Toronto Maple Leafs

Howard Berger Hates Leaf Fans And Facts

Howard Berger is… not very nice to the people he openly states are responsible for his pay cheque.

Howard Berger is… guilty of self flagellation.

Howard Berger might be a bit of a narcissist.  Here are the psychological indicators of narcissism:

• Overreacts to criticism, becoming angry or humiliated (writes bitchy articles directed at those who criticize him - check!)
• Uses others to reach goals (compliments Leafs nation on how they provide him with topics to write about… and the Leafs - check!)
• Exaggerates own importance (seems to think he is “always-accurate”, despite the fact that he is rarely accurate - check!)
• Entertains unrealistic fantasies about achievements, power, beauty, intelligence or romance (definitely going for the intelligence usually… but he does like to wax philosophical about the power he has over the hordes of Leafs followers - check!)
• Has unreasonable expectations of favorable treatment (doesn’t seem to let it go when people tell him he isn’t doing a great job - check!)
• Seeks constant attention and positive reinforcement from others (he works in media… too easy - check!)
• Is easily jealous (wishes the Leafs were like every other team in the NHL - jealous much? - check!)
• Has a sense of entitlement (thinks Toronto is “owed” a decent NHL franchise because he writes that it must be so! - check!)
• Is exploitative of others (uses Leafs nation for his own aggrandizement - check!)
• Lacks empathy (insults his own readers blatantly - check!)
• Displays arrogant and proud behavior (see above - check!)
• Displays haughty behavior (see above - check!)
• Uses denial mechanism to downplay own inadequacies or failings (I’m pretty sure we’ll never read or hear Howie mentioning how wrong he got it - check!)
• Uses rationalization mechanism to justify self-centered behavior (seems pretty certain that no matter what happens on the ice, his arguments always make sense at the time and if you don’t like them, you’re obviously just someone that ‘drank the kool-aid’ - check!)

Lets see what Howie has to say about Leafs fans and how much they are to blame for the team being worth so much!  How dare they be loyal to the ne’er-do-wells at MLSE.  I mean it’s not like they’ve ever “won” anything… if we ignore their Eastern Division title with the Raptors, their North Eastern division crown with the Marlies, or their divisional titles with the Leafs that is… but nothing that matters since they don’t begin with Stanley. (Not winning = suckage)

“You bitch… and moan… and go insane over the always-accurate appraisals of the team in the media.”

Really?  I’ll admit to the first part, but since when is the media always-accurate?  This would be the same media that predicted the Leafs couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag, and would be hard pressed to win 30 games? Does that really look all that likely after the team goes 4-3-3 for the month of October?  They’re 10 games in and they’ve won or gone to OT in 7 of them… against one of the most difficult schedules in the league? They’re on pace for 33 wins actually, and while everyone expects them to nosedive a bit… does that really surprise ANYONE?

“Depending on the hour of day, you either castigate or lionize members of the hockey club — often the same player.”

Sort of like how the Media kept going on about how Jason Blake had turned his game around during the pre-season and looked like he was ready to finally fill the role he was brought in for as a free agent?  Right before they went back to complaining about his selfish me-first attitude and his trip into Ron Wilson’s dog house? Yeah… I guess “you” do that don’t “you”?

“Knowledgeable? Where do I start? The celebration is already underway over the three-out-of-four games streak in October that may ultimately lift the team into its habitual 11th or 12th-place roosting in the Eastern Conference. What more could any devoted fan wish for?”

Ok so that would be Leafs fans Howie is referring to right?

“For whatever it’s worth, the Maple Leafs have probably been the NHL’s surprise team of the first three weeks. And given what he is extracting from his players almost every night, Ron Wilson might be the best coach in the league to this point. He has pushed most of the right buttons with his line-up, and a change of dynamic in the dressing room has been effective.”

Guess he was referring to himself… nevermind.

“Wilson’s request that his players attack the opposition goal more aggressively has produced extraordinary results in the past four games, as the Maple Leafs have averaged roughly 40 shots per night. Toronto’s 4-3-3 record after 10 starts is more than acceptable, given the near absence of expectation; in fact, it seems almost spectacular.”

Yes I guess he thinks the Leafs are garbage and nobody should buy into their tricks… or something? Speaking of “knowledgeable” hockey fans/writers/hacks/people who might need to know something about Leaf history to do their job in a remotely acceptable fashion… what does Howie think of the Leafs problems on home ice?

“Again, the Leafs are proving to be warriors on the road, and patsies at home. This is a long-standing issue that has held back the hockey club on too many occasions to remember in recent years, and whatever magic Wilson is spinning in his first weeks behind the Toronto bench must begin to take effect at the Air Canada Centre.”

Oh… right… the “long standing issue.”  Like, so long standing that it goes all the way back to the past to the 2006-07 season? When the team was 21-15-5 at home and 19-6-6 on the road? Apparently having a winning record at home AND on the road makes you patsies?  Who knew?

Even last season the team was 18-17-6 at home and 18-18-5 on the road.  That isn’t exactly the worst in the NHL.  I mean Tampa Bay was 11-24-6 on the road last season, and LA was 17-21-3 at home.  Obviously having a winning record at home makes sense, but since when does the team losing games on home ice twice in regulation, and twice by shootout, count as being “patsies”?

They lost to PITTSBURGH AND MONTREAL AT HOME!!! Losing to Pittsburgh and Montreal makes the Leafs PATSIES? Has Howard seen their rosters? Probably… I mean he DID pick them to have 107 and 98 points respectively… while he predicted the Leafs would end up with 67 points.  By the way, the only way the Leafs could pick up 67 points would be to win 30 and send 7 to OT, OR send more games to OT and win even less in regulation.

Howard Berger complains that people complain about his blog? Howard Berger complains that people insist they are never going to read his tripe again and then they go back to the well for more?  Honestly though, Howard makes my “job” too easy by providing me with copious amounts of fodder to write about.

Sort of like the Leafs.