The joke is told often in towns like Cleveland, Minneapolis and on the north side of Chicago: "I want [insert favorite team here] to be the pallbearers at my funeral [pause for optimum punchline delivery], so they can let me down one last time." It's become a frequent utterance in Toronto, Ontario as well, as the local Maple Leafs have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967, the longest active drought in the NHL (excluding teams that entered the league after the Leafs but have zero Cups).
One fan wanted to take this joke to the next level though.
Terry Siebert of Hamilton, Ont., was a lifelong Maple Leafs fan. He passed away on July 21 at age 58.
In his death notice published in the Hamilton Spectator, it was noted that Siebert's last wish that his pallbearers be the Toronto Maple Leafs so that they could let him down one last time.
He didn't get the Leafs, but his friends and family made sure his final wish was granted in some small way. His pallbearers all wore Maple Leafs jerseys as they laid him in his final resting place.
One fan wanted to take this joke to the next level though.
Terry Siebert of Hamilton, Ont., was a lifelong Maple Leafs fan. He passed away on July 21 at age 58.
In his death notice published in the Hamilton Spectator, it was noted that Siebert's last wish that his pallbearers be the Toronto Maple Leafs so that they could let him down one last time.
He didn't get the Leafs, but his friends and family made sure his final wish was granted in some small way. His pallbearers all wore Maple Leafs jerseys as they laid him in his final resting place.