Look, maybe my opinion is clouded by having spent a whole lot of time in Toronto these past three years - on two different projects. It is more clouded since I have been there off and on the past five months. But hot damn do I want to the Raptors to win the NBA Finals, because Toronto deserves it.
I was there when they crowded the streets to watch their Maple Leafs lose a second straight 7-game series to Boston. I have been there as their Raptors won a dramatic Game 7 against the 76ers with the most dramatic, most memorable, most picturesque of shots of all time.
I was there in a local Vaughan (northern suburb of Toronto) bar (Moose & Firkin) when they narrowly lost Game 1 to the Bucks, hearing the raucous noise in a quiet suburban outpost. I was there in spirit when Jurassic Park went crazy when they finished off the Bucks. I will be there next week (sadly, the week the games are in the Bay). I want to be there when that great city gets its just rewards.
I think people have Toronto all wrong. It is seen as an underdog, a challenger. No. This is one of the biggest cities in the World. If you go population within city limits, it is #4 in North America (behind just Mexico City, New York City and Los Angeles). If you go by within its Metro Area, it is #7 (those three, plus Chicago, Houston and Dallas). It is one of the world's leading financial and business capitals. It is a massive, massive city, home to mega corporations - two of whom jointly own the Raptors.
It is also a beautiful, multi-cultural, fun as hell city. I've spent a few weekends in Toronto during my various projects (and once, coincidentally, a few months before my first project there began) and loved it every time. Toronto is one of North America's great cities, and it deserves a title again.
It's been 26 years since Toronto won a title, with the Blue Jays winning their second of two straight World Series. The Blue Jays them immediately started to become annoyingly average, rarely bottoming out, but always winning between 75-85 games, swallowed up by the Yankees and Red Sox dominance.
The Maple Leafs have laughably gone 60+ years without a Stanley Cup, a failure that is all to well worn around the city of Toronto like an anchor dragging them down. Unlike Boston did with the Red Sox, they don't wear this infamous streak with pride. Hockey is Toronto. Toronto is Hockey - housing the Hall of Fame. But for too long Lord Stanley's Cup has escaped them.
The pressure then falls to the Raptors, a team that has grown so instrumental in the sports fabric of the city. It all started with the 'We The North' chant, a lasting gift of Game of Thrones. Maybe we should laugh that the team's name and nickname are both lifted from pop culture, but dammit does it work.
The Raptors are a great team. In any non-Warriors world, they are clearly good enough to win a title. They may end up doing so anyway, as the loss of Durant will be felt more here than in the prior round (of course, KD may come back). And hopefully even if they don't, they've done enough on this run to convince Kawhi to stay.
It bothered me so much when people just assumed Kawhi would ahte Toronto. Is it cold? Sure. But aside from that and the taxes (which wouldn't be so much better if he moves to the Lakers or Clippers), there is nothing to hate about Toronto. From what I've read, many NBA players love the road trip there.
The idea that Kawhi would hate Toronto because it's not a 'fun' place always grated on me (though this is not purely a Toronto idea - I hate the fact all warm weather people seem to think it is impossible to enjoy a cold-weather city). The idea that Kawhi couldn't make endorsement money or be as large a star was even dumber. Again, this is one of the 10-largest markets in North America by any definition, and with the Raptors being, to some degree, 'Canada's Team', the actual potential endorsements are ahead of maybe any US market.
Toronto deserved better, and they deserve this run to teh Finals. And hopefully, for their sake, they put up a great fight if not win the damn thing. Not because of how great it would be for little Canada to get a title, but because this megapolis deserves to be seen as one; as one of North America's best
I was there when they crowded the streets to watch their Maple Leafs lose a second straight 7-game series to Boston. I have been there as their Raptors won a dramatic Game 7 against the 76ers with the most dramatic, most memorable, most picturesque of shots of all time.
I was there in a local Vaughan (northern suburb of Toronto) bar (Moose & Firkin) when they narrowly lost Game 1 to the Bucks, hearing the raucous noise in a quiet suburban outpost. I was there in spirit when Jurassic Park went crazy when they finished off the Bucks. I will be there next week (sadly, the week the games are in the Bay). I want to be there when that great city gets its just rewards.
I think people have Toronto all wrong. It is seen as an underdog, a challenger. No. This is one of the biggest cities in the World. If you go population within city limits, it is #4 in North America (behind just Mexico City, New York City and Los Angeles). If you go by within its Metro Area, it is #7 (those three, plus Chicago, Houston and Dallas). It is one of the world's leading financial and business capitals. It is a massive, massive city, home to mega corporations - two of whom jointly own the Raptors.
It is also a beautiful, multi-cultural, fun as hell city. I've spent a few weekends in Toronto during my various projects (and once, coincidentally, a few months before my first project there began) and loved it every time. Toronto is one of North America's great cities, and it deserves a title again.
It's been 26 years since Toronto won a title, with the Blue Jays winning their second of two straight World Series. The Blue Jays them immediately started to become annoyingly average, rarely bottoming out, but always winning between 75-85 games, swallowed up by the Yankees and Red Sox dominance.
The Maple Leafs have laughably gone 60+ years without a Stanley Cup, a failure that is all to well worn around the city of Toronto like an anchor dragging them down. Unlike Boston did with the Red Sox, they don't wear this infamous streak with pride. Hockey is Toronto. Toronto is Hockey - housing the Hall of Fame. But for too long Lord Stanley's Cup has escaped them.
The pressure then falls to the Raptors, a team that has grown so instrumental in the sports fabric of the city. It all started with the 'We The North' chant, a lasting gift of Game of Thrones. Maybe we should laugh that the team's name and nickname are both lifted from pop culture, but dammit does it work.
The Raptors are a great team. In any non-Warriors world, they are clearly good enough to win a title. They may end up doing so anyway, as the loss of Durant will be felt more here than in the prior round (of course, KD may come back). And hopefully even if they don't, they've done enough on this run to convince Kawhi to stay.
It bothered me so much when people just assumed Kawhi would ahte Toronto. Is it cold? Sure. But aside from that and the taxes (which wouldn't be so much better if he moves to the Lakers or Clippers), there is nothing to hate about Toronto. From what I've read, many NBA players love the road trip there.
The idea that Kawhi would hate Toronto because it's not a 'fun' place always grated on me (though this is not purely a Toronto idea - I hate the fact all warm weather people seem to think it is impossible to enjoy a cold-weather city). The idea that Kawhi couldn't make endorsement money or be as large a star was even dumber. Again, this is one of the 10-largest markets in North America by any definition, and with the Raptors being, to some degree, 'Canada's Team', the actual potential endorsements are ahead of maybe any US market.
Toronto deserved better, and they deserve this run to teh Finals. And hopefully, for their sake, they put up a great fight if not win the damn thing. Not because of how great it would be for little Canada to get a title, but because this megapolis deserves to be seen as one; as one of North America's best
