brad
May 15, 2010 / 10:13

here here

CQ
May 15, 2010 / 10:44

Lifelong Adjacent & Torontonian, I'm cheering for the Habs!!
Get over your stupid phantom rivalry of from over 31 bloody years ago.
And I'm cheering the Blackhawks to win the Cup itself - not in gms 4 or 7, over the Habs, given their lack of NHL championships plus the longevity streak from '61.

elvis
May 15, 2010 / 11:56

I hope you tape up those ankles nice and good CQ. It's going to hurt when it's time to jump off the bandwagon.

Cheryl
May 15, 2010 / 12:21

I live in Toronto, but I hate the Leafs. I always have and I always will. The Habs and Coyotes are my favourite teams. Since my Coyotes are out, I cheer for the Habs. The Flyers have no chance. They won't get anything passed Halak. halak will stop everything even the power plays. The Habs are going to win, maybe in six or seven.

twins from bolton
May 15, 2010 / 12:44

Are you & Freddie P twins as you both write the same nonsense.
GO HABS GO even though I hated them in past - this year has made a difference. Why?, because they deserve to go on beating 2 of top teams in NHL all year & were ready for the playoffs even though got there during last weekend. Jacques Martin is a genius.

Buffalo Boy Mike
May 15, 2010 / 13:06

If you love the Sabres is it okay to root for the Leafs and vice versa?

David
May 15, 2010 / 13:10

I admit it...I am having an affair on my beloved Leafs. The reason? My beloved doesn't put out anymore for me. It's been 6 springs and I am not getting any (hockey). So along comes this French girl (AKA the Habs) and they're doing well, fun to watch, sexy even.

So...I noticed her at first and now they've got me under their spell.

Even though I love the Leafs, I love hockey first and Montreal is playing good hockey, fun hockey, exciting hockey.

So, I am going to have this love affair until it ends, I will have my team to come back too and they know that my heart belongs to them...they know we've had some rocky times over the past 6 seasons and they know that all will be well come the fall.

Besides, my beloved is having fun too...they're back home, golfing, taking time off and enjoying life for a while...so who am I not to have an affair on them and love the cute little French team? The Bleu Rouge et Blanc!

Anonymous
May 15, 2010 / 13:40

"ignorant, misguided Leafs fan"
Pretty sure that is the only kind of Leaf fan.

Godd Till
May 15, 2010 / 13:42

Besides, my beloved is having fun too...they're back home, golfing, taking time off and enjoying life for a while...so who am I not to have an affair on them and love the cute little French team?

As the great Irvine Welsh once wrote, "A man who is unfaithful to his woman is one thing. But how can you trust a man who can't be faithful to his team?"

CQ
May 15, 2010 / 14:01

"not a true Leaf fan" remembers seeing many of their early 80s players as they waited for the team bus one stormy weeknight. A neighbourhood pal dragged me over for this, lol.

Argie
May 15, 2010 / 14:05

Mike,

I haven't agreed with you more, ever!

I really mean it, I rarely agree with you but real Leaf fans cannot ever cheer for the FABs (no typo there, just a combo of Habs and you-know-what).

David
May 15, 2010 / 17:33

Ha ha Mike and Godd Till you're both too funny...I am ashamed a little...I think I would feel worse if Mats Sundin was still our captain, cuz he was kinda cute...lol

Lemme pinch Mats cheeks...lol

A.R.
May 15, 2010 / 18:34

It would actually be a rivalry if the Leafs ever played in the playoffs . In the absence of quality hockey here, you have to follow some team. I wouldn't ever think of buying their merchandise or paying to see them play. I wouldn't go to a bar to watch them play. It's a very casual affair. After all, it's quite strange that no Canadian teams ever win the cup anymore.

Cheryl
May 15, 2010 / 18:48

Well, this year a Canadian team will win the cup, the Habs. I am a Habs fan, but I live in Toronto. I've been a Leafs hater for life and that will never change.

elvis
May 15, 2010 / 18:56

@David - things are going along well until you realize you're having an affair with a transvestite. Don't say we didn't tell you so!

