"As soon as the reference to Matthews winning the gold medal over Canada was said over the PA, calling him a gold medalist and showing pictures of him wearing the Team USA sweater was put on the jumbotron, the crowd rose to a fairly overwhelming amount of boos."
"But to calm the waters and not make it seem like Leafs fans suddenly hate their captain because he captained the team that won the gold medal over Canada last Sunday, and then controversially visited the White House earlier this week; the crowd erupted more into a cheer after several seconds of heckles."
"As seen in the video provided by Sportsnet's AIlish Forfar, a smattering of fans were standing up and clapping, making it known what side of the fence they sit on in regards to the international controversy."
The Toronto Maple Leafs honored three Olympic athletes during their first home game after the Olympic break against the Ottawa Senators. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Nylander received positive receptions, but Auston Matthews, the Team USA captain and gold medal winner, drew significant booing from the crowd when his achievement was announced. The negative reaction stemmed from Matthews leading the American team to victory over Canada and his subsequent White House visit. However, the boos were followed by cheers from supporters, creating a mixed response. Some fans stood and applauded to show their support for the captain despite the controversy surrounding his international competition and diplomatic appearance.
Read at Editor In Leaf
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