What a week for Toronto sports! This week on fan therapy, we’re going to get into all the narratives surrounding the team and my experience watching the Jays and Leafs on Wednesday. But first, a story.
Those of you who followed my writing at the end of last season will know that I have been in the market for a new jersey. I had been the (somewhat) proud owner of a Mitch Marner jersey since his first year on the team, and it was obviously time to retire that piece of clothing. Plan B was to do something like this, but ideally, I would get something new:
This brings me to a fateful message I received in April of this year. I have a good friend from university who is a massive Ottawa Senators fan. He enjoys collecting jerseys, and so found a Twitter account that does jersey mystery boxes, where you pay a flat fee and can get anything from a blank random jersey to a signed collectible.
His first time playing these sweepstakes, he received an Auston Matthews Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, to which he announced his intention to dispose of it as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I was a little late to claim it, and it was quickly given to a colleague of his.
Fast forward to this summer, and my friend decided to try his luck once more. This time, the hockey gods clearly decided that he had not had enough torture and blessed him, once more, with an Auston Matthews Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, this time being the 2022–23 reverse retro. I immediately staked my claim and, a couple of weeks later, became the proud owner of a brand-new Leafs jersey, which I proudly put on to attend the season opener this past Wednesday.
The vibes are…?
I have had the great privilege of attending a few season or home openers for the Leafs. This year felt different than previous ones. First of all, the SBA is currently undergoing renovations on the 300-level concourse, giving an immediate feeling of not being prepared. Next, the Jays were playing at the same time, and I was certainly distracted trying to pay attention to both, as were many members of my section.
Finally, the Leafs did not play well. For sure, they got off to an amazing start with Bobby McMann tipping in a Nylander shot a minute into the game. But from there, the Leafs fell flat. They were sloppy, and as I remarked to my sister late in the first, it looked like they had no idea how to play well with each other. The Habs had immediate chemistry, tape-to-tape passes and anticipating their teammates’ movement. The Leafs, on the other hand, could not break out of their zone or break into the offensive zone if their season depended on it (sound familiar?).
Let’s go Blue Jays
The first two periods were a tale of two games. The hockey game for which we were all present, and the baseball game simultaneously occurring in New York. It took the sting out of the Leafs’ lacklustre performance during these 40 minutes, knowing the Jays were ahead.
I’m not sure of the exact timing of what happened next, and I say this to say I could be completely wrong about this next thing. But it felt, in the arena, as if the Leafs fed off the Jays. After Nathan Lukes hit his two RBI single in the top of the 7th, the score was immediately flashed on the Jumbotron. The arena went berserk and erupted in a “Let’s go Blue Jays” chant. Again, I don’t know exactly when, relative to the Leafs game, this happened, but it certainly felt like the Leafs put their foot on the gas after that. Truly, a wonderful Wednesday night.
A bad start
Now, to bring us back down to earth. As I mentioned in Volume 1 of this series, I’m an irrational, emotional fan who uses sarcastic humour to cope with this toxic relationship. As such, I am here to tell you that it is absolutely okay to panic and catastrophize after this 1–1 start to the season. Our defence looks old and slow (who could’ve seen that coming), our stars are not breaking the game (completely shocking), injuries keep piling up (I don’t really have anything for this one, I just wanted another bracket). The Leafs look terrible! The sky is falling, and Steve Dangle’s last LFR was just titled “Better”. Clearly, the calm and simple season that I hoped for in my last piece was pie-in-the-sky thinking.
Look, this last paragraph was mostly tongue in cheek. Frankly, I care more about the Jays game tonight than I do about the Leafs game tomorrow. Yes, there are concerns; the defence has looked particularly bad in the last two hours of hockey. And yes, I did have to fill the word limit, so we might as well talk about it. I have a feeling I’m not going to struggle to put pen to paper this season. But for now, to end this therapy session, my advice is to try to chill out a little bit. Let’s enjoy some October baseball, cheer on CANADA’S team, and worry about hockey ever so slightly less.
