PDA

View Full Version : GlobeandMail: My Canada includes wussy soccer fans



TFClifer
06-07-2008, 09:52 AM
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080607.LEAH07/TPStory/Entertainment/columnists

My response to this sorry excuse for a columnist:

Hello Leah,

While reading your column this morning I couldn't help but shake my head in disappointment. There have been many instances where I have read the term hooliganism associated with TFC fans. That could not be any further from the truth. As a season ticket holder I have never seen an instance of hooliganism which brings me to the conclusion that the media is simply trying to extinguish the most exciting sporting event in this city. You commented on a fight that occurred because these were TFC fans, as if to say that fights never occur in other circumstances or with other fans. I have never seen a fight break out at our pitch as what happened during the Blue Jays home opener this year, and it was no surprise the media didn't mention much of anything about it.

Soccer is my favourite and only sport and as I have become a bit older I have realized how boring and bland US and Canada specific sports really are. Statistics, cheer leaders, constant stoppage of play and time, high scoring system that does not reflect the story of the game, multiple games to decide a champion (even after a long season), and many other facts. The most beautiful game in the world is called that for a reason, no other sport produces the same level of passion in its fans. The fans make the game what it is and to say that we need to erase this from our city, it will never happen. Finally we can cheer and support our team the way we want and not have the media or the corporate moguls dictate fan support. Hockey is dead to me. In fact, I was a die hard Leafs fan up until two years ago when I realized that I was suckered into supporting a farce for a team which is something I will never forgive. In the end you stated "Toronto's emerging soccer hooligans are Canadian after all: They went home to watch the hockey game". The core supporters do not go home to watch hockey, we continue to celebrate our team and speak of everything soccer. You simply do not understand the support for TFC and to make such a statement is, in my opinion, ignorant. I would ask that you as a contributor to the media get your facts in order before making such comments.

The new era has begun. TFC is here to stay and nothing will extinguish the support and passion we have for the most beautiful game in the world.

werewolf
06-07-2008, 09:58 AM
I stopped reading after she heard chanting and immediately was worried about hooliganism, what a tool.

Bobo
06-07-2008, 09:58 AM
Good response. I'll be sending one of my own.


Toronto's emerging soccer hooligans are Canadian after all: They went home to watch the hockey game.
Cardinal journalism rule: NEVER write something that is groundless. I found that out after a few weeks at school.


GET THAT HATE MAIL IN!

JonO
06-07-2008, 10:03 AM
She's the one who tried to sue the producer's of knocked up because she said they stole her story. Yeah right - because getting pregnant after a one night stand is so unique. It's unfortunate the Globe still prints her drivel

ag futbol
06-07-2008, 10:04 AM
I gave her my own opinion. Which basically stated she's a journalistic hack who does no reasearch and talks out of her ass.

TFClifer
06-07-2008, 10:10 AM
From her bio:

"She now divides her time between Toronto and a farm in Grafton, Ontario."

Seems like she's one of these wannabe "I live in trendy Toronto type", for now, that will eventually move out to a farm for good. She deserves a dirty sanchez.

werewolf
06-07-2008, 10:17 AM
by her justification, someone should probably let her know that the increased number of German flags being displayed over the next month does NOT, I repeat does NOT, signal a Nazi invasion.

egoodwin
06-07-2008, 10:18 AM
too bad my Canada does not include this bitch

ag futbol
06-07-2008, 10:19 AM
For those of you that don't know, this author tried to sue the creators of "Knocked up" the movie, because they stole her story of being pregnant.

I question if she is mentally stable. The fact that she mentions something along the lines of "nice WASP" in the article makes me think she needs to move out of the city to some quiet town where she can live in a bubble.

Lucky Strike
06-07-2008, 10:30 AM
In a solitary ritual celebration of my homecoming, I drank coffee and read the paper in the sunshine. It was Saturday, but the city was quiet. I listened to the birds cheep, the breeze blow - until a distant stadium cheer interrupted my peace. The tribal chant: "TFC!" clap, clap, clap, "TFC!" clap, clap, clap, "This is our house!" clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, "This is our house!" clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, "Come on you reeeeeeeeeds!"
That's when I began to wonder: Was hooliganism coming to Toronto?



So, because she heard people chanting, she deduced that hooligans have invaded Toronto. That's the biggest non sequitur ("does not follow" for those who weren't subjected to logic classes) I have ever seen.

As for her movie idea, I wasn't aware of it. Don't a lot of people become pregnant? You know, for the survival of humanity? I have a movie ideas where someone dies, and boy am I pissed at all those action, kung fu, scary, sappy, drama, comedy, etc.... movies. I could have made a fortune!:eek:

Oblio2
06-07-2008, 10:30 AM
That article is one of the worst pieces of shit I have even seen. Its insulting to me as an Englishman. This fucking douchebag writes this crap for a living. Im sorry for this but she is a cunt!

ManUtd4ever
06-07-2008, 10:38 AM
I'm disappointed that of all newspapers, the G&M would publish such rubbish! let her have it boys...

egoodwin
06-07-2008, 10:40 AM
this journalist reminds me of that woman sitting next to me at an Empire Club luncheon few weeks ago who was saying that BMO Field was bad for the community...

ag futbol
06-07-2008, 10:46 AM
I emailed the editor as well to say this piece was absolute crap. This woman clearly has no journalistic talent.

If she wanted to put some real research into the type of behavior some people are partaking in, that's fine. Some things we see shouldn't be tolerated. However, how much of that is TFC as opposed to their own bad judgement? Pretty much nothing to do with our club, which is how every other sports fan gets treated when they do stupid crap.

The Historian
06-07-2008, 10:47 AM
Of course this article is ridiculous - I suspect that Leah McLaren has never attended a football match (in the UK or Toronto).

Perhaps all the chanting/cheering is disturbing the quiet solitude of her rapidly-gentrifying Parkdale (not that I have anything against gentrification - there are plenty of sketch areas of the city that could use some!). Many drunk people do stupid and obnoxious things, which we as TFC supporters should not condone when witnessing it in our midst, but to equate it with hooliganism is offensive to supporters whose enthusiasm is (sadly) unique to this city's sports teams.

Nevertheless, this is really an article about London and its drinking culture which uses Toronto as a contrast... and there is a serious binge drinking problem in the UK (which has an impact on football supporters).

It also helps to remember that Ms. McLaren's previous articles of late have included such pressing topics as leaving clothing in a London hotel room and having *gasp* to make due with the contents of her closet at home, and the anguish of having a old, diseased and unsafe tree uprooted from her front yard and replaced, at the city's expense.

p.s.: as a matter for the factual record, I believe it was Rebecca Eckler (a McLaren-esque clone who writes for the Post) who claimed that 'Knocked Up' stole her idea.

BigLou
06-07-2008, 10:50 AM
classy response TFClifer. You can count on me to send her another one. I hope no one reads this and is influenced by it that would be a total travesty. This is a NON ISSUE. Hooliganism is born out of hardship and religious and social/financial differences. Given, difference is a present theme in Toronto it doesn't create the same duality in society like Celtc/Rangers and Fenerbahce/Galatasaraay(sorry for misspelling) which brings a religious and social discord to the matches aside from the competitive element of sport.
Ms. Mclaren ought to consider herself lucky that shes hasn't taken a trip to Istanbul or Glasgow yet....She will be in for quite a surprise.

mjongstra
06-07-2008, 10:53 AM
What an idiot. Here's my reply:


Hello,

I'm sorry but you could not be much farther from the truth then you already are. Since when does chanting for your team indicate acts of hooliganism? Soccer fans bring a much different culture than those of baseball and hockey. We prefer to sing for our team, support our team through the thick and the thin, no matter the circumstances we will always be there and stand up for our team. Sadly this is not the kind of support that the Maple Leafs or Blue Jays receive, their fans are much to busy waiting in line to buy their beer and stuff their faces with grossly overpriced hot dogs and pizza. They probably spend more time focused on trying to keep their shirts clean from all the food rather then on the game itself. The bar fight of which you mentioned in your article is no different then the fights which occur at Blue Jays games in the 500 level, both are caused by young kids consuming too much alcohol.

Until you see "roaming bands of agitated males" in the streets fighting or riots at BMO field I would like to politely ask you to shut up about hooliganism in Toronto.

