Greetings and salutations! My name is Mike, but you may all know me better as FiftyMissionCap! I am pleased to introduce myself as a new contributor for Pension Plan Puppets for the 2015-16 season.
As an introduction, here are some things you should know about me.
Who are you?
I am a 28-year-old Toronto native who has lived on the West Coast since 2005. Since leaving the GTA, I've lived in Victoria, Edmonton, Victoria again, and am about to move to Vancouver, where I can expect to get into several shouting matches with Canucks fans about who will win the draft lottery and the merits of 4:00 p.m. game times.
I joined the site as a commenter in October 2009, in the throes of the Leafs going 0-7-1 to start their season. Now, in what is expected to be a pretty painful season, I join the writing staff. Life comes full circle sometimes.
When not yelling on Twitter about the Leafs, I can usually be found yelling about the Buffalo Bills or Toronto Blue Jays. My other hobbies include: Netflix, golf, beer league softball, long walks on the beach while reminiscing about Phil Kessel, and being stepfather for a really crazy cat.
Why are you a Leafs fan?
Short answer: I enjoy masochism and perpetual sadness. Also, booze.
Okay; not really.
I was born and raised in Toronto, so it was hard not to be a Leafs fan. While I dabbled in Colorado Avalanche fandom in my elementary school years due to Joe Sakic, the Pat Quinn era cemented my fandom for life. My parents, who imposed a strict bedtime on weeknights, let me stay up to watch every game in the 1999 Conference Final run. By 2002, I was regularly watching regular season games. I almost cried when I watched the Hurricanes end the most promising Leafs Cup run of my generation that year.
Leaving Toronto only solidified my fandom. Technology was not in 2006 what it is now, so I was relegated to listening to radio feeds and refreshing game summaries to keep up with games not broadcast in my region. Not getting access to every game fuelled my passion and made me excited and fortunate for the games I did get to see on television.
What are you going to be writing?
Game previews and recaps, mostly.
Why do you want to write for PPP?
I am passionate about the Leafs and have enjoyed my time bantering with people in the FTBs about topics ranging from line combinations to cargo shorts, Taylor Swift, and condiments. I also like the direction of this site in both its hockey analysis and discussion of important social issues as they pertain to hockey and hockey fandom. It is something I want to be a part of in some way.
Can we follow you on Twitter?
Yes. My Twitter account is @50_MissionCap. It is slightly different from my SBN username because someone on Twitter already took that. Deuces.