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

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The team has been mostly a losing or mediocre club on the ice for the past four decades and is owned by a largely faceless patchwork of corporate interests. So why does the club have such a hold on its fans? It is supposed to be in the business of winning hockey games, yet business has thrived despite the fact that the team has never been so unsuccessful on the ice in its near century of existence.

With the possible exception of the LA Lakers and one or two National Football League and Major League Baseball teams, there is no North American sports franchise that can count on unconditional support from its fans the way the Leafs can. But all those others franchises, aside from possibly the Chicago Cubs, win.

So what is it that makes the Toronto Maple Leafs so popular?

To a certain degree the need for us to share a common goal or interest with others keeps fans coming back in any sport. That’s been especially true in the past fifty years or so because sports have in many ways filled a void that was previously taken up by the sheer struggle to survive.