This is the actual article in the Star today.Oct 01, 2007 04:20 AM - Kevin McGran - Sports ReporterTony Rose is at wits' end.
The 59-year-old lifelong Leaf fan sounds as if he's really going to die hard if his favourite hockey team doesn't get its name back on the Stanley Cup.
"I can't take this anymore," says Rose. "You see the Lightning coming in, the Hurricanes, these add-on teams are winning Cups. And the Leafs, which is the most recognizable hockey team in the world, they can't win a Cup in 40 years."Rose goes over the Leaf roster, the pricetags on players such as
Bryan McCabe,
Pavel Kubina and
Hal Gill and his rant continues.
"They say they're so deep on defence. Why aren't we winning games? Why aren't we making the playoffs? Why aren't we winning the Cup? We haven't even gone to the finals in 40 years. That's pretty bad."Self employed with landscaping and snowplowing businesses, Rose is more than just a fan. He's an active participant in Leaf Nation, running websites and blog posts out of his Milton home at his own expense to spout off about his favourite team and sport.
He invites others to join in the conversation. He's got three sites devoted to the Leafs, one to Toronto sports in general and a handful of other hobby sites.
What's more, his frustration with Leaf ineptness is boiling over and he believes the Web will help him do something about it. Check out tmlboycott.com, which counts down to the second how long it's been since a Leaf captain hoisted the Cup over his head.Rose is urging those with tickets to boycott the season opener against Ottawa, and urging Leaf fans to organize boycotts of the team's sponsors to send a message.
"It's not a negative thing. We want positive change," says Rose.
"Can you imagine what it would be like ... if only 5,000 fans showed up for that one game?"It might never happen, but it is a dream. Right now, we're an open wallet for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Well, that wallet can close pretty quickly, too, if Leaf fans were organized. Not organized as Leaf Nation according to the Toronto Maple Leafs but as Leaf Nation according to the fans."Across the NHL, the Web is empowering fans, especially in the U.S. where hockey gets short shrift as a niche sport. Hockey bloggers are filling the gap left vacant when newspapers cut back on coverage to the point where the NHL is wrestling with the notion of accrediting bloggers to cover games.
The Washington Capitals, owned by Internet pioneer Ted Leonsis, are at the forefront of embracing the blogosphere.
"Our owner, Ted Leonsis, feels strongly about the power of user-generated content on the Web," said Caps spokesperson Nate Ewell in an e-mail. "He's a blogger himself, and recognizes that a lot of these people have valuable contributions to make to the dialogue about our team and the NHL in general."
The Caps went so far as to pay the freight to send two bloggers to Europe to cover Capitals players at the world championships last spring. By all accounts, the bloggers handle themselves with the same professionalism as newspaper beat writers covering the team.
The New York Islanders are also getting on the blogging bandwagon, albeit in a different direction. They're handing an arena box over to bloggers – who will be fed free food and encouraged to wear team sweaters – in an effort to encourage more coverage of the Islanders.
Careful which blogger you trust. Some – Eklund, for one – are held in very low esteem by sportswriters for their frequent errors and lack of accountability. Eklund famously announced on Rogers Sportsnet that Ryan Smyth was re-signing with the Oilers just as it was being announced he'd been traded to the Islanders last February.
Other websites simply cut and paste stories from sports sections, bordering on plagiarism by presenting the stories without credit to the newspaper or writer. All too frequently, bloggers simply write: "What do you think of this?" and then offer up the first few paragraphs from a newspaper columnist.
The NHL and some teams have hired their own bloggers.
It's true that anyone can post a blog. Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson has one at mapleleafs.com. Readers, also known as fans, will determine what works and what doesn't. And more fans like Rose will find the Web empowering.
"Where else can I talk to 300 Leaf fans with one little click?" says Rose. "The Web gets things done. If you're a powerful enough website, you can effect a lot of change."
