passion...schmassion

Day 9966: Leafs vs. Sens... aka what the heck is up with our political system?

Some politician in Ottawa is trying to ban Leafs jerseys at the next Leafs-Senators game. Anyone "caught" wearing Leafs colours, jerseys, or carrying Leafs paraphernalia will be "fined" a donation to an Ottawa food bank. Total utter craziness. Who the hell comes up with this kind of crap? Talk about misappropriation of taxpayer money.

Since when does a "friendly" rivalry between sports teams enter into politics? Sure, there are friendly bets between cities where the losing mayor will have to eat Buffalo Wings or something else equally as silly, but to pass legislation that "prohibits" fans from rooting for their team... well, that's RIDICULOUS. What's next - are they going to pass legislation on the clothes that I want to wear or prohibit my right to free speech? If I go to the Sens game and yell "Go LEAFS GO!!!" are they going to club me with a blow-up hockey stick and a red foam finger and drag me kicking and screaming from the Corel Centre? I should hope not.

All's fair in love and war, they say. Canadians love their hockey, I'll give you that. But IT'S JUST A GAME!!! Am I a die-hard Leafs fan? I'm a fan, but probably not a die-hard fan. I like the Leafs more than any other team and I hope they win the Stanley Cup this year (I bet $10 on it in Vegas), but if the Sens win, well good for them. It's a game where whoever wants it more, and whoever has the healthy players will have a better chance in winning. Simple as that. And 1 + 1 does indeed make 2. Politicians will never make it equal to 3, no matter how many bills they pass and how hard they try.

If this so-called politician does intend to drag this out into the Canadian government system, he should be drawn and quartered. There are so many things more worthy of his time and his position than what people wear or carry to a hockey game. A waste of my hard earned tax money... he should be fired... or in the least, be forced to wear a Leafs' jersey and be paraded through downtown Ottawa.

In the meantime. I hope all Leafs fans in Ottawa take this to heart, buy tickets to the Leafs-Sens game on April 3 and flood the arena in a sea of blue and white. And if they do play each other in the play-offs, you better believe that I will be trying to do everything humanly possible to get tickets and I WILL wear my blue and white jersey and I WILL wear it PROUDLY. It was all about the game... but now, now it's personal...

*throat clearing* Hey, I’m not a guy or even a real hockey player. I don’t eat nachos, or hot dogs or drink domestic beer (unless it's green). And I don’t know Mats, Tie or Eddy (although I’m certain they’re really, really, REALLY, REALLY nice). I have all my own teeth not a set of dentures. I speak English and very rarely say "eh" and beer is "beer", not "bieres." I can proudly attach my flag to my car and not have it stolen. I believe in winning, not whining, promoting, not restricting, and that the Maple Leaf is a truly proud Canadian symbol. A helmet is not an option, a face guard is NOT a contentious issue and it is pronounced “HOCKEY’’ not “HOKEY” – “HOCKEY.” Toronto is the first nation of hockey, the ONLY city to be a fan of, and the BEST part of Canada. My name is J and I am a TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS fan!

GO LEAFS GO!!!!!

Thank you.