Thanks for reading,
Marius "hooligan" Jongstra

cmonureds
06-07-2008, 11:00 AM
I got the sense from this column that she was relieved to be in Toronto after a football match, rather than anywhere else:

Toronto, by contrast, beat Los Angeles in a soccer match. I could hear the car horns bleating victory all the way up the Gardiner Expressway. There were no riots, no stabbings and no boozing reported on the GO train back to Oakville.
Toronto's emerging soccer hooligans are Canadian after all: They went home to watch the hockey game.

As a true footy outsider, she throws the tag "hooligan" around with gay abandon, I think, failing to see how offensive that word is to anyone who loves football. Her choice of language is unfortunate and driven by ignorance, but the sentiment is basically Dorothy's at the end of the Wizard of Oz, methinks...."there's no place like home." I concur, I love Toronto, I love our team, and I love our positive support of our team. I just wish she'd chosen her words better, and stopped trying to link violence with soccer in the public's mind (she doesn't mention the riots in Montreal after the Habs won now, does she?) ........ dumb bunny. Leah, honey, stick to fashion.

Kooper
06-07-2008, 11:12 AM
I am really glad she left her back yard to complete her research at a bar. I wonder if she has ever seen a bar fight. Should we slag off all bar patrons because two guys got in a fight in Parkdale?

Useless waste of column inches.

My email:
Your TFC article was very poorly written and lacked any real research. Next time go to a game, watch an away match at Shoeless Joe's, interview some fans, and venture farther away from your backyard and a bar in Parkdale.

I expect a higher quality of writing from the Globe. The lazy, sensationalist knee jerk reaction is something I would expect from a writer at a tabloid with 30 minutes to go before deadline.

Marc"2L"
06-07-2008, 11:14 AM
Does anybody have Ben Knights email? I need to send this to him.

The article itself isn't really that bad...but calling soccer fans "wussy" is a perfect way to get the opposite to happen. If you call somebody a wussy...the first thing they're going to do is to prove otherwise.

She's a fashion critic who doesn't understand the meaning of the words she was using. I feel sorry for her know how stupid we all think she is now..

djking2
06-07-2008, 11:14 AM
Take a pill guys this article is in the arts section not sports, it doesn't suggest anything like "yob" culture is really coming to Canada but poses the question mid-article and then more or less dismisses the idea at the end with the line about heading home to watch hockey.

Although I'm sure she was referring to fans on the street after the game if she had been at Shoeless after the LA game she'd have come to the same conclusion. A lot of people cleared out by game time.

The fight at the bar reflects poorly on TFC fans whether we like it or not. Even so she doesn't dwell on it merely states the fact and moves on. Good advice

Bobo
06-07-2008, 11:14 AM
My email. Not as diplomatic as TFClifer :p



Poorly written football articles are unfortunately becoming a common practice in Canada. My fingers bleed from all the e-mails I send to ignorant columnists but your article today about "hooliganism" in Canada is no doubt right at the top (or bottom) of the ever-growing list. Though I yawned and cringed, I sat and read through yours, now you should do the same.

Perhaps you can explain to me how one violent incident at a bar, common grounds for altercations, with a couple Toronto FC supporters is grounds to say that Toronto FC fans are intentionally out to cause "war" in the city's streets. How dare you? Maybe you were in England when the Rogers' Centre banned alcohol use from the stadium due to violence during the Toonie Tuesday promotions. Those darn baseball hooligans, just too passionate about the sport. Also, it's not like hockey promotes violence to its fans, Montreal for example, where you can always find a little bit of heaven when the Canadians win a playoff series. Who knows, perhaps one day you will find yourself in a physical altercation with one of your readers in which case a movement may begin with the goal of eliminating incompetent journalists.

Not only is your article ignorant and insulting, it is also poorly written, a feeling brought about by your closing statement. A cardinal rule in journalism is to NEVER write something that stands no ground. I learned that after only a few weeks at school. Apparently the bar is now being raised. Even something so simple as a title, you managed to massacre and have sound absolutely ridiculous. In fact, your article is so poorly written and offensive that I am half-inclined to get in touch with your editor as well and find out why he or she is allowing such utter garbage to get published. I can also take the opportunity to let him or her know that after reading this article, I will never pick up a copy of the Globe and Mail again and that the sunshine girl blurb in the Sun seems to give more insight than some of some of the Globe's contributors.

