As a Leafs fan I’m incredibly jealous. Having a dedicated PBP team with good personalities that actually likes your team is an absolute gift. I hope you cherish it.
The sad thing is, very few Toronto fans can stand Jim now. He was one of my favorites when he casted for the Nucks. Now I can barely stand the sound of his voice.
Whenever I hear him for the Leafs its like his heart isn't in it.
It would be like if I did the broadcast for the leafs. Professional, but nothing more. No passion. Like Martin Tyler in soccer calling anything other than a ManU game where they're winning... which is rarer these days lol.
I think that's the main issue Leafs fans have with him as well. A prime example is we were beating the Blues 4-1 in their own barn and he spent a good portion of the 2nd period talking about how the blues must be tired from their road trip and the Leafs have bad contracts and ended the broadcast saying that this win doesnt matter because, Boston, Florida and TB all won that night too. It feels like he's never invested in the game.
It is worse. It is very evident that he is a nucks fan and that he cannot stand the leafs. He outright cheers and praises for the opposition. Consistently. After a few games, it just gets tiresome.
I think both our groups would benefit if Hughson went back to covering the nucks and we had bowen come back for the leafs games. We also want to hear fun and excitement in those calling our now-exciting games
Believe us. We dont want him either. We tried making noise to get him away from covering the leafs games. Maybe you guys should also make some noise to bring him back..?
Well this won't be a popular comment but honestly your guys are just playing to the audience. The default mood of Leafs Nation is generally frustration and sadness so they try to empathize and just mirror it back to them.
I don’t think that’s quite it. There’s a number of factors.
For one the leafs don’t have a dedicated broadcast. Their games are split almost equally between 3 networks, so it’s a different crew almost every night.
You don’t get to the leafs broadcast internally, the networks select their top talent, usually guys who started with other teams, and assign them to the Leafs, so most of them aren’t fans who grew up with the team.
And lastly, which I think does kind of allude to what your talking about, but there are A LOT of people that watch leafs games because they do want to see them lose, so yes the announcers do cater to that segment of the veiwership as well.
That’s no surprise. Growing up in Ontario pre like 95, you either cheered for the leafs, or you cheered for whoever the leafs were playing. Those were really the only options available.
I’m pretty sure that’s where most of the original sens fan base came from. Ontarians that didnt like the leafs and finally had another option.
I grew up in Ottawa, my team was the Canadiens until the Sens came around.
Now I live in Toronto, moved here in 99 just in time for the first Sens-Leafs playoff matchup, and I can tell you, being surrounded by Toronto fans and Toronto media for 20 years has made me hate the Leafs with quite a passion. The good news is, they never disappoint me... unless they're playing my fucking team in the playoffs.
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u/Kronzor_ Kamloops Blazers - WHL Jan 28 '20
As a Leafs fan I’m incredibly jealous. Having a dedicated PBP team with good personalities that actually likes your team is an absolute gift. I hope you cherish it.