Finish this sentence: with the Leafs (or your favorite team) out of the picture, my season will be made if (fill in the blank) doesn’t win it all…

For a lot of sports enthusiasts there is nothing quite like (unless you are an athlete yourself and can experience the joy first-hand) the satisfaction that comes from being a fan when your team wins it all.  It’s a heady, warm feeling to see a team you’ve supported, maybe over a long period of time, work so hard to achieve something special—and memorable.

Of course, in sports, whether at the professional level or in amateur or youth sports, there can only be one ultimate “winner”, so achieving victory isn’t easy.  In fact it’s incredibly difficult to attain that kind of success, and something so elusive to attain is therefore much cherished on the rare occasions when it does finally happen for us as fans and supporters.

Now, if you’re a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the reality is that it’s been a while between championships.  I feel fortunate, I guess you could say (though it means I’m older than I’d like to be…), to actually clearly remember when the Leafs did win Stanley Cups—back in the golden days of the early and mid-1960s.  Since then, the pickings have been slim, as it were.  (For old-time sake, I've included a great old photo at right of when the Leafs won way back in 1963.  That's then captain George Armstrong and a very young Davey Keon posing with the Cup.  The Leafs beat the Red Wings that season in 5 games.  That 1962-'63 Leaf team, by the way, was probably the best overall Leaf squad I've seen in the last 50+ seasons...)

Given the lack of playoff success in the past several seasons, some Leaf supporters probably adopt a "second favourite" team come, if the Leafs don’t make it or are eliminated early.  (For example, one natural inclination for some might be to cheer for a Canadian team, as a kind of patriotic nod.  That's a little tough this season, as all the Canadian-based clubs have been eliminated already...) Others may not watch at all, because they are die-hard Leaf fans and if Toronto doesn’t advance, they figure, who cares?

Still others, in a category all their own, adopt another approach.  Their option of choice is simple: cheering vociferously against particular teams that they simply, well, loathe. That strong dislike  could be rooted in a number of things- your family history, a certain player you can't stand, a coach, a team's style of play, whatever.  For some of us, it doesn't take much.

For me, that team—through the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s—was the Montreal Canadiens.  (Yes, I hated the Flyers and the Bruins in the ’70s, as well- how could you not?)  I mean, I can't really explain my anti-Hab sentiment.  You'd have to read a number of my earlier posts here about how I came to love the Leafs and loathe the Canadiens at a very, very precious age.  But suffice to say they were more than than simply an arch-rival for me.  Guys like Jean Beliveau, Dickie Moore, Ralph Backstrom, Henri Richard, "Boom-Boom" Georffrion (seen at left, scoring against the Bruins and future Leaf Don Simmons and the Bruins in a late 1950s photo) John Ferguson, Ted Harris, Jacques Laperierre and later of course hated foes such as Cournoyer, Lemaire, Lafleur, Savard, Dryden, Robinson and Risebrough kept my competitive flames burning...But as the Habs lost their luster over time, I did not feel the same emotion against them.  By then I also had lost my ardor when it came to the Flyers and Bruins.  Oh, I was happy if the Oilers (they won too much for my liking) didn’t win the Cup in the ’80s, but generally speaking my “hatred” (hockey terms only) generally shifted to the latest team I didn’t care for.  You know, if there were certain players, coaches or teams I simply couldn’t abide.\, that's who I cheered "against".

While it could never be as good as if the Leafs had won (though it felt awfully good back in 1970 when the Habs did not even make the playoffs...), my year was at least partially salvaged if a team I couldn't stand didn’t win it all.

So here is my question for you.  Maybe it’s a team you don’t like just this year, or perhaps there is an organization that you have disliked for a long time.  Regardless, who do you absolutely not want to see walk away with the Stanley Cup this spring?

Who is the team that, if they lose in the end, well...it it makes your year?  I'm guessing for some modern-era Leaf supporters, it might be the Senators.  For some folks, maybe...the Canucks?

In any event, let me know your choice.  I look forward to hearing from you.