November 5, 2009.
I completely agree with what Tim has said in his post 'Unrequited Love - The Leafs and Their Fans', however I believe there is more of the story to be told.
The management of the team - more so the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan - is definitely at fault here. However the fans themselves are not completely guilt free.
It is the fans fault that regardless of the calibre of product on the ice they still flock like herded sheep to fill the seats at the Air Canada Center. Fans are giving the franchise the right to field an inferior team because ownership knows they will still sell out home games regardless of who's actually on the ice.
Over the years Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) has slowly brain washed the fans of Toronto into believing that they actually care about winning a Stanley Cup. They even have us believe that they are doing everything possible in their power to win one.
It's no coincidence that Leafs most competitive era fell during a time when the majority owner was Steve Stavro. After Harold Ballard passed, Stavro became Chairman of the Board of Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd and Governor of the Maple Leafs in October of 1991. Later that year he worked out a deal to purchase shares from Ballards estate. Molson also agreed to sell him the remainder of their stake in Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd, which would ultimately see him become majority owner by 1994.
While majority owner, Stavro was known to be a somewhat reclusive man who didn't like being in the spotlight. Due to this fact, he chose to leave the Maple Leafs organization largely in the hands of the hockey operations staff. Shortly after taking over, during the 1992-'93 season, the Leafs experienced their first winning season in 14 years when they came within one game of the Stanley Cup finals. That was the year Gretzky scored while standing in the crease and obstructing Felix Potvins ability to stop the puck. Although because it was Gretzky that scored the goal, no penalty was called and the goal stood, however I digress. The following season, with Cliff Fletcher still at the helm, the Leafs made it to the Conference Finals again. A little later in the Stavro era, Pat Quinn was brought on board to be the head coach and general manager of the team. During his seven-year tenure the Leafs were an annual contender. Quinn brought the Leafs to the post season in six consecutive years from the 1998-'99 season through the 2003-'04 campaign. In that period of time the Maple Leafs organization had their first two 100-point seasons in franchise history, as well as two Eastern Conference Finals appearances.
During the 2003-'04 season, Steve Stavro stepped down as Chairman of what was now named MLSE in favour of Larry Tanenbaum. This was all part of a restructuring plan that also witnessed Stavro sell his majority share of MLSE to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. Jim Leech, OTTP Senior Vice President of Private Equity (also known as the Teachers' Merchant Bank), had orchestrated the deal after the closure of Stavro's Knob Hill Farms grocery chain. Once the deal was completed, this left the Teachers' Union with a 66% stake in MLSE, ushering in the most recent era of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the one that we are currently a part of.
Let's be honest here, the Teachers' Union cares about one thing and one thing only, securing their pension plans. That means they're main concern - above winning a Stanley Cup - is filling the bank account with as much money as physically possible to secure their future. What this means for the team is that like any other organization, overall profit margins rule their decision-making process. Therefore the overlying problem with the Leafs brass has to do with the fact that our team isn't run by a wealthy individual who has a passion for the game, but instead run by an organization who has a passion for lining their pockets.
As fans, only we hold the key to making a difference. We need to band together and show MLSE that we're not willing to sit by and let them pillage us with no consequences. Ultimately we must refuse to buy tickets; leave the stands empty in order to show them we won't be the Hansel and Gretel of their fairy tale world.
If you believe this to be true, please join in following the Unofficial Fan Union of the Toronto Maple Leafs using the links below and show your support.
Twitter - http://twitter.com/WeWantACup
Facebook Group - http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-Want-a-Cupcom/160022016441?ref=search&sid=506260578.2869014766..1
2 comments:
Sharpy, you make a great point in saying that Leafs fans have it in their power to essentially "take control" of the direction of franchise, but doesn't it seem fundamentally wrong in saying that fans' support of team is the reason they are unsuccessful? I'm not discounting the reality that if the fans placed more (financial) pressure on the management, then the team would likely be more successful on the ice, but this is a problem of philosophy; the Leafs brass considers the team a business while the fans consider it a hockey team, a culture, a societal symbol. You cannot ask a group of people to abandon their culture because of a few, greedy, heartless members of that group have distorted the goals of the franchise.
Ultimately, it is inherently wrong to blame the supporters of the team when it has been the management that has lost the vision of what the Toronto Maple Leafs are and should be.
Tim M.
I think that it's wrong to say that the OTPP isn't concerned about putting a winning product on the ice. What team wouldn't want a run to the playoffs? The OTPP is forced to shell out at least $41 million to meet the league minimum for salaries and the leafs are actually close to the cap. Plus they have the non cap related expenses such as coaching/managment salaries, AHL affilates and so on and so forth, the easiest way to recoup expenses is to make the playoffs where you have no more paychecks to write. NHL salaries are not paid after the 82nd game. All money is therefore profit, and with the leafs already having the highest ticket prices in the NHL the windfall is just rediculous.
I think (And this is just me personally) the you are right, the problem is that the Leafs aren't run by an individual and that all decisions are made by a 9 man commitee, but the Leaf successes in the 90's had nothing to to do with Steve Stavro being the owner. He was still in court over the Ownership of the team when the had their greatest success and was angry with Cliff Fletcher for spending the money that he did on free agents with the acquistions of Doug Gilmour, Mats Sundin and the like, and he is the man that said no to Wayne Gretzky in 1996 for 3 million a season, because with the Leafs selling out every home game, they wouldn't make any more money off of him.
Until the Leafs are run by one man, who actually knows a thing or 3 about hockey we will continue to live in the purgatory on earth that I call Leaf Nation
Kyle F
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