If you don't like the new-found passion in the city then perhaps a small farm in the middle of nowhere would be better suited for you. Do not write articles about something to which you fall short of the sufficient knowledge, or any at all. Enjoy the Euro, and if I ever have an extra seat for a Toronto FC game in the supporters' section, I'll be sure to get in touch with you.


Yours truly,

A Soccer Hooligan





And now I go watch Euro, which I'm missing because of this dumb broad.

cmonureds
06-07-2008, 11:18 AM
sorry to post again, here's the end of what I've written her:

Curiously, what I got out of your column was not simply the soccer-hating nonsense a lot of journalists in this city like to write, thinking they are expressing the true feelings of their readers, but your relief at being HOME - Toronto is a quieter place than a lot of other places, and that's a good thing.

However, I find it very sad and somewhat pathetic that you use your friend's ruined afternoon in a pub to hammer to Globe and Mail readers a link with "yob culture" and "hooligan" with TFC fans, Be grateful that wasn't Millwall losing to Chelsea, my dear.

Toronto FC fans are enthusiastic, and knowledgeable, and love the game and this city. I am a season ticket holder from the day the deposits were being taken, and I am also a member of a supporters group. I am a forty-year old female financial services clerk and never felt more energy, passion, and yes, LOVE and loyalty for a team in a crowd setting than my beloved Reds at home in BMO Field. Go back to your tomb that is the Rogers Centre and watch the Blue Jays put their fans to sleep for nine hours, we don't need your kind in our ground, sitting on their hands and tut-tutting people, yes, grown people, for having fun.

Did your ears hurt when we cheered Cunny's goal Sat last? yes? Good. Get used to it.

Marc"2L"
06-07-2008, 11:23 AM
Take a pill guys this article is in the arts section not sports, it doesn't suggest anything like "yob" culture is really coming to Canada but poses the question mid-article and then more or less dismisses the idea at the end with the line about heading home to watch hockey.

Although I'm sure she was referring to fans on the street after the game if she had been at Shoeless after the LA game she'd have come to the same conclusion. A lot of people cleared out by game time.

The fight at the bar reflects poorly on TFC fans whether we like it or not. Even so she doesn't dwell on it merely states the fact and moves on. Good advice

Two guys fight in bar both happen to be wearing Toronto FC gear.....in other news, sun is hot, red bulls are shite.

TFClifer
06-07-2008, 11:31 AM
Take a pill guys this article is in the arts section not sports, it doesn't suggest anything like "yob" culture is really coming to Canada but poses the question mid-article and then more or less dismisses the idea at the end with the line about heading home to watch hockey.

Although I'm sure she was referring to fans on the street after the game if she had been at Shoeless after the LA game she'd have come to the same conclusion. A lot of people cleared out by game time.

The fight at the bar reflects poorly on TFC fans whether we like it or not. Even so she doesn't dwell on it merely states the fact and moves on. Good advice

I agree, but its the ongoing negativity in the media about our beloved sport and TFC. It does not help our cause to get the football loving people in this country to get behind the MLS. I have spoken to so many people that love football and others that are starting to catch on but have reservations because of the quality. This article instills fear into the general public and tarnishes our image as TFC supporters.

Flipityflu
06-07-2008, 12:20 PM
who the fuck in Toronto doesn't lock the door?

dupont
06-07-2008, 12:26 PM
who the fuck in Toronto doesn't lock the door?

People that say they live here but actually don't.

alexintoronto
06-07-2008, 12:43 PM
Her column should be named Random & Pointless Thoughts to Waste Your Time.

el rojo fanatico
06-07-2008, 12:48 PM
who the fuck in Toronto doesn't lock the door?
Thats the part that got me the most.

alexintoronto
06-07-2008, 12:53 PM
I think she did her research from a Michael Moore movie - at 9 minutes




http://youtube.com/watch?v=HbDqK58bLSU&feature=related

leedsutd85
06-07-2008, 01:16 PM
She got her degree from Trent. Think that says it all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leah_Mclaren

MartinUtd
06-07-2008, 01:20 PM
This piece was written in the Arts section. I didn't expect much else than self righteous pretension and it delivered it in spades.