Tevy
May 15, 2010 / 19:20

Couldn't agree with you more, Mike! But as younger fan who's grew up watching the Leafs post-Western Conference, I've grown a massive disdain for the Flyers and hope for an influenza outbreak anyways... That means, Go Hawks! or Go Sharks!

@David love the rhetoric, but don't have too much fun with your french prostitute.

James
May 15, 2010 / 19:34

@Cheryl: You do realise when the habs eventually choke, this blog's probably gonna be your worst nightmare, right?

name what?
May 16, 2010 / 08:50

relax.

Frankie
May 16, 2010 / 10:04

Frankie says relax!

Hey Godd Till (Great fucking name, man!)

Where's the Welsh quote from! It's killer!

James Farmer
May 16, 2010 / 10:04

It sure sounds, from reading the previous, comments that there is a lot of ex-pats, in T.O. If you love Montreal so much --- go back! Go back to the poor French Canadian attitude, bad roads and lazy labour union mentality. We do not want you, and you're stinking, Hab-loving ways in Toronto. You would not get away with these ways in a really tough city. Take a cue from David Puddie and cheer for the HOME TEAM - The Toronto Maple Leafs.When last I was in Montreal, they had no notion that baseball still existed because they no longer have the Expos. They hate us and we hate them. Take your Liberal loving ways and go back to Levesque land. Also, where are all "The Flying Frenchemen"?

Habs Suck
May 16, 2010 / 10:14

Thank you Toronto Mike for writing this. I can't believe how many so called Maple Leaf fans are suddenly cheering for Montreal. It's disgusting.

Under no circumstances is this permitted! I find the under 30 crowd has no respect for history. If it didn't happen during their lifetime, it didn't happen. We have to respect history.

Go Flyers Go. To hell with the Canadiens, they can eat shit and die.

Chemmy
May 16, 2010 / 10:29

Better a corpse than a Habs fan.

Adam
May 16, 2010 / 12:35

ZERO Habs fans cheered for the Leafs in 1999 or 2002, so why the hell should we cheer for them now?

Bandwagon jumpers - of all kinds - are incredibly lame.

Cheryl
May 16, 2010 / 12:54

As I said, I'm a Habs fan. I've always been a Habs fan. I live in toronto, but have always loved the Habs for years. This blog may be a nightmare, but the Habs won't choke. Just wait and they'll beat the Flyers. Halak is so good. He won't allow the Flyers to score, not even on the power play.

James
May 16, 2010 / 13:18

@Cheryl: I think we should bet on that.

Ryan
May 16, 2010 / 14:01

The only thing lower than a Hab fan is a turncoat.

The 2010 playoffs have been difficult. Sitting in Toronto bars – and not just Kilgour's – watching people cheer Hab goals. I even saw some punk kids "ole"ing.

Thank Wendel we still have people like Toronto Mike to keep me from going crazy.

James
May 16, 2010 / 14:40

Muh...I've switched from hockey to baseball now. I don't think I care what the Habs do at this point.

Ivonne
May 16, 2010 / 14:41

Thank you! It's bad enough I have to watch Montreal as it is but to listen the "Leafs fans" cheering for them on the basis that they're a Canadian team is more than I can take. And the "history will be made" commercials featuring ... get this ... Cammalleri and Laperriere don't help either.

Kashman07
May 16, 2010 / 15:50

"Kids, let me be clear: under no circumstance is it okay for you to cheer for the Montreal Canadiens if you love the Toronto Maple Leafs. There are no exceptions. Should Montreal face Ottawa in the conference finals, you cheer for an influenza outbreak that suspends the season. " - Toronto Mike

That statement put a huge smile on my face, bless your soul Toronto Mike!!!

