Читать книгу Hope and Heartbreak in Toronto. Life as a Maple Leafs Fan онлайн

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PETER ROBINSON

For Jody

You’ve enabled a man who hasn’t quite grown up

to chase his boyhood dream

This book explores how the mind of a Toronto Maple Leafs fan works. I experienced this passion firsthand, and I still hear from many of those people who bleed the blue and white. It is almost like the love parents have for their children, in that it has no conditions or boundaries. There have been heart-wrenching moments on the ice over the past forty-five years, but this book opens the door to some of the stories that weren’t covered by the mainstream media, but which still grab your attention — like Mike Sundin’s overtime heroics or a sprawling, series-clinching save by “Cujo.”

Anybody who passionately follows a sports team will understand the feelings that resonate through these pages, how their daily lives are influenced by the ups and downs of their team during the season.

This book reminded me of those crazy times I enjoyed as a player in Toronto. One that sticks in my memory is the night I left the Air Canada Centre after we beat the New York Islanders in Game 7 of the 2002 playoffs. I remember walking outside after the game. The traffic around the ACC was like a parking lot, but probably the happiest parking lot in Toronto’s traffic history. People were jumping out of their cars to high-five pedestrians and others stuck in the traffic melee. That showed me the thirst for success the Leafs Nation has and the large space those individuals reserve in their hearts for the lucky twenty players who wear the blue-and-white jersey each and every game night.