Joe S. said:
I?ve lived in Toronto my whole life and I?ve never run into a leaf player anywhere. Ever. I don?t get this ?getting harassed in the streets? mentality. And whatever restaurants they go to I sure as hell cant afford.
Same. The only time I've ever run into a Leaf - or even a former Leaf - that wasn't at an event where they were publicized to be part of has been at the ACC. It's much easier for them to stay out of the spotlight than people like to play up. I mean, I like to think of myself as a pretty serious fan, but, truthfully, I wouldn't recognize most of the team out in the real world - and, even some of the more prominent players wouldn't be instantly recognizable to me. We don't really get much exposure to them out of uniform - or, even, just without their helmets on - and that makes it harder for them to be instantly recognized. We also don't really hear that much about the players outside of the context of the team and the game. Stuff from their personal lives really only get reported on when it seems to have an impact on the team or their individual performance (with some exceptions, of course - but, it's not like the "media fishbowl" extends outside the rink very often).
And, honestly, outside of some of the top handful of guys in the league, I'm not sure I'd recognize too many hockey players (or other athletes) out in the real world, in general.