Cheryl
May 16, 2010 / 16:44

If we bet on it, I would win. The habs are that good. I am going to cheer for my Habs. You'll see. They'll win tonight. Just wait. Halak will stop every Flyer he sees.

leigh
May 16, 2010 / 17:04

THANK YOU MIKE! i was about to send a scathing email to my friend about how robert fisher and jian ghomeshi and so many other people "torontonians" are cherring for the habs. i'm growing up in this city and for all the schools i've been in the toronto area there are all types of residents here, there are the natives, the non natives who hate toronto/ontario and are from out west or east, the small towners who hate toronto, the locals who hate their own city, the small city residents from ontario cities who come to toronto to live-work-learn, etc. so it's not at all strange for you to come into contact with foriegners who are more hockey fans and leafs adopters than locals, just like it's typical to come across torontonians who just do not like hockey. that's fine. the other things are rare though. you probably only know a couple of people who like or cheer for the ottawa senators. the litmus test is to make sure they're not from ottawa or have any ties to ottawa. any decent leafs fans hates the ottawa senators (rightfully) even if there are toronto born players on that team. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS FANS HATE THE HABS. i don't understand how difficult that is to understand. they are not friends. you might be a leafs fans and cheer for another canadian team or an american team but you cannot cheer for the sens or the habs. it doesn't happen. if you cheer for the habs then you're a full time canadiens fan. there's no switching. if you're a sens fan, then rest in piece that toronto maple leafs fans hate ottawa with an irrational passion. so thank you for putting this out there mike. native torontonians who are maple leafs fans are not fans of the canadiens or the senators. it doesn't make any sense.

JerseyLeaf
May 16, 2010 / 17:33

As I've said to a few of my turncoat friends: there's nothing like the Habs winning a Stanley Cup to make a Leaf fan remember exactly why s/he despised the Blue, Blanc, et Rouge in the first place.

Think "Ole, ole-ole-ole" is annoying? How about having every hockey conversation end with "count the cups" as a so-called trump card.

Montreal fans are bearable when Habs teams are mediocre, as they have been since '93. Give them a sniff of success -- legitimate or not -- and the cocky, pig-headed Montreal fan of the 70s returns.

If a$$holes could fly, the Bell Centre would be an airport. Turncoats, you sure you want to be a part of that?

Max
May 16, 2010 / 19:13

You guys are all funny - you're missing @torontomike's point:

"Torontonians can root for the Habs, but those who love the Leafs cannot.

If a true Leafs fan cheers for Montreal, they're quite simply not true Leafs fans."

He's right about something: there's nothing that says if you live in Toronto you have to root for the Leafs. I live here and I don't - because they're the worst team in the NHL and am embarrassment to the city, and they have fans like @argie who think that gay jokes are funny. My kids won't root for the Leafs because they don't want to grow up losers.

So you can't love the Leafs and root for the Habs, because you won't know how to root for a winner. About that, @torontomike is right. True Leaf fans just don't know how - and therefore can't - root for winners.

Habs Suck
May 16, 2010 / 19:29

Philly 1, Habs 0

So far, so good...

Hayley
May 16, 2010 / 19:51

This reminds me of '06 when the Oilers went to the Cup finals and a bunch of people I knew who were otherwise pretty dedicated Flames fans started cheering for EDM. Probably the most miserable three months of my life. I had it out with this one guy in my English class over him cheering for the Oilers. I'm so glad they eventually lost, as I'm sure you will be when the Habs finally bow out.

Aimz
May 16, 2010 / 20:29

I am an American who has lived in Toronto for the last 8 years. It blows my mind when people who are "Leafs Fans" for most of the year will pull for any Canadian team just for the playoffs because that team is based in Canada. I can assure you that no Bruins fans are rooting for Philly because Philadelphia is located in United States. Weak Leafs "fans." Very weak.

Chieften
May 16, 2010 / 20:39

@Cheryl.........Please F... Off

Ray
May 16, 2010 / 21:13

If you're a hockey fan, and you want to stop acting like a 12 year old, then you appreciate what Montreal is accomplishing and you cheer for the intriguing story line.

Cheryl
May 16, 2010 / 21:52

I'm not happy. My Habs lost. This sucks, but this is just one game. I have faith. The Habs will win the next one. They'll come back. I know they will. The flyers had their win. Habs in six or seven. Trust me. Go Habs go.

