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Who gives a F about the Leaves?


Eleven

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Think about this for a minute.

For many of us, the Leaves weren't in even in the same conference for a long time.

The last time they made the Final was, well, I don't know.

The last time they made the semifinal was a 4-1 Sabres victory.

Why do we even care about them?

I can't stand Boston, Filly, Ottawa.  I don't really care about the Leaves.  They've been harmless during my lifetime and continue to be.

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We care about them b/c they are 100 miles away from Buffalo, and their fanbase invades our building and takes over every time they play in Buffalo.  The fanbases make the rivalry, but only in recent years. 

Historically, the Leafs are a Norris Division team playing in the other conference that almost never crossed paths with the Sabres.

When I think of classic Sabres rivals, I think Adams Division and Boston and Montreal more than anyone, and to a lesser extent, Quebec and even Philly, but not Toronto.

 

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, Indabuff said:

It's not so much the team.  It's the infiltration of their fans in Buffalo.  That's what really brings my blood to a boil.    

Familiarity breeds contempt.  They are the geographically closest rival for any major Buffalo sports team.  It's an interesting rivalry because of the cross-border angle.  Plus, Buffalo has an inferiority complex in general, and Toronto brings it out, being in many ways the center of the hockey universe.

How could there *not* be a rivalry?

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6 hours ago, Indabuff said:

It's not so much the team.  It's the infiltration of their fans in Buffalo.  That's what really brings my blood to a boil.    

 

Had a long discussion with some canes fans on this very topic on Saturday.  The canes do get a lot of infiltration from several other teams, but the consensus was that buffalo fans show up in the greatest numbers and are the most vocal and boisterous in support of their team. The events of 2005 was way down the list, at least for the fans I was talking to. We joke about baby eating etc on here, but it really is ancient history at this point.

We just dont go away and we dont shut up, even when we suck. Not unlike leaves fans in Buffalo at all.

 

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6 hours ago, Kruppstahl said:

Historically, the Leafs are a Norris Division team playing in the other conference that almost never crossed paths with the Sabres.

When I think of classic Sabres rivals, I think Adams Division and Boston and Montreal more than anyone, and to a lesser extent, Quebec and even Philly, but not Toronto. 

Historically, we had a lot of former personnel from Toronto at the inception of the Sabres, starting with Punch Imlach, Tim Horton, Eddie Shack, etc.  Again, familiarity breeds contempt.

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8 hours ago, Eleven said:

Think about this for a minute.

For many of us, the Leaves weren't in even in the same conference for a long time.

The last time they made the Final was, well, I don't know.

The last time they made the semifinal was a 4-1 Sabres victory.

Why do we even care about them?

I can't stand Boston, Filly, Ottawa.  I don't really care about the Leaves.  They've been harmless during my lifetime and continue to be.

I'd trade out Ottawa for Montreal on my list.  The Ottawa thing was a bit more short term, so they're probably 4th place for me.  What was it, about 13 straight years where we were bounced in the first round by pretty much either Boston or Montreal?

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We've kicked this around here a few times over the years.

I can't change my hard-wiring. If I am watching the Leafs play another team in the playoffs, I will be pulling for the Leafs. They were always my secondary team (without ever planning it that way) -- we'd have them tuned in on a small snowy black and white TV, perched on a milk crate in the kitchen, while we made pizzas on a Saturday night.

But they're a natural geographic rival, sure. And then there's the role that their visiting fans play at our barn.

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2 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

We've kicked this around here a few times over the years.

I can't change my hard-wiring. If I am watching the Leafs play another team in the playoffs, I will be pulling for the Leafs. They were always my secondary team (without ever planning it that way) -- we'd have them tuned in on a small snowy black and white TV, perched on a milk crate in the kitchen, while we made pizzas on a Saturday night.

But they're a natural geographic rival, sure. And then there's the role that their visiting fans play at our barn.

The milkman left you the crate too? Remember his horse? Great memories.

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14 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

We've kicked this around here a few times over the years.

I can't change my hard-wiring. If I am watching the Leafs play another team in the playoffs, I will be pulling for the Leafs. They were always my secondary team (without ever planning it that way) -- we'd have them tuned in on a small snowy black and white TV, perched on a milk crate in the kitchen, while we made pizzas on a Saturday night.

But they're a natural geographic rival, sure. And then there's the role that their visiting fans play at our barn.

This is me. I will be rooting for them in the playoffs as well.

But, if I really think about it, I’m not sure if it’s because I like them or, more likely, because I hate the team they are playing more.

Edited by SwampD
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16 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Historically, we had a lot of former personnel from Toronto at the inception of the Sabres, starting with Punch Imlach, Tim Horton, Eddie Shack, etc.  Again, familiarity breeds contempt.

True, but the Laughs were so bad in those days the real rival was Montreal vs. the French Connection. Lots of Ontario Montreal fans in those days. 

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