It seems our boys in blue and white like it rough; the more we ridicule them, the better they play. Believe it or not, the Leafs actually won two (count 'em -- two!) games in a row this week. Could it be that they crave our abuse, that in some perverse, twisted way they need to be told, out loud and repeatedly, that they're overpaid, underachieving, good-for-nothing mama's boys who couldn't win a hockey game even against a team of deaf, blind paraplegic four-year-olds?
Could be.
Coach Paul Maurice hinted this might be the case when he revealed that the more abuse the fans and media hurl at them, the more the players retreat into a headspace where all they want to do is play hockey. "I think in some ways, it does become a little bit easier when there's more going on... just to come to the rink," says Maurice. "One (issue) is sometimes more dangerous than 10 because you focus on that one, but there's so much going on around us, my sense is that for the players it's all hockey now all the time."
Masochism (the non-sexual kind) is defined as a willingness or tendency to subject oneself to unpleasant or trying experiences in order ultimately to achieve satisfaction. The Leafs' willingness to subject themselves to non-stop media and fan ridicule that resulted when they plunged to 28th place in the league, coupled with the 40-years-and-counting Stanley Cup drought and the fact that this also might be the first time in 80 years that they've gone three seasons straight without getting into the playoffs -- well, it either indicates a healthy dose of devout masochism or a diagnosis of downright idiocy to continue slogging away under such dismal statistical conditions. And I honestly don't think the boys are stupid.
Which leads us to no other conclusion than that all this heightened Leafs-bashing of late has actually benefited the team, and that the whole lot of them, Coach Maurice included, are begging us from the bottom of their masochistic hearts to****-slap them (metaphorically speaking) some more.
So slap on, Laffs' fans, slap on -- if that's what it takes to get this overpaid, underachieving, molly-coddled lot of mama's boys to play the bloody game of hockey (which is, after all, WHAT THEY'RE PAID TO DO!) then please, PLEASE, slap on.
Jessica Gomes
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