Rooting against Maple Leafs bonding experience for father, daughter

TORONTO -- It is one thing to cheer against the home team when your favorite team is the opponent, but Erv and Dani Di Giusto have taken cheering against the Toronto Maple Leafs to a different level at Scotiabank Arena.

The father and daughter are Montreal Canadiens fans who live in Toronto and have Maple Leafs season tickets. But when it comes to what they wear to the game, well, let's just say, they own the jerseys for 31 of the 32 NHL teams. You can guess which one they don't own.

"We've been season ticket holders for a long time and my dad has always cheered for the opponent," Dani told NHL.com Wednesday. "Growing up I learned it's everything but Leafs. It really started this year with me because I started buying more of the jerseys; my dad always had them so this year we've been consistently wearing the opposing team's jerseys and coming to games cheering for the opposing team."

Dani and Erv have become internet celebrities as the playoffs have rolled along; they were shown on TV wearing Tampa Bay Lightning jerseys in Toronto during the Stanley Cup First Round and were shown again on TV on Tuesday cheering for the Florida Panthers in a 4-2 win against the Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the second round.

"We know when the camera lady looks at us, there's a little red dot so we know we're on TV but either way like 10 seconds later, we're both getting texts from people saying, 'We saw you on TV!' so we know pretty quickly when we've been on," Dani said.

Despite them essentially trolling the Maple Leafs in their own arena, Dani said the Maple Leafs fans who see them wearing the opponent's jersey have not been too unkind.

"Fortunately, not too many mean comments so I really appreciate the Toronto fans for that because I know they could say a lot more mean stuff but they tend to be pretty good about it," Dani said. "We're kind of known as the anti-Leaf fans but there really hasn't been any negative experience so that's been very good."

Erv has held Maple Leafs season tickets dating back to when they played at Maple Leaf Gardens, which closed in 1999. He attends every Maple Leafs home game. Dani said going to almost every Toronto home game with her dad has been something that has brought them closer over the years.

"My dad always liked watching Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur and the Habs are the rivals of the Leafs so when Montreal wasn't playing Toronto, it was just kind of 'okay we will cheer for the Habs and then whoever is playing the Leafs,'" Dani said. "For me I was taught to dislike the Leafs and cheer for the Habs instead. I used to play goalie so I really admired Carey Price and the way he played and me and my dad would always watch his games together."

With the Canadiens having failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, not surprisingly, Erv and Dani consider themselves Florida Panthers fans at least the rest of this round.

And if the Maple Leafs advance, you can bet they will be wearing New Jersey Devils or Carolina Hurricanes jerseys - and having a great time doing it.

"It's a cool bonding experience because at the end of the day we are all in the stadium cheering just to watch a good hockey game but there's something special because it's usually just us two cheering together on our own and there's something special about that doing it together with my dad," Dani said.