By Chris Johnston and Julian McKenzie
There have been more unwelcome blue-and-white nights at Canadian Tire Centre in recent years than the locals care to remember ahead of a reborn Battle of Ontario.
Truth be told, fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs have rarely met much opposition while scooping up tickets on the secondary market and turning the building into a home away from home.
Ask any Ottawa Senators season-ticket holder why that’s been the case and they tend to point to a confounding chicken-or-egg dilemma: The games against the Leafs (and Montreal Canadiens) became such an unpleasant experience over time that many simply started opting out. But if the most passionate fans choose not to be in the building, how does the pendulum ever swing back in the other direction?
“That’s definitely fed upon itself,” said Kevin Lee, a Senators season-ticket holder since 2010-11. “Some fans get annoyed by the opposition and then they just sell (tickets) wherever and it ends up being more Habs or Leafs fans there. Like, I get it. It’s really weird being in the home building, but it feels like an away game.”
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Ottawa vs. Leafs fans: How the Senators are trying to stop a blue-and-white takeover