When fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs visit Canadian Tire Centre (CTC) to cheer on their beloved blue and white, Ottawa Senators fans can be downright cruel to them. They tell hurtful jokes about the Leafs – right to their face, often drawing comparisons between the team and horrible disasters like the sinking of the Titanic. (Punch line – both the Leafs and that doomed ship were fine – before they hit the ice)
Senators fans don’t stop there. They’ll make fun of their Toronto guests proudly wearing Leafs paraphernalia. A favourite target is their baseball caps emblazoned with the caption, “Toronto Maple Leafs – Stanley Cup Champions 1967”. Most fans whose team hadn’t won a Stanley Cup in 58 years (currently the record for Cup droughts) would try to bury that under their hat.
Some mean Senators fans even demand that Ottawa City Council pass a bylaw banning the wearing of Maple Leafs sweaters within 100 kilometres of the CTC. Others go further, urging they be rounded up and deported back to Toronto – especially those wearing ratty old Mats Sundin sweaters.
Senators Fans Aren’t Alone in Dislike for Maple Leafs Fans
Senators fans point out that Ottawa wouldn’t be alone in trying to combat throngs of Leafs fans invading their home barns with draconian measures. Take Buffalo, for instance. Just before the start of the 2023-24 season, the Buffalo Sabres put in place a policy to give preference to ticket buyers with a New York State zip code. While the club didn’t specifically say limiting Maple Leafs fans was a primary motivation behind the policy, Sabres vice-president of sales and service Frank Batres-Landaeta told the Buffalo News that there were “a handful of games” last year where the club saw “the wrong colour blue” in the stands.
And it’s not just the Sabres brass who don’t like seeing Leafs fans in their home rink. As he laced up his skates to play the Maple Leafs last April, Sabres star defenceman Rasmus Dahlin was asked what he thought of Toronto fans coming to KeyBank Centre to cheer their team on. The big Swedish defender summed it up in three words – “I hate it”.
Calgary’s Saddledome – home to the Calgary Flames is another arena where fans of the Maple Leafs are as welcome as a bad case of spring hay fever. Here’s what a Flames – Maple Leafs matchup sounds like in the Saddledome.
Even so, I say…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…