Steve "Dangle" Glynn describes himself as a "professional hockey fan."
To be more specific, a professional Toronto Maple Leafs hockey fan, with all of the ups and downs, love-hate, and frustration that entails.
Glynn has turned his passion into a profession. He’s a blogger on Sportsnet, a hockey YouTuber with a huge following, creator of The Steve Dangle Podcast, and the author of the appropriately titled book, This team is ruining my life (but I love them).
“I wasn’t sure about the title,” admitted Glynn. “What confirmed it for me, it was on the best-seller list for weeks, then when the Leafs were playing well, going into the playoffs, for four, five, six weeks it fell off the list. Then the Leafs were eliminated and it was back on.”
Glynn was at Experience Toys & Games in Bradford West Gwillimbury on Saturday, signing copies of his books and meeting with fans – both of the Steve Dangle reports and the Leafs. There was a lot of hockey talk – who’s going to play for the Leafs next season, who might be traded – from the ever-hopeful fan base.
He was asked if he played hockey as a kid.
The answer was no. “As a matter of fact, I’m just learning now,” Glynn said. He has now enrolled in an adult league – and recently scored his first goal “ever, ever, ever.”
He admitted that writing the book was a challenge.
“I thought I’d write 1,000 words a day during hockey season,” Glynn said.
Instead, he got caught up in the games, and his passionate, over-the-top reporting. “I was forced to write half the book in a month and a half – and then the basement flooded,” he said.
Fans chatted and posed for photos.
Andrew Somerville came all the way from Maryland in the U.S. to meet Glynn and get an autograph.
Actually, said friend Megan McClure, Somerville was coming up to Newmarket for a visit – but planned the trip around the book signing.
Glynn was asked about his busy schedule – blogging, posting to YouTube at all hours of the night after each Leafs hockey game, appearing in commercials, and doing his Steve Dangle podcasts, from the "Leafs shrine" in his basement.
“My wife loses her mind sometimes, but it’s rewarding,” he said with a grin.
