It’s official. The Mitch Marner era is over in Toronto, with the Leafs executing a sign-and-trade deal that sends him to Vegas Golden Knights hours before Monday's midnight deadline. (add link)
Leaf fans, how are we feeling about all of this? More specifically, how are we feeling about Marner himself?
Let’s put the question even more simply: When he makes his first trip back to Toronto, are you booing him? Does he get an ovation? Something in between? No reaction at all?
I think I can guess where the majority might be leaning today. I’m also pretty sure that it’s far from unanimous. So today, let’s debate the subject with arguments, from two different types of fans, both of whom are me.
In one corner, my sports fan brain – logical, rational, and not especially susceptible to easy narratives. In the other, my sports fan heart, which is not quite as rational, but is also the main reason I’m here.
It’s worth pointing out that the last time we broke out this gimmick for a Leafs debate, it was 2022 and we were still doing the “run it back” dance with this team. Back then, my head said to stay the course, while my heart said to blow it all up. If you look back at that post today, well, I think it’s fair to say that the heart won, or at least it should have. We’ll see if that holds true today.
Mitch Marner is an ex-Leaf. Are we mad at him? Should we be? I’m not sure, so let’s drop the gloves and square off.
>> Read the full post at The Athletic
(Want to read this post on The Athletic for free? Sign up for a free trial.)
No comments:
Post a Comment