A message from Joe Bowen as he signs off for the last time at home

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]More important than the result of this, I know this for you is final game in this city. Incredible ovation from the crowd. Not only in the crowd, but everybody up here in the press box as the players now doing the same thing.

[00:00:18]Looking up here to the booth, sticks in the air. Steven Loren with a little extra hold of the stick pointed up towards >> my partner in his last home game.

[00:00:31]>> Ralph often said that I didn't know what I was going to say when the Leafs won the Stanley Cup and I had hoped that it was on my thing had I planned anything.

[00:00:42]But I thought about this what I wanted to say now. I said I had to put it down in writing. So, if you will bear with me, I'm going to try and get through this. I've kind of divided it into two parts. Tuesday night in Ottawa, I want to recognize the individuals who have played such a large part in my career, but tonight in this my last home game broadcast of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I want to focus solely on the fans who have packed first Maple Leaf Gardens when I started in 82 and then the Air Canada Center and now Scotia Bank Arena.

[00:01:15]There is no question that this fan base is the most unique in hockey and in all of sports. Regardless of where you play, Leaf fans make their presence felt in overwhelming numbers. I first experienced it in my first trips out west where Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver were flooded with familiar blue and white sweaters. No matter how the team stood in the standings, that support, both at home and away, was unwavering. that has stood the test of time over my 44 seasons. While crowds in Toronto were viewed as corporate and nonresponsive in the lower bowl during the regular season, the upper bowl in the old grays of the Gardens were more boisterous and wondrous to see the entire sections behind the rival Nets explode in seas of blue and white after an important goal like Thomas Cober's one night in Buffalo is scored. or listen to the Ottawa Senators pleading with their fans not to sell their tickets to Leaf fans in the Battle of Ontario playoff series that did not curtail a delightful number of Leaf Nation to pass through the turn styles. This kind of enormous support also produces a byproduct of intense media coverage. coverage has now expanded to just about everyone who cares to start a podcast or become the internet clickbait champion on all social media platforms. And as in anything else in this time in history, it is so much easier to criticize, to gain the attention they seek than to be fair on many occasions, making the leaf market one of the most difficult to perform in because of this abundance of coverage and opinions. But through it all, Leaf fans remain loyal. I have always told my sons, Liam, Derek, Shawn, and David, they are here in the booth with me tonight, and they needed to pick a team and then stay with them through the thick and thin. I've done my share of brainwashing when it comes to this.

[00:03:19]Leafs, Notre Dame fighting Irish, Toronto Argonauts, Green Bay Packers.

[00:03:24]Disappointment will always outweigh exhilaration. It's the nature of sports, but the Leafs are like a muchloved family member who often will do something terribly disappointing, requiring discipline and often some tough love. But in the end, that love of family never leaves, and the family becomes tighter because of the experience. The Toronto Maple Leafs will once again hoist Lord Stanley's chalice.

[00:03:50]And yes, I'm disappointed it didn't happen on my watch. I often remind folks the Boston Red Sox won 84 years between World Series, Chicago Cubs 104 years.

[00:04:02]But when the Leafs are on the cusp of victory, I know the Leaf fans will gather with loved ones. Some will bring an urn down close to the TV or maybe some will bring the radio to a graveyard to be with parents or grandparents so that everyone can enjoy this very special moment. I sincerely hope that I'm here to enjoy that magical moment with all of you.

[00:04:26]To all of the Leaf fans that have stopped me to share a moment and offer congratulations, I cannot thank you enough. You are without question the most unique, loyal, supportive fan base in all of sports. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your drive or bringing us into your living room, wreck room or man cave. I will forever be in your debt. I will never ever forget your kindness and constant support over 44 years. I don't know if I cut through that, but I did.

[00:05:06]>> I'm not going to add anything to that.

[00:05:08]You enjoy your family.

[00:05:11]>> Great recognition. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll see you Wednesday. I'll see you Friday. I'm lucky. You can say goodbye to the fans and everything else.

[00:05:18]>> Uh, we ain't saying goodbye.

[00:05:20]>> No, sure. We sure aren't. Thank you, buddy.

[00:05:23]>> All right.

[00:05:24]>> Final score, 6 to5 Dallas. You've been listening to Molson Leaf Hockey on SportsNet 590, The Fan and the Maple East Radio Network.