William Nylander Got A Fist Pump From An Elderly Leafs Fan Who Has Been Waiting Way Too Long For This Shit

Love how this older gentleman gets up and gives Nylander the ol' fist pump pic.twitter.com/VXUaL3vrqX

— Flintor (@TheFlintor) April 18, 2017

That's it. That's what makes the seemingly meteoric rise of the Toronto Maple Leafs so enjoyable. It's not just that they have a bunch of young, ridiculously talented players that are too damn inexperienced to even understand the levity of the situation and the playoff pressures that the back-to-back President's Trophy winners are all too familiar with, although that certainly helps. It's that they have a bunch of old, faithful fans that have been beaten down - time and time again - by the failures of their favorite team. The juxtaposition of a bunch of 18-20 year olds harboring an irrational belief in themselves to their fans who have been waiting for this type of excitement since the 60's and literally can't believe what they are seeing is simply delightful as a hockey fan. I, as well as everyone else, took my potshots at the Toronto Maple Leafs organization as they spent the last decade completely embarrassing themselves, but their resurgence is - without question - good for the sport.

I suppose the visual of an old man defying his age by shooting out of his seat to give a long overdue fist pump to someone that he could have easily grandfathered is something that could potentially be found in every NHL arena. However, the fact that it happened in a city that's been slowly dying for a bright future (that isn't lit by the end of the tunnel) and some meaningful playoff puck made this GIF that much more awesome. I think anyone that's not fearful of their own imminent demise (i.e. a Capitals fan) would agree.