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Is MLSE "Over-Canadianizing" the Raptors?

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  • #16
    I agree with the gist of what the OP is saying. Count me as part of the crowd that misses the purple. There's no need to "Canadianize" this team, that will happen automatically if the team becomes good. You think a guy in Edmonton is going to be affected by these little PR stunts? No. Either he views the lone Canadian representative in the NBA as "Canada's team" or he doesn't, no amount of rebranding is going to change his mind. I think all this promotion could even backfire because it sometime seems like you're shoving the brand down people's throats rather than then just picking it up naturally, which is the way you really build fans.

    In short, there's no need to promote the Toronto Raptors as Canada's team, it's already implied and all that's stopping people in Manitoba from buying Raptors jerseys is the team being good and representing, not phony ads and marketing gimmicks.

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    • #17
      Theirs A LOT of casual NBA fans in Canada that either support no team in particular or completely follow another team besides the Raptors (my buddies LOVE Houston for some reason for example). Lets say theirs 5 Million casual fans in Canada for the picking (completely random guess). Why shouldn't the Raptors do their best to identify to them?! Completely committing to a city can be quite limiting... I bet you there are tons of people within Ontario that despise the Leafs/Argos/Jays/FC etc because of other factors or that they are closer to other major cities that have rivalries with some Toronto teams etc (Buffalo, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Detroit, etc) that make them avoid the Toronto sports market...


      I'm living proof that this type of marketing can work.... I live in Calgary and as a kid (in Sask - before i went all hardcore NBA) I had Grizzlies paraphernalia... but as a teenager I started getting into the league and subconsciously decided on the Raptors because I root for underdogs (which they were and continue to be). Being in Canada just happened to be the factor that put them over the top... Just like the Jays (but now I hate baseball).

      Another example is hockey where I obviously root for my hometeam first - but when they get knocked out of the playoffs (and inevitably choke lol) I will root for ANY Canadian team. Even the Oilers (hated enemies). Why? Because no Canadian team has won since 1993 (17 years!?!). When My CFL teams (CGY/SSK) don't make the dance I will almost always root for the Western finalists.


      As far as the MLSE paranoia - If anything MLSE is just copying the Jays on how to capitalize on the Canadian market...

      Other comparable examples? Plenty in non-team sports, but that's a different story.
      When Tom Chambers dunks an NBA player gets their hops...

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      • #18
        Jordan-Drexler wrote: View Post
        I think it's fine when the team is expanding or even growing. But when the team is trying to find an Identity it shouldn't be as "that Canadian team". A perfect example is the Blue Jays and the MLB. How many people know they were a back to back world series champion. They don't have things like that known as common knowledge (at least in my opinion) because they stick to the aspect that they are Canadian and that makes them diffrent.

        I'm not saying embrasing Canada is a bad thing or it shouldn't be done.My Problem is that MLSE it trying to take the Raptors and say they're "That Canadian team that plays basketball" instead of being "that Basketball team that plays in canada". And to me thats quite a big diffrence.
        I really have no idea what you're talking about. The Jays are non-existent outside of Toronto, as far as I have seen. And even if they weren't, the reason the Jay's World Series wins aren't more well known says more about the Jays lack of marketing than anything else. I used to be a fan of the Jays and even watched one of the World Series games in person, as well as gathered on the street with everyone else when they won, but since I've moved to Vancouver, there's nothing.

        And marketing the Raptors to the rest of Canada has no effect on how they're viewed outside of Canada. In the end, the name of the team is the Toronto Raptors. That's what people see.

        blackjitsu wrote: View Post
        As far a Jay goes BOTH Colangelo's have a lot invested in him. This guy has earned everything he has got.

        He should have never been fired from Team Canada. (We can debate whether he deserved to keep his current role but he definitely deserved a shot at it) The Grizz stole him from Simon Frasier (whose program never recovered in my opinon) and as an alum of Carleton -- a school that would eventually benefit from his departure when Coach Smart took over -- I still smile
        You're very right about Triano, although I do think it was a bit of a marketing ploy for the Grizzlies to hire him, although a smart one. He had connections to local basketball, which made him quite useful. I just wish they would have made more use of him.

        On a side note, I'm also a Carleton grad. I tried out for the basketball team one year but didn't make the cut. I was not impressed with the coach, at the time, and not because he cut me. He trapped all the guys trying out in the lockeroom after one session and let some people from Athletes in Action proselytize to us about our "relationship with Jesus Christ". I wasn't impressed at all and if I hadn't been worried it might have affected my chances I would have walked out. I think that was the point.

        SirChillyMost wrote: View Post
        Why not just put another NBA team in Vancouver?smh The dollar is not a problem plus the Vancouver business & media infrastructure has grown immensely since the Grizzlies left ie Olympics....
        That would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath. It was a very dark day when the Grizzlies left town. A very good friend worked for them while they were in Vancouver and told me stories that made me ill. It was no wonder they left considering how the team was run.

