Dear Toronto Maple Leafs

     Ya'll are very passionate about your sport. That's a great thing! I respect that. I love my sports has well. When my teams excel, I'm so happy. When they are low, not so much. Passion is what fans have. It's what many of us thrive on. Having said that, passion & disrespect are two different things

     I haven't had the time to watch the Maple Leafs as I'm watching my team, the Carolina Hurricanes & my adopted teams of the Tampa Bay Lightning & Colorado. From what I hear, your team will make the playoffs. That's wonderful. I also hear that you have an excellent American player named Auston Matthews. He seems to be killing it! It's a great thing that your team is excelling. Having said that, remember that the Toronto Maple Leafs is an employer & it employs a diverse group of players. Some are Canadians, Americans, Russians, Finnish, Swedish, etc...With that said, these players have a right to celebrate when their home country excels at a tournament. When Auston Matthews celebrated the United States' victory with a tweet, some of you disrespected your player. He represents you in the NHL. He does not represent your country. He was born & raised in the U.S. That's his country. He has every right to celebrate his country just as you have the right to celebrate yours when ya'll when the Olympics. Some of you want to get rid of him just because of that tweet. There are many teams that would gladly take him, but you have to ask yourself this question: Am I going to run out players because they are not Canadians even if they have the potential to bring the Cup back? Really? 

     Now, the majority of Toronto are awesome, respectful, & legitimate fans. That's why I adopted this team as I wanted a Canadian team to cheer on. Toronto is a great place to visit & the people are friendly from what I am told. Yet, the minority of voices did the majority no favors with the verbal assault on Matthews. A little common sense & respect goes a long way. Wayne Gretzky played in L.A., New York, & St. Louis, all of which are in the U.S. Mario Lemeuix played in Pittsburgh, Roy played in Colorado, all of which are in the U.S. Expecting these Canadian men to cheer on the U.S. & wave the U.S. flag because they worked in the U.S. is laughable & downright disrespectful. Citizens cheer on their country. Expecting anything less is incredibly crazy & selfish thinking. This young man will represent you throughly & will strive to get you the cup. That's where his obligation ends. Period. 

     Having said that, I look forward to visiting Toronto & seeing one of the games. I have so much love & respect for your country & your game. I'm looking forward to encountering friendly, enthusiastic fans of the game & of the Maple Leafs. God Bless!!!