Fans in the NHL would probably suggest that the silliest organization has to be the Toronto Maple Leafs. Many people wonder why anyone supports a team that has not won a championship in almost half a century.

The Leafs are finally starting a rebuild that should have happened 30 years ago. Management has kept their agenda the same. Of course, they haven’t won since 1967 and yet the ‘failing’ agenda never changes. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been rolling in the money! They can charge top dollar, put an average to below-average product on the ice and the Leafs organization knows that fans will come no matter what.

If you ask this Leafs fan, fans are silly! Love-stricken fans will run to buy their superstar jersey whenever the team trades or signs a significant free agent. To outsiders, not in love with the Leafs, fans may fall into one of two possible groups. Either they are the silliest to support a team that has not won in 47 years or on the flip side, they feel Maple Leafs fans are the greatest because despite the losing, they remain loyal.

Fans paid top dollar to see them lose by a huge margin during the 1980s decade at Maple Leaf Gardens. People would attend no matter what, because they loved the Toronto Maple Leafs. The loyal fanbase think that they want to be there to say that the game they attended changed it all for the better. Last season Leafs President Brendan Shanahan informed Leafs Nation that they would be starting a ‘long awaited rebuild’ in Toronto. It has just begun this week with the trading of Phil Kessel.

Teams like the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings and the Detroit Red Wings have all recently hoisted the Stanley Cup and proven that teams win via draft. However, Toronto has had its tires in the same groove for years with little result. Shanahan has begun the process, but can the organization must maintain the plan for the ultimate gain and not try quick fixes. The Leafs must not worry that their audience won’t sit through a rebuild. That will be the issue heading forward.

In closing, Toronto Maple Leafs fans fit both beliefs. They will support the team through thick and thin and yet will blindly throw top dollar to a sports team that has given next to nothing to be proud of.