Reward For A Job Poorly Done

The Maple Leafs will open their 2008-09 season on the road in Detroit on October 9th. This is the night that they will witness the raising of the Stanley Cup Championship banner. I'm not a conspiracy theory guy at all, but IF I WERE I would say that this would probably be as big a slap to the face that you could give to Leaf fans as a scheduler. Creeping into the 41st year of futility, watching a banner be raised(which the Leafs ALWAYS respond poorly to. Any type of pre-game festivities almost always result in a loss for the Leafs. Watch over the season and tell me I'm wrong) for something we haven't even had a sniff at in almost a decade hurts, buddy, let me tell ya. Don't get me TOO wrong here, I hope like hell that it's inspirational for the new crop of Leafs. Maybe management will have a look around at the Detroit organization(which is a veritable Lovefest compared to the rest of the league) and see if they can scoop some ideas for a playing model. The buzz in the building will be unreal, it's something every player should yearn for. I think I may be changing my mind to the thinking that this could be a great night, win or lose! I'm saving my spare change now to get the Center Ice package to watch this game and see where the season goes from there. I'm not planning a parade, but I'm not burrying my head in the sand, either.....Go Leafs Go!