Storyline: This is just the beginning for the Raptors. Toronto is hungry and so are the fans. “We North” will rise again!
They said the Toronto Raptors would repeat their past two playoff experiences – lose in the first round.
Courtesy: theplayerstribune.com
They said Miami would be facing the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals – doubting the Raptors before they even showed they had a chance to represent themselves.
They said the Cavs would sweep the Raptors in four games.
Stay away from “they” – word to DJ Khaled.
Not only did the Raptors FINALLY get the first-round monkey off their backs, they also won TWO Game 7s, making franchise history in the process. What other team can do that?
They were the underdogs in every series, having to prove themselves to the NBA. This team demanded your respect and attention, and they were definitely taken more seriously than the season before.
No team has ever lost Games 1 and 2 of a Conference Final by 15+ points and come back. After Game 4, the Raptors were tied 2-2 with the Cavs. The Toronto Raptors gave LeBron James and his Cavs a scare, ending their 10-game postseason win streak. ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith publicly apologized to “all Canadians everywhere” for counting out Toronto’s NBA team.
Courtesy: news.sportsinteraction.com
Although the two championship-starved cities ended up in a Game 6 in the 6ix, Cleveland came out and played a stronger, more beautiful game of basketball—stamping their trip to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row. But fans cheered for the Raptors in Air Canada Centre well after the game was over.
This post-season run by the lonesome NBA team ‘North of the Border’ meant so much, not only to the city of Toronto but to the whole country of Canada — where, by the way, the first NBA game was played. Back then the league was called the BAA and the first-ever game was the Toronto Huskies vs NY Knickerbockers on November 1, 1947.
Getting citizens to come watch games was hard, as Torontonians really only cared about hockey and their beloved Maple Leafs. By that summer the team was cancelled due to poor attendance and Toronto went without a professional basketball team — until they unveiled the purple Raptor in 1995.
Just this postseason alone, the outside of the Air Canada Centre was turned into the Jurassic Park. Over 2500 fans would pile in 2 hours prior to each game, to watch and cheer on their Raptors, as the game would be played on a big screen outside — no matter the weather.
During the end-of-season press conference Raptor Cory Joseph said that “it’s unbelievable what they (the fans) do for us without them even knowing it.” #31 Terrence Ross added that fans’ support “means the world to us.”
As the clock wound down late in the fourth quarter, the score 113-87 in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ favour, the crowd at the Air Canada Centre, began to chant as they had all postseason long: “Let’s Go Raptors.” They chanted into the dying seconds and they chanted when the clock ran out. The season — this historic season — was over.
Courtesy: fearthesword.com
LeBron James, who was being interviewed by ESPN’s Dorris Burke, praised Canadian fans: “First of all, do you hear this? Unbelievable respect and much respect to these fans, to this country – this is unbelievable. I’ve never been a part of something like this in my 13-year career. This is special and I really appreciate what this team did.”
The Raptors can and should be proud of what they’ve done this season, which was unambiguously the best season in their 21-year history. From the addition of their D-League team, including your-not-so-average rookie, Norman Powell, to hosting the All-Star Game for the first time ever and featuring Lowry and DeRozan, to a franchise-record 56-win regular season as frosting-on-top.
But it didn’t end there. The Raptors took their first-ever trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Mad props to the Raptors for the amazing run. Yes, the Raptors were outmatched by a better team, but they got a chance to measure themselves on the biggest stage.
It won’t stop here. These guys are hungrier than ever and so are the fans. The North will rise again! This is just the beginning!
