They're back

A little rant …

Beyond the voice-from-the-grave quality to Pat Quinn’s latest pronouncements, beyond his explanations, there is the feeling this morning, at least in me, that this is no big deal. The message out of Quinn’s musings – that hockey is a business; that it has changed in the past 40 years since he arrived as a brawny defenceman best remembered for a hellacious body check/elbow (take your pick) on Bobby Orr; that the musings should go from generalities out of his mouth (that’s his story, anyway, and with his long links to the pro game, it’s not as if he doesn’t have history and experience beyond Toronto) to particulars among the chattering classes (as it always does, along with the end product to this mill --a roasted Richard Peddie on a bun) – come as no surprise.

Meet the new dog. Same as the old dog.

But of course it is there, right there (disclaimer alert) across the top of this blog's sponsoring sports page, and Quinn, anything but naïve, is nevertheless being just that if he really thinks his words would be taken any other way (if anyone has an audio link to the original interview, send it along. CKNW in Vancouver, which originally aired it, is a members-only site).

In the larger picture, though, it can only point to one thing. The new season is almost here, and for crying out loud, bring it on already. The familiar cast of villains are being lined up, with Peddie wearing the usual target as he fronts the anonymous MLSE puppetmasters, and “the media” and “the fans” assembling their designated spots in the gallery. Toronto’s favourite bloodsport is ready for another chapter, and all that’s required is the latest uniforms on the ice and the latest punching bag behind the bench.

Many people take all this for evidence that Toronto is a hockey town, which it isn’t. When Quinn came into the NHL, junior hockey was still thriving in Toronto. As a kid growing up here, Friday night in the Gardens end blues for a sellout of the Marlies vs. the Junior Canadiens, the Petes, the Generals and the rest was about as close to the big time as I could get, and it was plenty close enough – since, junior hockey has withered into insignificance here, along with college hockey (the U of T Blues were a pretty solid second choice on my list, way back then), and the ticket prices and dilution of the league and the game’s quality have turned most fans into watch-it-on-TV types. It is a Leafs town, as many amend the previous deisgnation. But that's not quite all -- what Toronto is mostly, I reckon, is a crappy sports town. With the smell of September in the air, anything Leafs immediately supplants the rest of the pro sports menu here, including an Argos team that looks suddenly like Grey Cup material, an intriguing Raptors collection with their centrepiece player playing in the world finals … and the (*sigh*) Jays, once again No. 3 but trying hard to carve out a little corner of this territory.

With little real news around, and training camp two weeks away this Friday, it’s like ravenous dogs jumping on a steak dinner. Even the most hair-brained, ill-conceived notions get an airing. And in a city starved for a winner, the customers are unwilling or unable to register their discontent in the only way they can – at the MLSE box office. Which was part of Quinn’s point, and the secret of the Leafs’ success. And so The Tradition Continues.

But look on the bright side. Eight months from now, they’ll be as gone as Pat Quinn.

(*- picture taken by PAM GM Creations, and included in this month's Dogs in Canada showcase section. Ta very much, PAM.)

Comments

[Carla]

That’s cy’s dog. For sure. He can deny it, but take that with a grain of salt.

[Carla]

(Okay, seriously…)

Is Pat Quinn saying anything that anybody who follows hockey in Toronto didn’t already know? No. Why the kerfuffle, then? The dog days (*cough*) of the off-season are almost over, thank goodness, so we can go back to debating the merits (or lack thereof) of Mats’ current linemates and arguing about how much money Jeff O’Neill should hafta pay back to the team for having not shown up last season.

[Julian]

Ironically, I wrote a similar piece on my blog about Quinn's comments being blown out of proportion. I think that his comments are a fair representation of not just the Leafs or the NHL but sports in general.

There is no doubt that Toronto is a great Leafs town. Aside from that the junior and university ranks suffer from lack of support. It's funny that you mention the lull in NHL news driving people nuts because I have seen many hockey writers and bloggers mention it as well. With the Argos going through a lacklustre season, the Jays falling off the pace, the Raptors having completed their off-season moves, and the summer drawing to a close Leafs fans are out of distractions.

[Julian]

I just wanted to amend my last comment to say that my blog entry also mentions why fans registering their discontent will not work in Toronto. There are too many 'plastic' fans (ie. Chelsea's fan base). Even if the hardcore fan boycotted the Leafs not much would come out of it. You only need to look at Manchester United during the Glazer takeover to see how, ultimately, even very well organized resistance to a corporation subborning the sporting side of a team will prove pointless.

[Tommy]

I think Toronto is a great hockey and sports town. It's only that we're big on top-level competition. Juniors and AHL won't draw here. NHL and the World Cup of Hockey will. Bob McCown is just bitter that he blew his retirement savings on the Marlies and continues to perpetuate this myth that Toronto is only a 'Leafs town'. The Raptors have drawn incredible crowds despite having perhaps the most pathetic franchise over the past 11 years. The Jays have drawn decently well considering they have no chance in a division with the Yanks and Red Sox. If the MLS gets to the truly world-class level of the Premiership or Serie A (or even a 2nd tier Euro league like Bundesliga or the Russian league) then Toronto FC will draw well.

We like to think Toronto is great, and we won't bother watching a bunch of kids or sub-par (read: CFL) sports.

[cy]

No, it's not my dog. Honest. Mine is way uglier, at least one of them.
As for Julian's point, it's a good one that I realized at lunch I should have included too. The corporate base in this city is so far into the Leafs as far as tickets that their box office appears almost bulletproof. The only indicator of disinterest/discontent is when the team goes into the dumper and there's empty platinums and golds all game long, and not just for the first 10 minutes of each period. You have a fan base that's been priced out of a market that's dominated by the corporate base. The result is an arena that's pretty sedate and comfortable with themselves and their lot -- the hockey equivalent of baseball's Cubs, an analogy that's by no means original, but I think it fits.
As for the other three big pro teams, you're right, Tommy, they are reasonably well supported. But they're each off their high-water marks, historically. Talk to them and the Leafs are the immovable gorilla in the corner of the room. Unlike the Leafs, they have to win to draw big crowds -- the Raptors, at least, have the security of the MLSE umbrella and ticket tie-ins.

[Jason]

So Toronto is a sports town comprised of fickle and often apathetic fans whose interest is only piqued at the sign of a winner…

And this separates Toronto from other North American sports markets how?

Is there a market in North American that shows uninterrupted devotion to everyone of its teams regardless of performance? I can’t think of any.

If anything, Toronto’s passion and dedication to the Leafs probably puts it a step above the average NA market. Genuine passion shown towards one team is a lot better than none, and I can think of only a few markets in which one team garners the kind of attention and loyalty the Leafs do.

And while Toronto is certainly a sub-par junior Hockey market, it’s no worse than Montreal (as far as I can tell, anyways). But for some reason I rarely ever hear Montreal called out for its lukewarm support of anything other than its beloved Habs. Barely a day passes in which some high and mighty commentator gets up on the pulpit and declares unabashedly that Toronto is a ‘Leaf town, not a Hockey town’, as if they’re the first to put end to some great myth that everyone has bought into. But never does anyone dare to call Montreal a ‘Habs town’. Why is this? I figure it’s just an extension of Toronto’s role as Canada’s punching bag. It’s always been fashionable to beat up on “the centre of the universe”, while Montreal meanwhile has always been the sacred cow no one dare speak ill of.