That's it...Leafs fans in the GTA are fired!

As of late, most of the time when I talk about the Edmonton Oilers fan base I am speaking from an imagined moral high ground of sorts, defending the superiority of my Leafs Nation fandom. I was appalled when Rexall place erupted into boos the other night when the Oil lost to the Pheonix Coyotes and after the game I was extremely derisive when referring to the fact that the building was near-empty by the time the end of the third rolled around. Team 1260 had a poll a month ago that publicly proclaimed the hopelssness of the Oil's playoff cause and I seem to hear nothing but pervasive negativity from Oilers fans of late. I have heavily criticized the way fans seem to have fallen off the fan-wagon at the slightest sign of trouble. I understand that in a hockeytown emotion runs high and Edmonton fans, I do apologize for my harsh criticism.

In the midst of this disappointment with the media and part of the fan base here in Edmonton, I have consistenly proclaimed the virtue of Leafs fans: their unfailing loyalty to the never-ending quest for the last-time-it-happend-was-40-years-ago Stanley Cup, and the blatent refusal to give up hope in the playoff race until it is finally mathematically impossible for our team to squeak in.

So, fellow Leaf fans who have the privilage of seeing their team at home, how do you repay me? You boo your team!?!?!? This is both embarrassing and incomprehensible to me. I have been an absentee-Leafs fan all my life and I have never once thought of booing my team.

Where is your Leafs pride? So, there is not much to celebrate in the ACC this season and the only team with a worse home record is the lowly Philedelphia Flyers. Deal with it. Booing the team on the ice really won't improve the situation. Did it make you feel better to do it? Did you enjoy the loss because you booed the team whose progress you have been following for as long as you remember? Don't dismiss the effect of team moral on performance. I wouldn't be surprised if the players look forward to away games after their treatment in Toronto.

Where is your compassion? As it turns out, behind the million-dollar salaries there lies real people with real feelings, problems and lives. How would you like it if your co-workers booed you everyday at work? Think about the negativity you are spreading when you tear other people down. You may not like the mistakes McCabe is making out there, but since when are you perfect? Don't you think they are trying? Don't you think they already feel a bit humiliated?

What gives you the right to boo them? Some people argue paying the outrageous ticket prices at the ACC justifies treating the players anyway they want. Get real. You bought those tickets willingly, so stop complaining. We live in a culture of complainers. Why not try being positive? So, because they make millions of dollars, they automatically have to endure being booed and treated sub-human? Put yourself in their position.

To all Leafs fans reading this blog (if in fact there are some; it seems rather doubtful): Grow Up. Think about other people once in awhile. Find out what it really means to be a true blue Leafs fan.