You don't have to be an optimist to try and enjoy yourself

I watch every Leaf game. I live in the UK, so it's a bit of a commitment timezone wise, but because I live in the UK I have no hockey fan friends, so I live at PPP.

Last night's GDT got pretty negative, not for the first time. I get why, GDTs are raw, and reflect the frustrations we all have and the limited time in which to think about things. I started a reply to a comment, which ended up spiralling into this, so I made it into a fanpost instead. It's not targeted at any individual in particular (I've calmed down now by writing this) but the reply was to this part of a comment from SergeiBuriesIt:

I think there’s a disconnect on this point that explains the tension in the comments.

The optimists look at the Leafs, see where they are in the standings, reasonably conclude they’re a good team, and don’t get why people are so negative.

I don't think that we're more optimistic. We're so pessimistic that we don't have these expectations to dominate the league, or be Tampa or win 5 cups or whatever. Just in the last 6 or so years I've been through the 18 wheeler, 4-1, the parade, -5 Jake. I've been through Hotdoggate, Salutegate, Jerseythrowinggate, BooJakegate, GreedySwedegate. I've been through more gates than a slalom skier.

I've been through David fucking Clarkson, the second coming of Wendell who skated like a beer leaguer (and did everything else like one too). I've been through the potato. Through Randy fucking Carlyle. We've iced lineups that have been not much better than Phil! Kessel and 17 anonymous scrubs with concrete hands, concrete legs and glass shoulders.

I've been through 1st pair Dmen Korbinian Holzer, Mike Kostka, Matt Hunwick. 4th lines of Kozun-Sill-Jokinens Ghost, Rosehill-Armstrong-MBrown, Clune-Froese-Boyes, McLaren-Smithson-Orr. Players who didn't belong on any NHL team, let alone ours: Bodie, Smithson, MacWilliam, Hamilton, Campbell, Aulie, Rosehill, Boyce. Players who maybe used to be something but were washed up shells by the time they put on a Leafs sweater: Brewer, Robidas, Michalek, Gleason, Jokinen, Ranger, Laich.

All of that right here at PPP, where we've seen the countless trolls, the end of the Thunderdome and the gif parties and the pun threads, the SJW war and the negativity from all of that as black humour was for aa time replaced by just black.

Now I have a young, work-in-progress star centre with an unbelievable shot. A star finished article centre who is both strong on his skates and skilled. A 3rd centre with skill, physicality and unfortunately hits more iron than a blacksmith. 3 (3!) Electric right wingers with speed, skill and vision. A fourth line with players who are there for the purposes of actually playing hockey. A team dad. Players that forecheck hard (and sometimes backcheck as well). 4 defenders that are good at hockey (that's about 2.5 more than I'm used to) and 2 that are ok, just ok. A goalie who seems to actually know where his net is, and plays with an aura of calm, not chaos. A coach that is positive. A GM that doesn't do dumb shit for no obvious reason.

Who knows if we'll win 1 cup, let alone cups. Maybe we are destined for a series of valiant, heartbreaking losses to Boston every year. But I'm going to enjoy what I have. It's a hell of a lot better than what I had before.