Picking a Bone

Hockey for Bernies was pre-empted this week in favour of the following diatribe:

The MLSE. Let’s discuss.

For those who don’t know, Maple Leafs Sport and Entertainment is the behemoth entity behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (as well as the Toronto Raptors and Toronto FC). The CEO of MLSE is Richard Peddie, and he is considered by many to be the root of all evil, and the main reason why the Leafs (and the Raps and TFC) are so spectacularly awful.

Lucifer Peddie

The gist of the argument is that Peddie is focused solely on lining his own pockets, and that this impedes him from putting together a team of players that would, oh I don't know, do something with their lives. Essentially, the Leafs/Raps/TFC are awful because the MLSE refuses to spend the money to turn them into legitimate contenders.

Those drinking Costco-sized bottles of Haterade go one step further and blame the FANS for the Leafs' abysmal existence. The idea there is that because the fans keep paying the exorbitant ticket prices to pack their bums into the seats of a consistently sold out arena, the MLSE has no impetus whatsoever to create a better product. Apparently, the maxim "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies only to the corporate structure and fiscal health of the MLSE, and not to the team itself.

These arguments, to me, are outdated and archaically based on a revenue structure that simply does not exist in today's sporting world. I think it's indisputable that the MLSE is completely profit focused - and really, who can blame them? They ARE a business after all. But ticket sales is no longer the only form of revenue for the hockey business, and is actually becoming an increasingly marginalized revenue stream in the face of money makers such as merchandise sales, game-day advertising, and independent ventures like LeafsTV - all of which would bring in even more money if the Leafs made the playoffs, never mind won a Cup. The suggestion that Peddie isn’t interested in the success of the Leafs because his pockets are already lined is not only an insult to his business acumen, but it is also based on a misunderstanding of the present day economics of the NHL, and an overzealous eagerness to blame a loyal fanbase.

I of course don't mean to suggest that no blame can be placed on the MLSE or the fans at all. A recent Globe and Mail article (and actually the driving force behind this post) very rightly pointed out the MLSE's reticence to spend money in the name of (theoretically) improving the Leafs. The MLSE did indeed fail to flex their muscles pre-lockout (and pre-salary cap system). And while no one can definitively prove that throwing money at the problem would have made a lick of difference, you cannot deny the success of the Detroit Red Wings.

And fans, particularly in Cup-starved masses, can be stupid blind. The Leafs have to get bad in order to get good (please see this past year's Stanley Cup winners, the Chicago Blackhawks)  - but the fan pressure on the MLSE and Leafs management to make a run at eighth every single season no matter how slim our chances are forces March signings of Yanic Perreault, and ill-advised trades for loaner players at the expense of legitimate prospects. In this, the fans can certainly be blamed.

But to say that the continuous attendance of Leafs' fans at games is the reason why the Leafs suck is just stupid. And not just because of the argument made above, but also because this argument seems to be rooted in an idea of fan-dom that I do not support and should not be condoned in any shape or form. Anyone who truly supports a team understands that to turn your back on a team simply because they aren’t winning is to be the most vilified entity in the sports world – a bandwagon jumper.

And bandwagon jumpers suck.