John Tavares is a Maple Leaf
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
I said before how those tax calculators that were going around probably weren't all that accurate since people like Tavares likely have very smart people looking after his money and getting paid quite a bit to make sure he's maximizing his returns, and this is a good article describing a couple ways he could do that:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/seanpackard/2018/07/06/john-tavares-could-save-nearly-12-million-in-taxes-on-his-new-contract/#6cd63ffe1ab7
https://www.forbes.com/sites/seanpackard/2018/07/06/john-tavares-could-save-nearly-12-million-in-taxes-on-his-new-contract/#6cd63ffe1ab7
disco
New member
Mike Babcock: "How many people from Ontario play in the National Hockey League? ... Once we
make it safe they're comin' home."
Bob McGown: "You really think people will WANT to play in Toronto..."
MB: "You got it... They don't right now..."
BM: "It's hard.."
MB: "Ohf.. it's REALLY Hard... Mark my words."
Real gud pro. A real big oppertoonidy here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahKj1BAj7Io
make it safe they're comin' home."
Bob McGown: "You really think people will WANT to play in Toronto..."
MB: "You got it... They don't right now..."
BM: "It's hard.."
MB: "Ohf.. it's REALLY Hard... Mark my words."
Real gud pro. A real big oppertoonidy here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahKj1BAj7Io
Islanders really not happy about Tavares leaving. One of them penned a letter, messy break up style.
https://www.bardown.com/isles-fan-pens-letter-to-tavares-in-the-form-of-a-breakup-and-isles-nation-is-praising-the-accuracy-1.1139202
Those games in New York could get tense.
https://www.bardown.com/isles-fan-pens-letter-to-tavares-in-the-form-of-a-breakup-and-isles-nation-is-praising-the-accuracy-1.1139202
Those games in New York could get tense.
Kin
New member
Significantly Insignificant said:
So...am I crazy or for all of the "Pyjama Boy" stuff isn't the picture Tavares tweeted out of him with a Maple Leafs bedset? There's a Leafs pillow case and bedsheet and duvet cover but he's under the cover isn't he? Where is the pyjama stuff coming from?
Nik the Trik said:
I think that Islanders fans might be just a tad unhinged.
Zee said:
Yeah, things might get tense after he scores his 3rd goal and 5th point of the night.
Guru Tugginmypuddah
Active member
The fans vitriol should be directed at ownership and management, not Tavares. The organisation has been clown shoes going back to the Mike Milbury days.
Guru Tugginmypuddah said:
I don't disagree with you. However, Nik brought up the feelings directed toward Sundin when he left and they weren't all that dissimilar to what is being said now, minus the Canucks pajama's and such. And in the Sundin case, that was totally a management decision, and most of the anger was directed toward him because he actually wanted to stay. I've lived in Ottawa most of my life. I have seen Heatly go (This was the worst. When he came back fans put signs up in the stands that said "Warning, dangerous curve ahead", which is really tasteless in my opinion ), Alfie go, Spezza go, soon to be Karlsson. In every case, there is a small contingent of the fan base that looks at it rationally, and then there is a large contingent that is absolutely over the top about player x not wanting to play for their team. I think all fan bases are the same. I would expect the same sort of vitriol from a large contingent of the Leafs fan base if Matthews was to leave for another team. The problem, in my mind, is that fans can't separate their identity from that of the teams.
Kin
New member
As far as I can tell, the "reasons" for Islanders fans being mad at Tavares all sort of boil down to the idea that Tavares had secretly made up his mind long ago and engaged in a pattern of deceit in order to screw the Islanders out of getting something for him.
It is, quite honestly, ridiculously stupid. The "proof" of this is even stupider. Look at that letter again. Tavares tweeting out a picture of himself as a kid is "proof" that he'd made up his mind long before the Leafs even talked to him or made him an offer.
While it's true that a lot of the Leafs fan reaction to Sundin was also stupid, I don't think that mitigates this stupidity or means it shouldn't be called out as such. I had no problem at the time calling Leafs fans morons for thinking badly about Sundin and am happy to do the same here.
