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(WARNING: This video contains language some may find offensive)
Toronto Maple Leafs fans are all too familiar with heartache. The team has the longest active Stanley Cup drought at 53 seasons, and the second-longest active playoff series victory drought in the NHL.
Their latest unceremonious exit from the first round was the latest notch in the long belt of heartache for the storied franchise. But somewhere deep in tragedy, a Cambridge-based musician found comedy.
On a whim, Rob Hughes recorded his reaction to the Leafs’ 16th consecutive playoff series loss. The video has since taken off and gone viral, as fellow Leafs fans found comfort commiserating together.
I hope this helps #LeafsNation pic.twitter.com/bZtzWPkmNL
— Rob Hughes (@olhughesie) June 1, 2021
“I take these losses hard,” Hughes said. “It makes me lose sleep and I wake up in the middle of the night and I can’t sleep. I was thinking about doing something just to take my mind off of it if they lost.
“I thought about doing a song, and I was thinking: What’s a song that’s half nice and half angry? and The Wedding Singer popped into my head.”
He adapted the lyrics from a song performed by Adam Sandler in the movie and turned it into a ballad for heartbroken Leafs fans. Hughes recorded it mere moments after the Montreal Canadiens ousted the Maple Leafs from the playoffs. He considered posting the video to TikTok, but sent it to friends instead as an inside joke.
They loved the song so much and uploaded the video to Twitter and it soon skyrocketed as Leafs Nation adopted it as their pseudo anthem in the loss’s aftermath. Once he saw the video gaining traction on his friend’s accounts, Hughes posted it to his personal Twitter account the next morning.
It’s since received over 160,000 views and the song was played on TSN Ottawa, it made headlines on BarDown, it was picked up Spittin’ Chiclets, and even got TV time on TSN’s Leafs Lunch and Sportsnet’s Tim & Friends.
Hughes plays bass and is lead singer of cover band called Shred Penner and they recently recorded a studio version of the Leafs song which they’re hoping to release soon.
Despite the heartbreaking circumstances, Hughes said the reaction to his video has been overwhelmingly positive from all circles; Leafs fans, Habs fans, and even fans who don’t have a dog in the fight.
“Leafs fans love it, Habs fans love it. If you love the Leafs you love it, if you hate the Leafs you love it. I think I’ve found this common ground,” Hughes said.
While he wishes the Leafs’ endgame was different, he found something cathartic about channeling his frustration into song. In the span of a 49 second clip, he distilled the entire Maple Leafs season into one succinct tune.
Had he not redirected his energy into the song, Hughes figures he would’ve taken the Leafs’ loss much harder. The response from fellow Leafs diehards gave him solace he wasn’t alone, as they also adopted the “keep laughing to keep yourself from crying” approach.
“When I posted it, I said: ‘I hope this helps.’ So many people reached out and said: ‘Thank you, this helped. This made me laugh,’” Hughes said.
