This is all one needs to know on how far the Raptors have come since the 1995 expansion days, a time every single person associated with the franchise should take to reflect on as Toronto gets set to play host to its first ever NBA Finals.
What follows is a portion of an email sent from a wellconnected basketball official whose client suited up for the Raptors back in the day.
The person wasn’t looking for any attention, but rather he was trying to frame what lies ahead for the club, its fans, the city, and the country from an historical backdrop.
It reads: “No matter what happens in the Finals, people in the U.S. really don’t know the stereotypical feeling NBA players thought of the Raptors (Canada) back then. All they thought of was, they had to go through customs every time they arrived, a bad team and they had to pay extra taxes. Taxes, taxes, taxes, lol.
“Back then, the closest thing to Drake was Drakes Cake snack. Then when they got there, they realized it was one of the nicest cities in the world with the nicest people in the world. Plus, they heard of this word called Caribana. Then they were hooked. One thing that organization has always done from Day 1 is treat everyone like they were family. I had been around almost a dozen teams by that time but nothing came close to the first class way the Raptors dealt with the players, their families and guests.”
Every single player who wore a Raptors uniform and who would leave, for whatever reason, always spoke of their time in Toronto with passion, joy and deep appreciation.
It was a foreign country where curling got more air time than basketball, when the word passport led to much consternation, when a routine check by customs would prove a huge inconvenience when players weren’t declaring the amount of shoes they purchased, usually from a famous shop in Atlanta.
Taxes, cold weather, education, you name it and anything that wasn’t American would be viewed with disdain.
But as time went on and as players began to warm up to Toronto and all it has to offer, it felt like home away from home, which is why more than a few players will be making their way here this week.
The Raptors have come a long way, all the way to a berth in the NBA finals and the whole basketball world is paying attention.
Make no mistake on how certain perceptions remain, one of the by-products of being the only non-U.S.-based club, but everyone and anyone who comes to Toronto from the U.S. for basketball has never left with a bad word to say.
The NBA is a global game and no event the league stages is as big as the finals with a reach that extends to virtually every continent and all points in between.
If you thought hosting the NBA all-star weekend was big, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Shooters from across the world will come to town on their private jets and spend oodles of money, to be seen and to enjoy all that is available.
People want to compare what the Raptors have accomplished to what the Blue Jays achieved in winning backto-back World Series, but the reality is there is no comparison.
The world has changed so dramatically in a quarter century since the Boys of Summer first beat Atlanta and then Philly, ‘Touch ’em all Joe’being replaced by Kawhi Not Us.
The Maple Leafs are big in Toronto, a status cemented by the presence of so many media members earning a living covering or opining or investing in the puck, but in terms of global reach there is no peer than what is about to unfold this week with the Raptors and Golden State Warriors to tip it off.
Short of an Olympics or World Cup, a full-scale version and not the co-host version coming in 2026, this is the biggest sporting event Toronto has ever and perhaps will ever see in a lifetime.
No one in China, India, Thailand, Australia, Nigeria could care less whether the Bruins or Blues win the Stanley Cup, whether Mitch Marner, if the Leafs were to advance to the championship series, will block a shot late in a game to seal a win.
This is Super Bowl week minus the Vince Lombardi Trophy and Roger Godell’s state of the union address.
It’s the Larry O’Brien Trophy and listening to a very intellectual commissioner in Adam Silver, who does not suppress basketball’s culture by stifling individuals’rights to self-expression.
In fact, he promotes it. Times have indeed changed and the Raptors’evolution from an expansion team to an NBA Finals appearance reflects how perceptions have dramatically altered.
For many, coming to Toronto meant hitting the strip clubs or ordering room service when indulging in pleasures of the flesh.
Mind you, that hasn’t changed coupled with Canada’s new cannabis laws.
The NBA Finals is a big deal, bigger than most can imagine.
Enjoy because one never knows when the next will arrive.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
