If I mention the name Damon Stoudamire and you find yourself recalling fond memories of him as a Raptor, then you’re likely a Toronto Raptors fan like me. As a fan, we took pride in watching our ‘Mighty Mouse’ scorch the opposition but more importantly, we were even prouder to see our first ever draft pick win the 1996 Rookie of the Year Award. I wouldn’t consider myself pre-historic but I’ve been following the Raptors since they were born. From their days of infancy to their teenage years, they’ve had their fair share of ups and downs. Like every team gaining years of experience, they’re now finally a team on the rise. Many of us can recall the year we turned nineteen. Usually, it’s a year to remember. For the Toronto Raptors, they are giving us a year we will never forget.
It’s easy to say the Raptors have had a great year thus far, but it wasn’t long ago when they were in jeopardy of becoming extinct again for another year. The end of 2013 was looking like many Raptor years of the past; playoff-less. In their inaugural year, they had a winning percentage close to the value of a shiny new quarter. It wasn’t much but at least we finally had a team we could call our own. The trend of having a losing record continued for three more years. Despite the lack of success, in came Vinsanity. In 1998, the Raptors drafted an unbelievable talent in Vince Carter and with just one of his incredible dunks, he put Toronto on the NBA map with ease. Heading into the new millennium, the Raptors did something that had never been done before in the history of the franchise; they were headed to the NBA playoffs. The team was locked and loaded with the ammunition of young talent in Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter. But it was a quick fall from the sky when they faced a team grounded and filled with experience in the New York Knicks.
The following year (2001) was the year I felt most conflicted as a fan passionate about the game of basketball and of the Raptors. They advanced to the next round of the playoffs, getting their revenge against the New York Knicks. In the second round, they were facing the Philadelphia 76ers. I was torn between supporting the team I belonged to and cheering on a player they had no answer for who I fully admired; Allen Iverson. To this day, it’s the most exciting playoff series in the history of the Raptors. The city may have had their hearts broken by losing in game 7, but you could sense the beginnings of a country’s growing love for the game of basketball. Unfortunately, even the unbridled support of a country couldn’t carry the Raptors to future victory. The city began questioning where the heart lay for some of the players. Many felt change was imminent. And just like that in 2004, the man we considered half-man, half-amazing was taking his full arsenal to the New Jersey Nets.
From 2006 to 2008, despite the Raptors having a winning season in both years, they could find no success in the first round of the playoffs. From there, they couldn’t unlock their losing habit or the door to the playoffs across the next five seasons. They never fell to the low of their inaugural year when it came to the number in the wins column, but they came close. In 2011, they were only one game better with 22 wins and in 2012 only two with 23 wins. Losing that much is one tough pill for any fan to swallow.
Let’s avoid reliving any further disappointments and jump straight to December 2013. The NBA world saw the Raptors as a team in need of rebuilding for the future of the organization. That belief was just made stronger with one trade that saw one talented player being shipped out of Toronto for a bunch of role players. But only three short months later, the Raptors have accomplished what any team sets out to do at the start of any sport season, improve their city…in more ways than one.
The Raptors have once again opened the door to the playoffs, but not how they’ve ever done it in the past. Despite adding new faces, they’ve found the way to play as a complete team; they’ve made sacrifices as a team; they’ve mentally matured their game as a team; and the Toronto Raptors have turned 19 years old, growing into adulthood understanding the meaning of winning, as a team. No one knows what will happen in the playoffs, but one thing is for certain, like many Raptor fans out there you can count on me supporting my loudest, chanting “Go Raptors Go.” Whatever happens this Spring, I just want to thank the Toronto Raptors for having a season like no other. And if things don’t go as well as we all would like, I hear on their 20th birthday, the basketball world will see the Toronto Raptors the way their fans have been seeing them for all these years…as an All Star.
Nutology 