The problem isn't that fans can't separate their own identities from their team's, it's that a lot of fans are stupid and selfish.They're not loyal in any way to the players they purport to have affection for. Their relationship is entirely transactional. We care about these guys so long as they help the team, the second they don't they can get bent. What's more, they're expected to sublimate their own interest for the team's. Playing well over the course of their contract isn't enough, they need to leave in a way so that the team can extract every last ounce of value possible, regardless of how the player feels or what they want.
It's a case of fans being greedy, entitled jerks. Which, common though it may be sadly, still deserves being called out.
It is, quite honestly, ridiculously stupid. The "proof" of this is even stupider. Look at that letter again. Tavares tweeting out a picture of himself as a kid is "proof" that he'd made up his mind long before the Leafs even talked to him or made him an offer.
While it's true that a lot of the Leafs fan reaction to Sundin was also stupid, I don't think that mitigates this stupidity or means it shouldn't be called out as such. I had no problem at the time calling Leafs fans morons for thinking badly about Sundin and am happy to do the same here.
The problem isn't that fans can't separate their own identities from their team's, it's that a lot of fans are stupid and selfish.They're not loyal in any way to the players they purport to have affection for. Their relationship is entirely transactional. We care about these guys so long as they help the team, the second they don't they can get bent. What's more, they're expected to sublimate their own interest for the team's. Playing well over the course of their contract isn't enough, they need to leave in a way so that the team can extract every last ounce of value possible, regardless of how the player feels or what they want.
It's a case of fans being greedy, entitled jerks. Which, common though it may be sadly, still deserves being called out.
Nik the Trik said:
I agree totally. I just felt the tone of the conversation was that this is a Islanders fan phenomenon and I believe it to be more of a standard fan phenomenon. My point about fans separating their own identities from their teams is that there is no reason for the fan to be stupid and selfish if you can distance the things that are happening to the team from things that may be happening to you. Tavares didn't leave the Islanders fans. He left the Islanders organization. Just because he left the organization that you cheer for doesn't mean he left you personally, so you shouldn't make it personal.
At the end of the day, we can have differing opinions on why this phenomenon occurs, and there are probably a myriad of reasons, but really there is no justification for getting angry at an athlete for exercising their contractual rights and choosing to play where they want to, when most of us would probably make a similar decision.
Take a situation where Matthews bolts when he is a UFA, for any reason. First off, I can't really criticize him in this case because that would be hypocritical. I can't be happy about Tavares coming because it works to the advantage of the team I am cheering for, and then be angry at a player that leaves because it works against them. Secondly, I would probably miss seeing Matthews play more frequently. He is a fun player to watch, and he contributes to a team winning, and those two things are probably linked, so in a way, with Matthews leaving, it would probably be less fun to watch the Leafs. But again, that's not Matthews fault, so I am not about to get on the internet and scream about how he should be deported because of some sort of lineage in his nationality. To me though, that's not being smart, that's just common sense.
Zee
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
Hey, it's NY, I wouldn't feel there was any issue if he played in say, Calgary all these years and moved to Toronto, but people can be fairly crazy down in the U.S. I'm just saying I hope that after a few months the crazies have let go of their hatred and the worst that happens is he gets constantly booed when he touches the puck.
Kin
New member
Significantly Insignificant said:
My response was as much to you as it was the really sort of ugly "yes, the reaction to Tavares is irrational but fans are allowed to be irrational" sort of thing I've seen in some places that I'd typically think were smarter than that. Like you say, there are mature and reasonable ways to react to disappointment and we should encourage those when possible.
The one thing I'd say re: Matthews is that in almost all likelihood, if Matthews were to leave Toronto he'd almost certainly be leaving a better situation than Tavares is leaving. On-ice seems pretty certain, but arena-wise it is effectively a guarantee. What I think is sort of unique to the Islanders here is that there doesn't seem to be any sort of mitigation whatsoever for the situation the Islanders put him in. Despite all of the on-ice struggles and the terrible arena situation that's going to last another three years at least, Tavares seemed to be genuinely torn about leaving there and yet, somehow, in the eyes of a pretty vocal number of Islanders fans his reluctance to leave somehow makes him more of a jerk. That's what gets me.