Nov 22, 2014
Hodge: Thumbs down to razzing the Leafs after not saluting fans
Criticize the Maple Leafs for the way they play, if you wish, and I'm not sure how you'd avoid doing that after a 9-2 loss on home ice, but "thumbs down" to the razzing the Leafs are getting for not putting their sticks up in a post-victory salute one game later. I like the "thank you, fans" gesture, but I hardly think it needs to be mandatory.
By Dave Hodge
Criticize the Maple Leafs for the way they play, if you wish, and I'm not sure how you'd avoid doing that after a 9-2 loss on home ice, but "thumbs down" to the razzing the Leafs are getting for not putting their sticks up in a post-victory salute one game later.
I like the "thank you, fans" gesture, but I hardly think it needs to be mandatory.
Some pitchers tip their caps on their way from the mound to the dugout, and some don't.
Not every concert has an encore. The restaurant owner doesn't always buy you a drink, and you don't receive a Christmas card from everyone on your list.
Hey, if prior to their Thursday game against Tampa Bay, the Leafs decided to win for themselves and no one else, not for the coach or the owners or the fans or their families, and if that served to motivate them, all those other people would let them have their little cause if it contributed in any way to two points.
Hockey's post-game salute to the crowd is a nice touch, but not if it's forced. Polite applause is an awful sound.
As for another team that deals with unhappy fans, my thumb is down for the way the Edmonton Oilers attempt to explain their losing ways. Following Friday's 2-0 loss to New Jersey, which produced a chorus of boos from fans who might still be described as overly patient, the Oilers read from a script that said "we're not trying hard enough.”
Excuse me? Isn't "lack of effort" the one reason for a loss that is totally unacceptable?
You can be tired or hurt or unlucky or beaten by a better team or victimized by a bad call or confused on a line change - you can spin a loss in a bunch of different ways and the worst you'll hear is that the explanation is weak. But an admitted lack of effort isn't self-defence, it's an apology that demands action. It calls for a Saturday win over Chicago or a trade that removes the worst offenders from the lineup or a coach who can make them work harder.
One of the three is essential, because there’s nothing left to say.