Let me just go out and say that I am not implicating every Leafs fans that tweets about the team on Twitter. This is to make people aware of what I deem to be inappropriate.
Twitter can be a great place for sports fans to interact with one another. It allows people to receive updates on players from reporters, the ability to see what some players do in their spare time and insight from hockey experts.
Twitter also has a negative side to it. The fans who become outraged when it’s team loses, a player is traded or when management makes an unpopular move. A majority of fans will use Twitter to vent out their frustrations and last night’s crucial loss to Montreal was no different. You had the normal “F**k Carlyle”, “we won’t make the playoffs” and the more common one’s this week;”Reimer sucks”, “Reimer can’t make a save”, “we want Bernier back”.
It is not uncommon for fans to be upset, I was not exactly pleased with the outcome of last night’s game and what it meant to the Leafs playoff chances. Understandably Leafs fans are worried about the state of this team who have lost 4 in a row and could be knocked out of the playoffs if they don’t turn their game around.
Usually I try to stay clear of twitter after a game for many reasons. Fans tweet irrational statements that usually spark twitter battles. However I went on twitter before I went to bed and I read people tweeting something I hadn’t seen before. “Not fair to blame April Reimer for the Leafs loss”, “why are people harassing Reimer’s wife?” and I thought to myself, what is going on. Then I read a tweet from The Hockey News writer, Adam Proteau’s.
I tried very hard to find some of these tweets and luckily I saw (@Jeffler) Jeff Veillette’s article this morning (http://theleafsnation.com/2014/3/22/reminder-it-s-a-game-and-these-are-people) where he included this picture
I could not believe what I saw, it was inexcusable! There is justification for
1. Believing that tweeting to April Reimer will do anything for yourself
2.That calling out James Reimer will help him play better
3. For people to abuse social media to broadcast their frusturation especially with the explicit language and content.
Let’s not forget that twitter is a public website and anything that is said can be used against you. Whether it is in a job interview where an interviewer may pull up your public profile on Twitter and Facebook. Or in cases where people may go too far with their tweets, they open themselves up to potential lawsuits. If you remember, last year Brian Burke was attempting to sue 18 anonymous people who wrote harassing messages on how he fathered the child of a Sportsnet anchor. So don’t think that you are safe just because you are expressing an opinion because it can come back to bite you.
In this case there were members of Leafs Nation who supported Reimer’s wife by calling out those people for their unnecessary comments. Many reporters have blocked people because of their explicit tweets and sadly these are the people that turn a lot of people against Twitter.
If people want to know why Toronto gets its reputation as a pressure cooker, just look at the tweets that come in after a Leafs loss and you will see. David Clarkson has been the poster player for a lot of twitter hate this season but if the Leafs find themselves out of the playoffs, I fear for what Leafs Nation on Twitter will do to Reimer. Let me also remind you that the Twitter was also a distraction for JP Arencibia, the former Blue Jays catcher who got rid of his Twitter account because of the harassing messages he got from fans.
This situation with Reimer should never have gotten to this point and I have a lot of problems with it. I want to bring your attention to a couple of tweets from James Mirtle.
Here is a respectable reporter who understands the pressure that is on the Leafs goalie right now. Why should they have any pressure from fans who write on twitter? How do these same people expect Reimer to play as the No.1 when everyone gave the reins to Bernier as the No.1?
People find it hard to understand that it is not easy to readjust to this added pressure. I honestly don’t think Bernier will be an immediate impact when he comes back (given his injury) and God knows what kind of impact that will have.
Reimer will be traded this summer (unless Bernier has a major collapse) and if I had the name the team that would be the best fit it would be the Calgary Flames.
Brian Burke was the only person who had confidence in Reimer as a starter from the beginning. Even after the injury plagued season he had, Burke refused to go after Roberto Luongo and ultimately put his job on the line for Reimer. And yes I am suggesting that a big reason why Brian Burke was fired was because he refused to trade for Luongo, because he believed that Reimer was the starter for this team.
Don’t believe me? Why did Dave Nonis trade for Jonathan Bernier?
I understand that Bernier wanted to be a starter and he was available, but the Leafs already had a goalie that stood on his head, got them into the playoffs and pushed the Bruins to Game 7.
I do believe that Nonis wanted to have depth at the goalie position but don’t think for a second that when Tim Leiweke started his work at MLSE he didn’t tell Nonis to get Bernier especially with his connection to the LA Kings. Reimer deserves to go to a team that needs a legitimate starter and hopefully Calgary or Vancouver will be that team because they will probably have enough to offer the Leafs.
For now Leafs Nation you are stuck with Reimer and I’m not one to complain because from what I saw in the game against Kings, he still has what it takes to be a number one goalie.
I will argue that to the end even on Twitter and unlike some members of Leafs Nation on Twitter I can do it in a dignified manner.
Bay Street Truculence Blog 