Toronto Maple Leafs announcer Joe Bowen has slammed the home crowd for the Game 3 of the team’s series against the Boston Bruins, saying it was “very disappointing.”
Bowen took to social media Wednesday night to call out what he thought were low-energy fans in Scotiabank Arena.
“The idea of going to any sporting event to support the team is to be PRO ACTIVE!” Bowen wrote.
“Give the team energy when they need it. Not sitting down waiting to be REACTIVE. The players can’t say it, but I will: tonight’s crowd was VERY DISAPPOINTING.”
Bowen’s post has generated a lot of reaction, some in agreement with him, but many people have said the sky-high ticket prices leave the true, die-hard fans out of the building.
Cary Kaplan, president of Cosmo Sports and Entertainment, told Global News Toronto if you’re not going to cheer and boo, “you shouldn’t be there.”
“There’s people in (Maple) Leafs Square that would take those tickets. They’d give their right arm for those tickets and they’d cheer all game and support the team,” said Kaplan, the former president of the Brampton Beast Hockey Club, a former professional hockey team.
“When you’re fortunate enough to have those tickets, embrace it and say, ‘OK, I get to be at a playoff NHL hockey game. I going to watch the whole game and cheer and boo and be part of it.’ That’s what I would say.”
Some on social media took aim at the Leafs’ performance, with one user on X saying the team has “lost the right to have proactive fans.”
“You want proactive fans? Score more goals. Don’t collapse. Don’t give them every reason to doubt you’re going to win,” the post read.
Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe said he found the fans in Scotiabank Arena “quite loud.”
“From my perspective, I didn’t see that as an issue at all. In fact, there were some moments in the game where they got extremely loud,” he told reporters Thursday.
“Clearly that’s important this time of year … that extra boost is really important, but that wasn’t on my mind at all last night.”
Brad Marchand broke a tie midway through the third period and the Boston Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 4-2 on Wednesday night. The Bruins hold a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.
— With files from Global News’ Mark Carcasole, Aaron D’Andrea and The Associated Press