Beloved HNIC announcer insults Toronto Maple Leafs fans in new interview

"I found that as a broadcaster -- and everyone knew I was a Vancouver guy and that I lived in the city -- local people didn't think I was a big enough fan and the other guys thought I was too much of a fan."

"One of the downsides of having the top chair in Hockey Night in Canada is basically you become a Toronto Maple Leaf broadcaster because you're there every Saturday, whether they're good or bad. As the years have gone by, I've noticed a real change in fandom, a part of it social media I think... the local fan base expects their broadcasters to be like them.

They want fans and if you're not you must hate them and that's the problem you get when you're broadcasting on the national level out of Toronto is that they want a local broadcast but at the same time the broadcasters are broadcasting to every corner of the province.

You know, you might be broadcasting a game with the New York Islanders playing and the young men who play for the Islanders are from all different parts of Canada as well and their people are invested in it as well.

It's really a hard one to win in that sense and now you get judged every day on social media or every minute on social media, which has changed the aspect of broadcasting for the guys that are still doing it entirely."