Billy the kid
06-07-2008, 01:30 PM
I give the reader a lot of credit, stories like this reflect badly on the author. I really don't think it reflects badly on soccer in Toronto, as I doubt many people will think much of the story.

Oldtimer
06-07-2008, 01:51 PM
We need to hold on to our heritage of bland politesse at all costs.umm... Go Leafs Go?:rolleyes5: :sleep:

Flipityflu
06-07-2008, 02:17 PM
in the end, what do you expect from a writer who got her job because mommy was the editor.

denime
06-07-2008, 02:42 PM
NO COMMENT !!!



http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj137/denime_2008/tfcleafs.jpg

Hooligan69
06-07-2008, 03:02 PM
A picture speaks a thousand words.

ExiledRed
06-07-2008, 04:12 PM
For those of you that don't know, this author tried to sue the creators of "Knocked up" the movie, because they stole her story of being pregnant.

I question if she is mentally stable. The fact that she mentions something along the lines of "nice WASP" in the article makes me think she needs to move out of the city to some quiet town where she can live in a bubble.

Actually that was National Post writer, Rebecca Eckler, who wrote the novel 'knocked up' prior to the movie being made.

Unless Leah Mclaren is her pseudonym

Bobo
06-07-2008, 04:21 PM
What really fuckin kicks my ass is that she has fully accused TFC fans of wanting to bring "war" to the city. This really warrants contact with the editor.

Hooligan69
06-07-2008, 04:38 PM
Meh is all I have to say. :p

Bobo
06-07-2008, 04:44 PM
Here's the sports editor's e-mail.

Dave Leeder
dleeder@globeandmail.com

I encourage everyone to send him a little something too. He's as much to blame as the whore is.

alexintoronto
06-07-2008, 04:53 PM
No he's not - it's not in the Sports Section apparently. Email her mom - she's an editor at the Globe I think. Cecily Ross.

Patrick Srayze
06-07-2008, 04:54 PM
Actually that was National Post writer, Rebecca Eckler, who wrote the novel 'knocked up' prior to the movie being made.

Unless Leah Mclaren is her pseudonym


Nope - you're right. It's two different people....and they're both annoying.

Bobo
06-07-2008, 05:04 PM
No he's not - it's not in the Sports Section apparently. Email her mom - she's an editor at the Globe I think. Cecily Ross.

:confused:

I checked the website.

CretanBull
06-07-2008, 05:07 PM
I think everyone here has completey misinterpreted her article. Her point is that the fear of 'hooliganism' in Toronto is unfounded, that when things turned from "reasonable to rowdy" it boiled over into a single fight across a table, whereas in London "it ended with fights, arrests and six subway stops being closed".

In England, the football culture is represented by "roving bands of agitated males, skin yellowed by cigarettes, eyes shot red by booze," who "stagger through the streets at all hours singing, shouting and picking fights with anyone who crosses their path." Whereas in Toronto "by contrast" our fans left the stadium with "no riots, no stabbings and no boozing reported on the GO train".

She's pointing out our "tepidness" and praising us for it, marking it as a characteristic of being Canadian.

MisterMacphisto
06-07-2008, 05:15 PM
I think everyone here has completey misinterpreted her article. Her point is that the fear of 'hooliganism' in Toronto is unfounded, that when things turned from "reasonable to rowdy" it boiled over into a single fight across a table, whereas in London "it ended with fights, arrests and six subway stops being closed".

In England, the football culture is represented by "roving bands of agitated males, skin yellowed by cigarettes, eyes shot red by booze," who "stagger through the streets at all hours singing, shouting and picking fights with anyone who crosses their path." Whereas in Toronto "by contrast" our fans left the stadium with "no riots, no stabbings and no boozing reported on the GO train".

She's pointing out our "tepidness" and praising us for it, marking it as a characteristic of being Canadian.

Nice try...


