I am known as a crazy Leafs fan amongst my friends and family. Most of them ridicule me, especially lately, and dont understand the love that I have for my team.

When I came to Canada on May 20, 1980 as a 7 year old, I had no idea what hockey was. Growing up as a small kid in Turkey we loved to watch soccer and had never really seen the game of hockey. The day we landed in Canada it was the 7th game of the Stanley Cup finals. It was a sign.

I was introduced to the game by my late grandfather and it was what bonded us together. I hadnt really met my grandfather as they had immigrated to Canada a long time before us, so it was something that brought us together.

My grandparents used to babysit me a lot on Saturday nights and of course we had HNIC going and we would cheer for our beloved Leafs night after night. In the early 80s the Leafs werent the greatest team but its what brought me joy. It wasnt easy for a 8 year old kid who was not only new to the country, had no friends and was in for a culture shock. Hockey and the Leafs is what brought me close to everyone..At school at lunch time we used to play what we call foot hockey. Basically you get a tennis ball, and its like soccer with a hockey sized "court"..We used to pretend we were are favourite players and I was of course Rick Vaive.

Instantly i had friends and a common love of hockey and the Leafs....I remember on Wednesday nights I was allowed to only watch 2 periods of hockey and I would have to go to bed...My parents didnt know that I snuck an old transistor radio into my bed and would listen to the end of the game before falling asleep.

Everyday after school we would play road hockey till it got dark , and of course I was always my favourite player Rick Vaive..I emulated him and idolized him. I would keep charts and graphs to pace his season goals, to make sure that he would get 50 goals...He did it 3 years in a row, including a record 54 goals that stills stands today as a Leafs record.

I was so much of a fan that he had once a pinch nerve in his neck and wore this neck collar..I went out and got a similar neck collar and wore it for our road hockey games.

I was heart broken and cried for hours when he was traded to Chicago..I instantly became a closet Chicago fan and listened to all their games on the radio.

I have so many fond memories of the Gardens as i would go with my dad and grandfather to a few games a year. Met a lot of players from Wayne Gretzky , Steve Yzerman to all the Leafs...Getting Rick Vaive to autograph my rookie card of him and chatting with me for a few minutes was a huge thrill.

The Leafs area just a hockey team to most people, and in most recent times the butt of jokes..To me its a passion that reminds me of my childhood and my few precious moments i spent with my grandfather. My grandfather had Alzheimers and unfortunately the last 10 years of his life was very hard on all of us, but i will never forget those Saturday nights on the couch how we would celebrate after a Salming goal , or a patented Rick Vaive slapshot goal from the right side.

Some people measure success by wins and Stanley Cups, well I measure success by the happiness this team has provided me the last 30 years..I know very soon we will compete for cups but right now i am just very happy and proud to be a 30 year member of Leafs nation.

If you wanted a major relevation too bad, you have to wait for 50000

Amazing, best 200000 post ever

Nice post.

N1 Serge.

great post serge!

Nice post Serge reminds me alot of my childhood as well. I only got to watch the 1st period during weekday games. Dam I went to bed early.

I got this all on tape. Your image is ruined. HA!

I KNEW you were a closet Hawks fan!

Also, who is Rick Vaive?

Edit: I'm not sure if the hilarity of pretending not to know who Rick Vaive is is worth everyone thinking I'm the dumbest, worst leaf fan ever, so yes, it's sarcasm

He's a former player who was caught drinking and driving a year or so ago.

Very stupid, to be sure. But better men have done worse things. Can't let that tarnish him as a hockey player

How do you feel about Dany Heatley?

Do not troll or provoke others: In Internet terminology, a troll is a person who enters an established community such as an online discussion forum and intentionally tries to cause disruption, often in the form of posting messages that are inflammatory, insulting, incorrect, inaccurate, or off-topic, with the intent of provoking a reaction from others.


Get a life Dale.

Yeah, can we please not tarnish THIS thread with this crap?

Thanks.

And please, don't reply to this with "what am I doing wrong?"

If you have a problem, take it to another thread, or better, just don't. If you really have a problem, PM me and I'll gladly explain it to you via that medium.

Epic post Serge, very nice. Great read.

Awesome Serge. I definately miss playing ball hockey!

this post made me happy for some reason and im pretty sure that its the fact that i can replace you with me as a young kid pretending to be my favorite hockey heros ans the hockey with tennis balls but now at the same time im sad becouse i miss the fun being a little kid with no stress or a care in the world

THIS POST HAS MY EMOTIONS ALL OUTTA WACK

Sittler and Salming were always my favorite Leafs growing up (tells you how old I am).

Nice post Serge.

Sittler was a great Leaf...And from what I have heard a great guy as well...Its been great to see him back the last few years part of the organization.

Was a sad day when he went to Philadelphia..

Reminds me , how many of you remember the days where certain teams wore long pants?

I remember Philly and the Whalers...Not sure if there more..

Great post Serge.

Those are the only ones I remember.

On Sittler, last summer they had 2 free signings (Steve Mason in Kitchener and Darryl Sittler at Mohawk Racetrack). Since my wife had to work a 12 hour shift, I of course hit both signings. Sittler to me was GOD. My wife actually got to meet him at work a few months before the Mohawk signing since she had to care (she is a nurse) for a family member. She got me an auto on a piece of paper. She also told him that I read his book (the only book I have read in 20 years). We hit the signing and got our stuff signed. I asked a lady to take a picture with my SLR Canon Rebel. She looks confused at the camera and said she took the picture of me in it (I usually just take it with my kids and the player). I get outside and look at the camera and of course no picture. By then my daughter was all over the free pony rides outside. How frickin hard is it to hit the button?????

I've met Sittler a couple of times. I had him autograph a puck for me. The stories are true, he is an awesome person.

Hartford and Philly were the only two teams to try the CooperAll before everyone realized they were dangerous.

FYP.

Great writeup Serge. I love the tie-in to your grandfather/going to games as a kid.

I loved Sittler as a kid too. If I had to give you my favourite player from my childhood, it would be him.
I got an auto from him too, at a Marlie/Leafs event just a couple of yrs back, and its probably one of only 2/3 that I have from any celebrity.
I'm not an autograph guy, but him making it out to my son was a cool moment for me.