Tim
May 17, 2010 / 06:45

Well said my friend. Go Leafs Go!

HabNOT
May 17, 2010 / 18:02

Toronto Mike,
You speak total truth, a real leaf fan can never - ever cheer for the Habs.

I remember the last Toronto cup and I know I will see another before I die.

It breaks my heart to have to cheer for a creamcheese team, but if that is what honour demands - so be it! I am learning to like Sharks too.

Cheryl
May 17, 2010 / 18:45

Habs are going to win. Trust me. The game last night was a real fluke.

HabNOT
May 18, 2010 / 09:08

Toronto Mike,
You speak total truth, a real leaf fan can never - ever cheer for the Habs.

I remember the last Toronto cup and I know I will see another before I die.

It breaks my heart to have to cheer for a creamcheese team, but if that is what honour demands - so be it!
I am learning to like Sharks too.

Alan G
May 18, 2010 / 10:19

Leafs fan, Habs fan. Kind of the AC/DC of sports fan. We go both ways. More bang for your puck!!

A.R.
May 18, 2010 / 13:02

I've reflected and decided that my cheering for the Habs on is over. It was based more off frustration with my noble club, the Leafs, than admiration for the Habs. Good thing we have leaders like Mike reminding us the errors of our ways.

Cheryl
May 19, 2010 / 17:53

Another fluke game last night and the Habs lost again. Trust me. The Habs are going to win the cup. They'll win the next four. It will be Habs in six or seven.

KM
May 20, 2010 / 23:26

Toronto Mike, as a Montrealer and lifelong Hab fan, I quite agree with you that you can't cheer for the other team. I could never cheer for Toronto. However, this talk of Philly in four... you're just digging your hole deeper. I first heard of you when you were a guest on a Montreal radio station (990), just before the beginning of this year's postseason. Nice work, you now have another fan of your blog! There is a method to your madness.

KM
May 21, 2010 / 00:00

BTW, amazing game tonight!

Mike from Lowville
May 21, 2010 / 09:35

Wrong again Mike. You should watch the games with Freddy. He knows about as much as you! Cheryl, the Habs in seven. I will go out on a limb and say IF the Habs beat the Flyers, the Habs will go all the way. That would be better than a dozen eggs on you Leaf fans faces!!

Ray
May 21, 2010 / 10:01

I support all Toronto teams. I am a huge Jays fan, through thick and thin. However, I find it difficult to align myself with Leaf fans who, with little to cheer for, just resort to hating on others as their only means of fandom. It's just so negative, and takes the joy out of sport. A Leafs fan is a very angry sports fan.

A.R.
May 22, 2010 / 11:53

It's a rivalry Ray; Habs fans are always outrageously anti-Leafs to point where some look crazy. Leafs fans are great fans that love hockey.

James Edgar
May 22, 2010 / 18:29

At this point all I can say is Go Rossi. There's nothing to root for in the east. Habs? Flyers? Nope. I've given up and am watching MOTOGP only.

JerseyLeaf
April 7, 2011 / 08:50

I'll be sharing this on Facebook again soon -- might be time for you to do a re-post :)

Nock4Six
April 7, 2011 / 10:16

Sorry bud.

I grew up in a Leafs/Habs household (mom's a lover of the Leafs and dad's a lover of the Habs) and sadly, I love both teams as a result. Now, mind you - I BLEED blue, and when the Leafs and playing the Habs, I'm all blue/white....but if I'm watching the Habs play anyone else, I'm on board with les habitants.

Horonymous
April 11, 2011 / 13:00

Like Toronto City Council and the TTC, Leafs fans are dysfunctional.

Keep telling yourselves that the Leafs are the better team.

Sure the Habs are in a terrible Stanley Cup rut but there it seems far more tragic when the only post season hockey joy a Leaf fan gets is when the Habs lose.

One day I hope Leaf Nation gets to have a Stanley Cup parade.