Niagara (I will refer to you from now on as Niagara, Golden Horseshoe person is too long to type), the same adoration can also be applied to many other followers of NHL teams but it is the most obvious among followers of both the Leafs and the Habs. Both fan bases deal with the past, rehashing past glories and worshiping the crest as you point out rather than the game of hockey. It is a near cult like following for these two teams that is spread across Canada. You will see this demonstrated this evening in Ottawa with the overwhelming Blue in the stands. It is what it is. Folks have few things to cling to, so as Sam Spade said in the Maltese Falcon, "this is the stuff that dreams are made of". In the case of Habsters and Leafers the crest is the stuff.

Pretty corny, eh?