Monday, January 14, 2008

Schadenfreude 101: Leafs Suckitude Makes Me Warm and Fuzzy

With fans like this, why do they suck so?

You know normally I don't like to revel in other's pain. It seems like kicking a guy in the nuts when he's down. But then I met Leafs fans.

Look, Habs fans are no prize. We think everything belongs to us (it does). We think every Stanley Cup should be ours (it should). We think every French Canadian superstar belongs here (they do).

But we have a sense of realism. We realize that our team is mediocre (well at least the FHF do). We are not delusional to the point we think we can win the Cup with an aging superstar and Vesa Toskala and a bunch of pieces that just don't fit together.

What generally pisses me off is that it's never their fault. Our friend Pension Plan Puppets wrote on Friday when Sundin was not named an All-Star that "it's just one more slap in the face for Leaf fans this season."

Oh, really? And the other slaps in the face have been whose fault exactly? I don't think it was the NHL who hired JFJ. I don't think it was the NHL who hired a hands-on management board who are hockey illiterate. I don't think it was the NHL who mortgage the future every year for short-term potential gain. I don't think it was the NHL who told Scotty Bowman to fuck off (contrary to previous reports). I can only hope PPP's comments were directed at Leafs management and not the world at large. Though generally Leafs fans think they are the world at large, so who knows.

So the Habs lost Saturday (OK, I finally admit it). Habs' Jekyll and Hyde act is growing thin. But in the face of the Leafs falling apart before all our eyes, I feel happy.

Schadenfreude, baby.

10 comments:

Loser Domi said...

there's no English word for schedenfreude except "Leafs"

finally, SOMETHING they/we are good at!

Young HF29 said...

LD that's why we like you over here. You have a self-awareness not normally present in Leafs fans.

Anonymous said...

LOL - that tag is priceless!! Well done 29. Well done!

Senators Lost Cojones said...

29, you've exceeded your usual level of awsomenicity. Brilliant! It really is like shooting fish in a barrel, isn't it?


Wait...Hark! I do believe I hear the approach of PPP's thundering herd...

Young HF29 said...

@SLC - "awesomenicty," I like that, thx.

I'm hoping the PPP gang is too wrapped up in their own issues to notice...

Anonymous said...

Wow, it's almost as if I actually wrote that the other slaps in the face were not the fault of the Leafs.

Wait...I didn't? Weird because you got all worked up as if I did.

Giver a little more thought and it'll save you the righteous indignation of thinking that Leaf fans don't recognize the problems, and there are many, with the team.

Habsfan10 said...

Interesting, in that you repeatedly took Damien Cox to task in November and December when he pointed out that the Leafs weren't a playoff team, but now are openly rooting for firings, trades, and Steven Stamkos. You caught on to the reality of the situation a little late; a whole bunch of your Leaf fan brethren haven't.

Anonymous said...

I did repeatedly take Damien Cox to task in November and December for giving up on the team when they were either in 8th place or within TWO points of it. Not to mention that at some points during his laying down of arms the Leafs were 4-6 points from 4th place.

I also wrote a pretty long post that I think explained why the change came about pretty well.

As for the Leaf brethren that still haven't caught on...I haven't met any and I am sad to hear that they haven't seen the light but generally people don't like to admit to their rivals' fans
that their team is in serious trouble. I can almost guarantee that their inter-Leaf fans e-mails are lamenting the situation.

Habsfan10 said...

I live in Toronto. I hear the radio call in shows and I see the email comments on other blogs, TSN/Sportsnet and the newspapers. These aren't people posturing in case enemy fans see it. They're true believers who still think that a healthy Toskala, or a rejeuvenated Blake & Tucker or the benching of Woznewski for someone from the Marlies, or the calling up of Stralman/Ling/Gamache/Pogge etc etc etc will vault the Leafs back into contention.

Don't worry, Montreal has the same delusional fringe. But to say they don't exist in Leaf country is disingenuous or naive.

Anonymous said...

Wishful thinking ;) I meant more in terms of the fans that you meet face to face. Radio call-in shows and the comments on TSN/Sportsnet/Globe articles are where the lunatic fringe for every team tends to congregate.

Not that benching Make-A-Wish wouldn't make a difference. It would at least make me smile.

The other day I tuned into AM640 for 2 minutes and managed to hear a guy's conspiracy theory that JFJ was killing the Leafs on purpose in order to continue the legacy of John Ferguson killing the Leafs.