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October 31, 2002
HALLOWEEN NIGHT IN TORONTO, PLENTY OF “BOO’s.”
By Matt Petersen
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TORONTO -- After a brief stop in Buffalo where we
stayed with gracious Dionne family at their 41-acre
ranch we headed further east to the great city of
Toronto where we’d catch the struggling Maple Leafs.
The Leafs, having started the season with only three
wins in 11 games, would certainly take care of a
Nashville team that was winless in ten. After
observing just one win in their last four games, the
fans here were already calling for Head Coach/GM Pat
Quinn’s head in the local papers. Quinn and his squad
would have to demolish the hapless Predators by a
10-goal point margin for a calm to return here in
Hockeyland.
Unfortunately, the Leafs could barely squeak out a
point as they settled for a 3-3 tie, and by the time
the closing horn sounded, the boo’s were deafening.
Although the offense didn’t look too bad, their “D”
fell asleep on numerous occasions. The post game radio
callers were in unison in saying the season is already
a wash. ‘It’s only one month into the season, relax!,’
we shouted as we waited in the maelstrom of traffic
leaving the arena.
Well, we know how serious the folks take hockey up
here. The fans were very cordial, otherwise, and
didn’t take too much of an issue to Jeff and me
wearing our jerseys (Toronto was a place that we were
sure we’d get beer dumped on our heads, next fear,
Montreal), and we thought the Air Canada Center was a
great place. Another new building, the Air Canada may
not have the allure of the old Maple Leaf Gardens, but
I was super comfortable in our lower bowl seats (next
to the last row up). And like what we’ll encounter in
New York, everything is expensive in this town, so we
stayed away from the 12 dollar beers. We settled for a
soft pretzel and a small soda for nine bucks.
It being Halloween night, the fans were in a crazy
state. We stumbled upon two fans in full chicken suits
wearing Maple Leaf sweaters. They looked a tad warm,
but a small price to pay to get on the big screen
during the game. Later we’d let our hair down at “Ye
Olde Brunswick House” by our Bloor Street hotel where
we watched the local college kids (the Univ. of
Toronto was just down the street) behave like a bunch
of lunatics in their costumes.
The next day, after a stop at the Hockey Hall of Fame,
and a peek inside Wayne Gretzky’s restaurant, we
escaped a nasty little snow flurry for the blue skies
of Ottawa. We were looking forward to a great game
between the Sens and the Red Wings. Maybe a Stanley
Cup preview? Too early in the season for these fans to
say.
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This is just a site to chronicle the journey of two die hard hockey fans from California
as they embark on their quest to set a World Record
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Game #10 10/31/02
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