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        • #19
          jamesk wrote: View Post
          I personally despise the Canadiana theme...the red & white, the Toronto inspired roster. If it were up to me, it would be purple and black road jerseys with Toronto on the front, white and purple home, the claw as the primary logo, and some more players who've been to college, growing up preparing for the nba, not fiba. That said, talent can come from anywhere, but you won't see many Stanley cups with a foreign based roster (see Washington), but the right addition of world class talent can help ( see red wings-Larianov).
          As for the coaches, the best coaches have the best players (see Jackson, Phil)
          +1

          The Toronto Raptors of the 90s, i.e. the original team under Isiah and Grunwald is so hard to identify with nowadays because of all the changes and the strong focus on Canada.

          When the Grizzlies were still in Vancouver, you could really sense a "Toronto vibe" from the Raptors. Now I have a hard time identifying the team with the city of Toronto-- more like a team Canada or some domestic euro team. I'm not a fan of the changes at all. I feel a disconnect with the current state of the team. In fact when I found out that they took out the claw and replaced it with a maple leaf, I was pretty disappointed and it only further made me feel alienated from this team.

          NCAA/American Players have a hard enough time coming here with all the stereotypes and the history of the Raptors with big name athletes... by marketing the Raptors as "Team Canada" with all the emphasis on Canadian content, they're only separating themselves even further from the rest of the league and making the experience for American athletes playing here feel more foreign than it really should.

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          • #20
            Just one other quick comment: Rather than MLSE spending all this money and effort in their mass marketing of the Raptors as Team Canada, if they just invested some money in their NBA scouting and actually drafted players that could bring exciting high-level play to the court on a nightly basis, I'm sure they wouldn't have issues getting people to notice across Canada- not to mention the US as well as the international market. Vince Carter was one of the most recognizable athletes on a global scale. When you build a team filled with boring one dimensional jump shooters, you're gonna have no choice but to start changing the colours and embedding maple leafs on jerseys.

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            • #21
              They shouldn't change the name. Personally I love the name and the logo, I'm sad too see them take out the claw.

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              • #22
                I also don't think anyone is really getting the reasoning behind the maple leaf. I'm pretty sure it's less about "Canada-ifying" the Raptors and more about making a connection with the ownership- Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. I can't stand hockey, but here in Vancouver, I'm well aware the team changed the logo to connect it to Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment by putting an orca in it. It makes little sense with the Canuck name, but I don't think they're trying to attract whale enthusiasts.
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                • #23
                  Tim W. wrote: View Post
                  I also don't think anyone is really getting the reasoning behind the maple leaf. I'm pretty sure it's less about "Canada-ifying" the Raptors and more about making a connection with the ownership- Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. I can't stand hockey, but here in Vancouver, I'm well aware the team changed the logo to connect it to Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment by putting an orca in it. It makes little sense with the Canuck name, but I don't think they're trying to attract whale enthusiasts.
                  You never know.

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                  • #24
                    RaptorsFan4Life wrote: View Post
                    They shouldn't change the name. Personally I love the name and the logo, I'm sad too see them take out the claw.
                    Agreed. The old raptor looked stupid, but I love the claw. I really like the black jerseys, and I disliked the purple jerseys so I'm not sorry that purple is gone.

                    I like the name, too. I wasn't big on the Huskies throwback jerseys and I really don't want the team changing its name.

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                    • #25
                      I am not a fan of the maple leaf on the Blue jays or the raptors, but any other criticism is national insecurity in its worse form. If you don't like that the team is being marketed as Canada's team then you better hope that another team comes back to Canada. I've never been a fan of purple so, I prefer this colour scheme.

                      Get over yourselves, this is canada's team and it will be marketed as such.
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                      • #26
                        Karl Marx wrote: View Post
                        Suggestion:

                        DON'T pull in the soft Euros that have been the downfall of the Raps! Instead, "Canadianize" the Raps BY BRINGING IN CANADIAN PLAYERS! I assume that Canada has plenty of solid native born players to pick from.

                        - Not a bad idea, Eh?
                        Yeah, lets have Joel Anthony and Rautins start for the raptors, thats a great idea!

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                        • #27
                          Karl Marx wrote: View Post
                          Suggestion:

                          DON'T pull in the soft Euros that have been the downfall of the Raps! Instead, "Canadianize" the Raps BY BRINGING IN CANADIAN PLAYERS! I assume that Canada has plenty of solid native born players to pick from.

                          - Not a bad idea, Eh?
                          I agree with Karl Marx. If you want to "Canadianize" the team, look for Canadian players. No more soft European players. They are not NBA oriented, even if they are high draft picks. Few of them can make the difference.
                          I like the colours much better than the purple-black ones. Red is more aggressive and more Canadian. Raptors are the only Canadian team, I cannot understand why they show that. Of course it is a marketing move but I like it.
                          BTW I am European, Greek.

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                          • #28
                            kcharito wrote: View Post
                            I agree with Karl Marx. If you want to "Canadianize" the team, look for Canadian players. No more soft European players. They are not NBA oriented, even if they are high draft picks. Few of them can make the difference.
                            Few soft players, wherever they are from, make much of a difference in the NBA. I would recommend filling your team with tougher players, whether they be American, Canadian or European. Give me a team of Tony Parker, Mickaël Piétrus, Linas Kleiza, Pau Gasol and Marcin Gortat over Baron Davis, J.J. Reddick, Jason Kapono, Charlie Villanueva and Eddy Curry any day.
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