Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library

The ultimate road trip, Lance Hornby and Mike Wilson, All 89 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ultimate Leafs Fan

eng

no index present

non fiction

The ultimate road trip

dictionaries

Lance Hornby and Mike Wilson

The Ultimate Leafs Fan makes it his mission to figure out what makes fans bleed blue Mike Wilson, the man ESPN called the "Ultimate Leafs Fan," attended every Leaf contest of the 2018-19 NHL season. With a foreword from club president Brendan Shanahan and colourful souvenir photos, The Ultimate Road Trip allows fans to vicariously experience the journey of a lifetime, and explores the passion of the sign-waving, fully costumed diehards who fill arenas from Alberta to Anaheim. Who are these people? How did they get there? What motivates them to follow a franchise that hasn't won a Stanley Cup in a half century? Through 89 games, from October to April, the retired Bay Street trader explored all 31 rinks to document stories of Leafs love. Mike took every conceivable mode of transport, stayed in team hotels and on the couches of family and friends, then went into the cheap seats, private suites, the streets, sports bars, hotel lobbies, and many other unique locations where Leafs Nation gets together, to gather tales both hilarious and heart-wrenching. Media personalities, former players, and NHL celebrities gave Wilson their thoughts on what fuels the Leafs passion. There are Leafs fans - and there's the Ultimate Leafs Fan. No one had the time, money, or energy to follow their favorite team to every game of the season until Mike Wilson took a journey most fans can only dream about. These are the humorous, historical, and heart-wrenching stories of Leafs Nation. Born and raised in Toronto, Mike Wilson began his love affair with the Leafs at age six with a Carl Brewer game-used stick. He grew this into the largest privately held collection of Leaf memorabilia. He still lives in Toronto. Lance Hornby has been covering the Maple Leafs and the NHL for the Toronto Sun and Postmedia since 1986. The Toronto native has written, edited, and contributed to a number of hockey books and has traveled throughout North America, Europe, and Asia covering the game. He lives in Toronto, Ontario. If I needed a good omen as my first road trip began, it was printed right on my Air Canada ticket, Flight 442 to Chicago O'Hare, the same numbers of defencemen Morgan Rielly and Ron Hainsey. Approaching U.S. Customs at Pearson early Sunday morning it dawned on me this wasn't a vacation in Florida for a week I'd be declaring but rather a four-city excursion. These security folk can be ornery at the best of times and the last thing I needed was this guy to give me a hard time. "I'm off to Chicago, but it gets tricky, because I'm also headed to Dallas, Detroit and Washington," I began. His look needed no explanation except to keep talking and it better be good. "I'm actually following the Leafs for every game this year and this is the first trip." "You getting paid for this?," he inquired over the nose of his glasses. "I wish." He smiled, softened slightly while firing a few subtle questions trying to trip me up, eventually sending me on my way. I arrived in the Windy City fresh off Toronto's home split against Montreal and Ottawa, excited to find as many members of Leafs Nation as I could, in one of the greatest sports towns in America. Chicago is also close to Notre Dame, whose football team I've mentioned holds a very important place in my life and that of Joe Bowen, voice of the Leafs. My first stop wasn't the United Center, the Hancock Building or some other Chicago architectural landmark. Instead I pointed my rental car northwest out of O'Hare to Woodstock, Ill. The little town made famous by Bill Murray's movie Groundhog Day is also the studio of Erik Blome, sculptor of Legends Row outside SBA. Historic Woodstock is a charming place with lots of Groundhog Day landmarks, though townsfolk prefer to think there's more to their home than the film. The beautiful old opera house was once the summer s

adult