For the duration of the playoffs, I’ve been ranking the Leafs near or at the bottom of the TSN.ca Power Rankings and that has made the Toronto faithful real unhappy. But on the flip side – placing Toronto dead last week after week after week did inspire them in a way: They constantly were wondering about the method of my birth, my species and just what kind of a relationship I have with my Mom?…

This past week however when I posted the rankings the Leafs were 1-2 against the ‘Canes and looked like they were down and all but out, and once again they were in the rankings basement. Not surprisingly very few Bud-buddies were ready to defend their chances. And after they went down 3-1 and were headed back to Carolina – I received hardly a whisper.

The bandwagon? She was all but empty!

And then came Saturday night and a Cujo-normous performance that brought Toronto back from the dead – and instantly it was coast-to-coast “Go Leafs Go!” Once again I was inundated with questions on my sanity and nationality. And in a response to a question I posed, most folks insisted they never got off the Leafs bandwagon – and never will

All evidence to the contrary.

That said, what if fans did, in fact, stay true to their school 24-7-365? What if whatever a team did – it couldn’t ever be wrong? For fans to stay on the bandwagon no matter what – that would have to hold true right?

Well – that’s just wrong.

Love should never be blind – and furthermore if a fan is not the type who jumps off a teams bandwagon now and again they are either a) crazy, b) a terrible fan or c) both.

Let’s look at the Leafs as a specific example, shall we? Once upon a time – believe it or not – I was one of those little Leafs faithful like so many of the blinkered above –living in Montreal of all places– when they won their last Cup.

But growing up through the Ballard era, anyone who was willing to stick with the Leafs circus –since that horrible man’s death we’ve learned it was much worse than that– wasn’t just being “love is blind”, they were also being dumb.

I chose not to be.

Hundreds of thousands were, however. Those who were willing to stick by Toronto and pack all those houses – and pour in all those dollars – when the team was displaying absolutely no ambition or inclination to put together a winning team, were, in fact, doing their team a disservice.

Where was the organization’s incentive to win – when the Leafs could still sell out MLG finishing 20-52-8?

Of late – with Ken Dryden taking over – that philosophy of “take the sucker fans money and run” has changed thankfully.

So the younger fans, those who climbed on board within the last few years – all the more power to you. Go Leafs Go eh?

But if you are proudly stating “I was a fan even through the Ballard years”, congratulations – your attitude kept a generation of Torontonians from holding another parade.

The lesson learned is simple: Because ultimately they have all the power – fans must be ever vigilant…

…and the worst thing to do is to blindly follow through thick and especially thin.