A Leafs Fan’s Five Stages of Grief

by MLHS on March 1, 2012 in Leafs Fan Problems - 502 Comments

Photo: Puck Daddy

I thought this was worth sharing for those that missed Slapper_Mike‘s post in last night’s post-game thread. Chin up, Leafs Nation.

I have gone through the 5 stages of grief with this Leafs team. It all started with the 3-2 loss to the Sens in January, and the subsequent 3-1 loss on HNIC to the Habs. Then, the 5-0 loss to the Habs a couple of weeks ago on HNIC. And then the Nash rumours, the February swoon, and the uneventful trade deadline…

Slapper_Mike’s Five Stages of Grief:

DENIAL – No, we are better than this. This is not happening to us! The refs have it in for us. If only he had not hit that post. Their goalie was lucky. Wait until MacArthur gets healthy. And Armstrong. Once Reimer rounds into form, we’ll be playoff-bound for sure.

ANGER – F*ck you Wilson! F*ck you Burke! Reimer you suck! Schenn you suck! I hate everyone.

BARGAINING – Okay, if we go on a little streak, and if Burke acquires this guy or that guy, we’ll be good enough to get in. We don’t need to win a round in the playoffs. I don’t care if we go out 4 straight. I just want to get in. Please god, I swear I will be a better person and not say bad things about Gionta and Alfie if you let us get in!

DEPRESSION – Man, we suck. Why does this always have to happen to me, to us long-suffering leafs fans. We don’t deserve this. Is there a hockey god? Fuck my life. I’m sad.

ACCEPTANCE – Okay, it’s not going to happen for us this year. Let’s cut our losses, and learn from our mistakes, and correct them in the off-season to take a run at this again next year. We gave it our best shot, and there were some positives (Kessel‘s emergence, Lupul‘s strong play, Gardiner‘s promise) from which we can build next year. whether the coach was wrong for this team, or whether the team gave up on him, or whether it was Burke’s misread of the goalie situation, or JFJ’s complete dismantling of our depth… what was, was. Let’s move on and learn.

The guys have done the best job they can. Clearly our time is not now. I feel kind of sorry for Wilson, and for Burke. No one wants to win and succeed more than them, they just fell short, and yes, they must be held accountable. Ego and arrogance does play into this somewhere, but then again, we knew that’s what we were getting with these guys, and few of us complained when Burke or Wilson were hired. It just sucks that we haven’t won in 45 years, because it adds even more urgency and pressure to the situation.

I’m resigned to this now. Let’s regroup, and grow from this experience. What didn’t kill us makes us stronger. All is not lost.

Print article