FanNation

TO:  Larry Tanenbaum, CEO
        Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Ltd.
        40 Bay Street, Suite 400
        Toronto, Ontario
        M5J 2X2

RE:  Resignation as a Maple Leafs fan

Mr. Tanenbaum,

It is with great regret that I must resign my position as a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club. I'm sure this won't be a surprise to you as I've been disgruntled since the hockey lockout wiped out the 2004-05 season. The Maple Leafs' failure to make significant strides toward their first Stanley Cup since 1967, or even improve the team from year to year, proved to me that Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) has no desire to do so. In fact, it seems that the only thing MLSE has a desire to do is take their fans' money. I, sir, will no longer be a part of that.

The straw that broke the camel's back, to use a well-worn cliche, was the inept reign of John Ferguson, Jr., who was hired solely because he was cheap. Now you are in the position to have to overpay severely to interest someone with even the smallest hockey IQ. It sickens me that, rather than embrace the tradition of winning, MLSE has embraced the tradition of blood-sucking ineptitude symbolized by Harold Ballard. For shame, Mr. Tanenbaum.

Mr. Ferguson's inability to find acceptable players to embrace the Maple Leafs' tradition and his inability to make trades and draft to improve the team from within is obvious. Your hire of Cliff Fletcher smacks of desperation, as if he alone will bring back the ghosts of 1993 and 1994. Cliff Fletcher is not the man for the job. You, sir, are not the man for the job. I have no patience for the Maple Leafs or MLSE. I have wasted 30 years of my life rooting for that sorry, sad-sack franchise.

I would be able to tolerate the losing if they made an effort to improve. But they don't. The only thing the Maple Leafs are good at is taking their fans' money. You will not receive any more of my money. Nor will you receive any of my time, except to mock you. I will ensure that my children do not become fans of the Maple Leafs. I can only hope more fans choose this course.

My search for a new favorite hockey team will commence immediately.

Sincerely,

 - n.