It is this sort of emotional repression that leads to hooliganism - the modern cultural equivalent of tribal warfare. And while Torontonians haven't had much need for such histrionics in the past, I worry that Toronto FC fans might be out to change all that

There's not mis-reading that is going on with this piece of shit article.

akoto
06-07-2008, 05:19 PM
This has to be one of the most retarded things I have read in a long time. How did she get a job at The Globe? It felt like I was reading some college newspaper.

CretanBull
06-07-2008, 05:39 PM
Nice try...


Quote:
It is this sort of emotional repression that leads to hooliganism - the modern cultural equivalent of tribal warfare. And while Torontonians haven't had much need for such histrionics in the past, I worry that Toronto FC fans might be out to change all that
There's not mis-reading that is going on with this piece of shit article.


Read the previous paragraph, the "emotional repression that leads to hooliganism" is a characteristic of Britons and while she initially fears that "Toronto FC fans might be out the change all that" she concludes with the opposing view that we're not like them ("there were no riots, no stabbings and no boozing reported on the GO train."

alexintoronto
06-07-2008, 05:57 PM
:confused:

I checked the website.

http://www.feedsfarm.com/article/85d39a02116f82ec087fa3eade8c917fe911d25d.html



What all daughters know: The mother is the message A woman's trickiest relationship is with her mom. Globe editor CECILY ROSS and writer daughter LEAH McLAREN find out why.


Someone above mentioned her mother was an editor there - looks like she is. I don't know if it's HER editor - but I guess we know who such a useless "journalist" got the job.

Dirk Diggler
06-07-2008, 07:12 PM
who the fuck in Toronto doesn't lock the door?

Exactly. I hate it when people try to present Canada as a peaceful heaven where no illegal activities ever occur. Its not realistic and its not needed. Relatively speaking, Canada is a very peaceful country and we don't need ridiculous statements such as these to prove it. If anyone leaves their door open in Toronto, it is purely out of laziness and/or ignorance and they deserve to get their belongings stolen.

Oldtimer
06-07-2008, 07:15 PM
Well, we boycotted the National Post for a while based on an idiotic anti-supporter article.

Now that the Globe has done the same thing, will we respond again in kind?

mighty_torontofc_2008
06-07-2008, 07:17 PM
Shes such a rat, im surprised the CBC has not hired her she'd fit in there!!

Mrs. Workie
06-07-2008, 07:24 PM
These reporters don't have a fuckin' clue about Hooliganism.

My interpretation

Supporting your team, standing, singing, chanting = Hooliganism

Sorry I'm not the boring, sit down, I paid $409826834509768354 for my tickets, "you only have one chant" Leafs Fan :rolleyes5:

CretanBull
06-07-2008, 07:57 PM
Honestly guys, read the article again...do you really think she's saying "TFC fans are hooligans" then provide no examples of our hooligan behaviour, then goes out of her way to point out "there were no riots, no stabbings and no boozing reported on the GO train"?

What she's saying is that when she first came home from England where she witnessed "yob" culture is that she was worried that our footy club might produce the same problemed fan base. She then points out the differences between England and Canada - "Canadians, for instance, tend to become friendlier after we have a few drinks, whereas Brits tend to get meaner" - and provides an example to illustrate her point. When things go from "reasonable to rowdy" in Canada it amounted to a single almost fight which was broken up. By contrast, when things got out of hand in England "it ended with fights, arrests and six subway stops being closed".

Read the last paragraphs -

Toronto, by contrast, beat Los Angeles in a soccer match. I could hear the car horns bleating victory all the way up the Gardiner Expressway. There were no riots, no stabbings and no boozing reported on the GO train back to Oakville.

Toronto's emerging soccer hooligans are Canadian after all: They went home to watch the hockey game.

The use of the term "hooligans" is obviously facetious - you don't call someone a 'hooligan' with any degree of seriousness while you're point out how all the fans went home well behaved after the match.

If she was actually writting the type of hack-piece that everyone seems to think she is about TFC fans being actual hooligans, or even warning about the potential we have of becoming hooligans you can be sure she would have mentioned the church-peing in Columbus, the quotes by Columbus police about various disturbances, the well documented reports of damage being done to Go Trains, the fights after the Montreal game and she would have tied TFC fans in with the greater problems of hooliganism within the MLS - the racist comment caught on tape, the bannana throwing, the fights between Chivas and Galaxy fans etc. but there was none of that, was there?

