Run it back or shake it up?

Second-guessing begins over Leafs roster that fell short again

Like years past, diehard Maple Leafs fan Mike Adamson and his wife were so pumped to see the team into the playoffs season that they dressed their Davisville home into a full shrine for their home team.

But the Leafs come up short again, losing 2-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a crucial Game 7 on Saturday, failing again to make it past the first round of the playoffs, a streak dating back to 2004.

On Sunday, the Toronto couple woke up early in the morning to take down all the flags, banners, signs and any emblem of the Maple Leafs from their front porch — in what seems to be a perennial routine.

“So we woke up sad and you hope this is a bad dream and you realize it’s reality. Most people are going on with their daily lives and walking past. But for us, it will take a little bit longer to feel like we’re back to normal,” said Adamson, who along with his wife, Sara, had former NHL player Cam Stewart and his daughter as guests to watch Saturday’s game at home.

“It’s not as much about the disappointment with the playoffs again and wanting to win the Stanley Cup. But it’s still there. I enjoy watching every game together here in our kitchen and cheering on the Leafs, the playoffs and the whole house and all the fun things go along with it. That’s not going to happen for a long time again.”

Yet, despite another hard-to-stomach loss and extended Stanley Cup drought, Adamson still feels a sense of optimism given the Leafs’ solid performance all year.

“Everything about the series was great. Unfortunately, you draw the two-time Stanley Cup defending champion and it’s down to one goal in Game 7,” said Adamson, an elementary school teacher. “There’s room for optimism, more so than I felt in the past.”

His sentiments are shared by Leafs Nation, whose allegiance and support for the team has not swayed but exploded on social media. “That was not a Leafs collapse. That was a coin flip tough game 7 between 2 really good teams. Toronto media will push for change but it’s not necessary,” Phil Hughes tweeted from Laguna Beach in California.

Wesley Northam of King City, a self-acclaimed lifelong Leafs fan, watched Saturday’s playoff game with his girlfriend’s three-year-old son, Mario Marsala. The two bonded and shared those nerves throughout the nail-biting match before the Leafs got knocked out.

On Sunday, the 32-year-old carpenter posted a video on Twitter and Instagram, with the caption “hurt people,” of Mario swatting away a mini Maple Leafs hockey stick and puck, refusing to play.

“We watch it and he just reacts kind of as I react. He’s still learning about sports … It was more just he was just reacting to not wanting to play anymore, but disappointed as much as you can be,” Northam told the Star.

“Every year that happens. And everybody I know was like, ‘if this happens again, we’re not watching again.’ But then as soon as the game’s over, I’m like, ‘Oh, it was kind of an improvement.’ You are trying to find the positives and can’t really quit on them.”

Toronto clinical psychologist Saunia Ahmad said it’s common for engaged sports fans to feel sadness, anger and disappointment over the loss of their favourite teams because they invest so much in the outcome of the game when they watch and cheer on for their team.

“There’s a bit of this assumption that if we really support the team, they will win. But unfortunately, a lot of other factors that control the outcome of the game. When they don’t win, there’s a lot of disappointment and anger at the team members and coach,” said Ahmad, director of the Toronto Psychology Clinic.

“What’s most important is for people to enjoy the process of watching the game. At the end of the day, the outcome is not simply about winning, but it’s about learning how to be better next time.”

Some fans are too wrapped up in the game that Ahmad said they need to distance themselves from the sport and understand it with the perspective that it is just a game.

As Adamson and his wife were taking down their “Leafs House” Sunday, neighbours and passersby also stopped by to thank them for their spirit — and expressed their condolences. Their passion has brought new friends to their lives, including Kevin Edwards, the chief executive of Skip The Dishes, who offered them tickets for Game 1 of this year’s series.

The businessman, who happened to pass by the Adamsons’ house on Merton Street, saw the extraordinary decorations and asked if the couple wanted to watch the game at Scotiabank Arena because the Leafs never seemed to win their opening game of a series when he attended (The Leafs ended up winning 5-0).

Anticipating a Leafs’ win, the Adamsons made a lunch reservation Sunday. They still went despite their sorrows.

“The players should be very proud of themselves. They entertained us all season. They had an incredible year. They did a fantastic job in the playoffs. They played incredibly well. And we and the city couldn’t be more proud of them,” he said.

“I think once people get past the disappointment and the frustration and the anger, they’ll be left with a memory of a team that really did an amazing job and made us all proud. We need to keep being hopeful and positive. It’s going to happen. We can do this.”

‘‘ I think once people get past the disappointment and the frustration and the anger, they’ll be left with a memory of a team that really did an amazing job and made us all proud.

MIKE ADAMSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER