Why I Love Toronto

Let me count the ways... (and yes, most of them involve hockey)

1. My brother lives close by, on a lake, so I always have a free place to stay. :)

2. Seeing a game at the ACC is soooo much better than going to the Wachovia Center in Philly. Even if you're wearing the opposing team's sweater (as my brother and I were on Saturday), you can still have a friendly and intelligent conversation with the Leafs fans sitting behind you. We talked about why Hudler was a healthy scratch, how much none of us liked Kabina, the amazingness of Datsyuk and Zetterberg and why we all want Darcy Tucker to start scoring. No one was out of hand and everyone had an excellent time. Though those of us who wanted the Wings to win were slightly disappointed. Plus the program is beautiful. High quality printing, nice paper, all four-color photos and in-depth pieces on both Leafs and Wings. Much better than the flimsy program the Flyers sell that just tells you how great all the Flyers are, no matter what the real story is.

3. Everyone is nice. From the folks on the street to the vendors in the Air Canada Center, everyone was quite friendly and helpful and smiling. That's a far cry from Philly where people shove you out of the way to get in the beer line and flip you off in the parking lot if you walk in front of them. It was a nice surprise, considering the Canadian dollar is much stronger than U.S. currency right now, so they don't even need our stinkin' American dollars.

4. You can talk hockey with anyone. You also won't be considered a freak because you know the names of the referees and linesmen.

5. And speaking of money, I love the Loonie.

6. The CBC covered Hockey Day in Canada *all day*. It was great to see Ron McLean and Don Cherry in Winkler. This coming weekend is Hockey Day in the U.S. I'm sure it won't be on TV anywhere.

7. Singing "Oh Canada" rocks, while singing the U.S. national anthem is torturous.

8. The new Canadian McDonald's ads featuring goalie J.C. Petite. "Nice try, Nogoalov" cracks me up every time. J.C. may replace the Hockey Falls guys in my heart.

9. Snow!! We still have no snow in Philly. In February. Winter is all about snow in my book. The more the better.

10. Canadian average beer is better than U.S. average beer. Give me a Blue or a Canadian over a Coors Light anyday.