CoachGT
06-07-2008, 08:59 PM
CretanBull is right on this. This article is a somewhat sarcastic comparison of the respectable Canadian fan when compared with the hooliganism of other countries. It is not a very well written piece if it creates this kind of controversy on a supporters board. It does show that there is not a great regard for the sensitivity of this issue amongst the supporters groups, especially when you consider the increased police presence we have seen at BMO over the last few weeks. The police appear to think we are headed into the depths of hooliganism.

She might have got the point across better had she compared us to the Montreal Canadiens playoff hooligans.......

Keystone FC
06-08-2008, 04:35 AM
All I got to say is:
http://www.leahmclaren.ca/Author.html
She's pretty cute.

Keystone FC
06-08-2008, 04:42 AM
CretanBull is right on this. This article is a somewhat sarcastic comparison of the respectable Canadian fan when compared with the hooliganism of other countries. It is not a very well written piece if it creates this kind of controversy on a supporters board. It does show that there is not a great regard for the sensitivity of this issue amongst the supporters groups, especially when you consider the increased police presence we have seen at BMO over the last few weeks. The police appear to think we are headed into the depths of hooliganism.

She might have got the point across better had she compared us to the Montreal Canadiens playoff hooligans.......


Plus, she even stated that she's not that big of a sports fan so her knowledge of the English hooligan as compared to the average TFC season ticket holder is based on small events and probably other peoples opinions. I also look at it this way. TFC was in the LIFESTYLE section....not the sports page. Either way you look at it we are creeping into the psyche of all walks of life.

tfc007
06-08-2008, 06:20 AM
I think she is like every fucken journalist in this.A bunch of FUCKEN ASSHOLES.I swear sometimes I think these fuckers get together and on purpose are trying to bury the TFC. This is one reason why I dont read the regular papers anymore. If I want news I just go to soccer specific web sites.Every time these Cunts write article about the TFC or soccer in general,we should just fucken flood them with e-mails.Maybe eventually they will get the message!!

Pyeddo
06-08-2008, 09:57 AM
http://www.leahmclaren.ca/Author.html


She looks like the kind of girl we refer to at the match as "a wasted ticket"... you know the one... not watching the game, complaining about the weather.... generally fucking useless.... you know the type.

ExiledRed
06-08-2008, 10:02 AM
http://www.leahmclaren.ca/Author.html


She looks like the kind of girl we refer to at the match as "a wasted ticket"... you know the one... not watching the game, complaining about the weather.... generally fucking useless.... you know the type.

Oh, Don't I ever.

greatwhitenorf
06-08-2008, 10:29 AM
If she can hear us so clearly, why not give her a chant?

Lee-ahhh McLaren
You're a hosebag!
You're a hosebag!

The old trollop was probably hitting on Larry Millson and is miffed coz he rebuffed her.

joel
06-09-2008, 09:59 PM
Yet again the message board Whiners are out in full force.

Leah McLaren is generally an arts and style writer, and actually more often than not her articles are just rambling about herself and her own life and relating it to something current enough that she can stick her opinions in there and pump herself up.

- I just spent a month in London (life is so hard)
- toronto is a bore (cause I was just in london by the way)
- etc.. etc

Anyway she is contrasting what goes on in england (or more specifically what she thinks goes on) and how it's different here. She didn't call anyone hooligans here, and said they were all well behaved.

So I don't get what the whining is about, plus anybody that reads Leah McLaren and actually takes any of her articles as 'serious commentary', isn't anyone you care to know. it's just fluffy rambling, and it seems some of you can't even follow it long enough to catch the actual narrative.

Can't wait for her next hard-hitting expose, you guys will flip!

lolz

alexintoronto
06-09-2008, 10:46 PM
she's just so useless and annoying and.... well what he said:

http://neatesager.blogspot.com/2008/06/pitty-poor-leah-mclaren.html

koryo
06-09-2008, 11:03 PM
She spends half her time in Grafton for crying out loud.

They can have her.

Silly bitch.