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I've been a die-hard Raptors fan for a very long time. Like many of you, after Raptors wins, I obsess of media coverage (social media, TV shows, podcasts, newspaper articles); after Raptors losses, I completely black all those outlets out - it's too tough to consume.
Last night, I witnessed our franchise achieve the pinnacle of success, and - surprisingly - my reaction was more subdued than I thought. I thought I would be wailing, crying, and generally acting like a hot mess. When Kawhi hit that iconic game 7 winner against the 76ers and the Raptors completed the mid-series sweep of the Bucks, I was overcome with emotion in the aftermath in both of those games; yet, I was eerily silent when the game clock hit all zeros for the chip.
I thought long and hard about why I had this reaction and my only conclusion is that I think I was relieved.
Being a Raptors fan, we got so much hate, or even worse, dismissal from US media and basketball fans outside of Canada. As much as we try not to let that bother us, it bothers us. And, in my mind, the only way to legitimize our existence, seemingly, is to have undeniable success - winning it all is undeniable success. They can't take a championship away from us. No excuses, no asterisks. We outlasted all teams.
We have also suffered so much: from years of not making the playoffs, to getting bounced (and sometimes swept) in the first round by inferior teams, to Lebronto and LBJ's complete ownage of the Raptors over the last several seasons. We've under-performed and under-delivered minus the one year we were two games away from the Finals, but everyone knew that was more Cleveland taking their foot off the gas than us pushing that team into a deep, competitive series. We desperately needed to perform in the playoffs, to live up to the caliber of our talent, for once! To me, winning the series against the Bucks accomplished this. We're legitimately a Top 2 or 3 team in the league. Making it to the Finals affirmed that, and winning it all was the cherry on top.
More specifically, I was relieved for Kyle. Kyle has been the heart and soul of this team, and it's nauseating the amount of hate this guy gets, warranted or not, but mostly unwarranted. The talking points about Kyle being a joke in the playoffs was in full force entering game 6 based on his Draymond-tipped shot attempt at the end of game 5. The ring he now wears is a big F YOU to all those assholes and that narrative is now effectively dead. The man has a ring, and helped propel his team to that ring. 26 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and over 50% shooting from the field and from 3 - enough said.
Lastly, here are some other narratives we can put to rest:
(1) No one wants to play in Toronto - I don't know what player wouldn't want to play for a championship caliber organization.
(2) You can't win without multiple superstars - well, we just did.
(3) The East is a joke - the second place team in the East beat the West champs, and the first place team probably would have as well.
(4) Bucks, 76ers, and Celtics are the teams to watch out for in the East. They won't be ignoring Toronto anymore.
I'm going to spend the next few days enjoying and absorbing all the glory that winning a championship brings - it's all new to me as a Toronto sports fan. I'm happy that everyone in the city and across the country, especially us OG die-hards, has an opportunity to witness this.
Last night, I witnessed our franchise achieve the pinnacle of success, and - surprisingly - my reaction was more subdued than I thought. I thought I would be wailing, crying, and generally acting like a hot mess. When Kawhi hit that iconic game 7 winner against the 76ers and the Raptors completed the mid-series sweep of the Bucks, I was overcome with emotion in the aftermath in both of those games; yet, I was eerily silent when the game clock hit all zeros for the chip.
I thought long and hard about why I had this reaction and my only conclusion is that I think I was relieved.
Being a Raptors fan, we got so much hate, or even worse, dismissal from US media and basketball fans outside of Canada. As much as we try not to let that bother us, it bothers us. And, in my mind, the only way to legitimize our existence, seemingly, is to have undeniable success - winning it all is undeniable success. They can't take a championship away from us. No excuses, no asterisks. We outlasted all teams.
We have also suffered so much: from years of not making the playoffs, to getting bounced (and sometimes swept) in the first round by inferior teams, to Lebronto and LBJ's complete ownage of the Raptors over the last several seasons. We've under-performed and under-delivered minus the one year we were two games away from the Finals, but everyone knew that was more Cleveland taking their foot off the gas than us pushing that team into a deep, competitive series. We desperately needed to perform in the playoffs, to live up to the caliber of our talent, for once! To me, winning the series against the Bucks accomplished this. We're legitimately a Top 2 or 3 team in the league. Making it to the Finals affirmed that, and winning it all was the cherry on top.
More specifically, I was relieved for Kyle. Kyle has been the heart and soul of this team, and it's nauseating the amount of hate this guy gets, warranted or not, but mostly unwarranted. The talking points about Kyle being a joke in the playoffs was in full force entering game 6 based on his Draymond-tipped shot attempt at the end of game 5. The ring he now wears is a big F YOU to all those assholes and that narrative is now effectively dead. The man has a ring, and helped propel his team to that ring. 26 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and over 50% shooting from the field and from 3 - enough said.
Lastly, here are some other narratives we can put to rest:
(1) No one wants to play in Toronto - I don't know what player wouldn't want to play for a championship caliber organization.
(2) You can't win without multiple superstars - well, we just did.
(3) The East is a joke - the second place team in the East beat the West champs, and the first place team probably would have as well.
(4) Bucks, 76ers, and Celtics are the teams to watch out for in the East. They won't be ignoring Toronto anymore.
I'm going to spend the next few days enjoying and absorbing all the glory that winning a championship brings - it's all new to me as a Toronto sports fan. I'm happy that everyone in the city and across the country, especially us OG die-hards, has an opportunity to witness this.
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