Leafs Lost

Yes, as the title infers, the Leafs lost last night. Something that is less rare than it once was. The important kernel here is that I was there to see it with my own eyes. A rare trip into the Smoke to see my favourite team in person. Share the same rarefied air with my heroes. That is not truly what took place though. As an adult, cheering for a sports team loses some of the shine that it carries for children. It's harder and harder to consider the players as heroes when you become an adult, especially once you sail past the average age of the league. I mean, I'm technically still draft eligible but it feels more and more unlikely that I'll get drafted as my age and my waist size increases. I did nothing to help that at the game with beer and some nachos finding their way into my gullet. But it was still a special opportunity. I feel like every chance I get to see the Leafs play live is, mostly because it's such a rare occurrence for me, usually just once a year. This night also had the added attraction of it being the first game that Ronny Ronks got to attend in person. He hid it well but I think he was excited at the chance. He's not as die-hard of a fan as I am to be certain but attending a game is a cool experience for anyone. We met up with him downtown and had a quick pint with Ron and Rek below the street before heading into the rink. We had the company seats and with that a good view of the match. The only negative of the experience were the losers sitting behind us. They were all that is wrong with people that go to games. They were there as an event, a corporate event. The game just being a backdrop to show one side that the other could spend money. They gabbed non-stop for the entire game about work and when I angry turned in my seat to glare at them icily, I saw that they weren't even facing the ice! They were turned in their seats to discuss their deals with IBM and Microsoft. About mid-game the raging was bubbling high in me and I was very tempted to turn around and call them down for their disrespect to fellow fans and to the team. Beside me a father was trying to bond with his son by teaching him the game as it happened, the other side was Ron trying to drink in his first live Leaf game experience and behind some dinks ruining the atmosphere for everyone. Their power ties and fancy coats must have discouraged some fans but I didn't relent. I pushed my rage down and hooted and hollered at every sensible opportunity I could, often interrupting their interruption. Other than that, and the fact that they lost in OT and played an overall mediocre game, it was a nice night out. I was glad to have the chance, even though the outcome wasn't ideal.