on Andrew Raycroft, who tied a record for wins one year and was a bum the next. Raycroft had some real issues, not least the fact that he was so even-tempered it was hard to tell whether he'd won or lost. Fans like to think the players care; a player who can shrug off one loss after another gets on their nerves. Raycroft bounced to Colorado along with Darcy Tucker, who wasn't even-tempered at all.
Lacking Raycroft to boo, Toronto fans looked around for a new stiff and decided on Jason Blake. Blake scored 40 goals for New York Islanders and signed a big contract with the Leafs as a free agent. Shortly after arriving he learned he had cancer. Leaf fans couldn't understand why that might affect his play, and weren't satisfied with his first year on the team, filling radio all-in shows with demands that he be traded or, better yet, dumped. Hah, that'll teach him. Upset by a little cancer. In his second season led the team in scoring, and flies around the ice these days like a mad housefly, but Leaf fans haven't forgiven him yet and probably won't until he helps some other team win the cup.
The latest Leaf to earn bum status is Vesa Toskala, the goalie. Toskala wasn't very good last year, which was blamed on injuries and a crappy defence. This year he's healthy and the defence has been upgraded, but he's still been letting in goals by the bushel. As usual there's an excuse: the Leafs have a new goalie coach and he's trying to get Toskala, at 33, to change his style. The guy has been playing the same style since he was five, and has had three lousy games trying to adapt to the new approach, but that's more than enough for the fans. He's a bum. He should be traded, or benched, or sent to the minors, or forced to move in with Aki Berg. Something.
The fans want the coach to play the new goalie, Jonas Gustaffson, who has completed exactly one NHL game, and part of another, in which he wasn't too bad. He lost both games and let in five goals, but he looked more confident doing it than Toskala.
Toskala is said to be ticked off, and who can blame him? Three games into the season the fans are in a panic, and the coach appears to be listening to them. The team is supposed to be in a long-term rebuilding program, emphasizing patient decision-making, but can't even wait until the end of the first week to start fiddling with the plan.
Gustaffson, who had a heart problem before he'd even started a game, now has a groin problem, so Leafdom is stuck with Toskala for now. If he wins two straight games he'll be a hero. No one ever said the fans were consistent.