DimeMag.com Says Bosh is as Good as Gone

[Apollo]

The following comes from DimeMag.com and let me point out that these guys are typically as positive about the Raptors as American media gets. They are typically very fair towards the team. First, the shout out to the guys here at RR who have been kicking ass and taking names in the blog world all season long:

For the past few weeks, we’ve been going back and forth with our good friends over at RaptorsRepublic, the premier site for all things Toronto Raptors, about whether or not Chris Bosh will bounce to another team via free agency this summer. After some solid debate, we thought that we would put it online, with both sides making their arguments public for our readers.

Below is Dime’s take. Check it out and then follow the links to Raptors Republic for their side …

Now then, the meat:

Chris Bosh is leaving Toronto. Not because he doesn’t like the city (which he does) or because he’ll never win a ring there (which he won’t), but because Chris Bosh needs the limelight. That’s something that he’ll never quite get above the border.

So before Raptors fans start to charter flights from Toronto Pearson International to New York City to burn down the Dime office, hear me out. It doesn’t matter that you guys can offer the seven-year vet more money than any other suitor, because there are two things that you can’t offer him: a title and fame.

All of this would be different if the Raptors were a legit title contender.

As for the fame, from a marketing standpoint, markets such as New York City, Los Angeles and even Chicago and Houston to a lesser extent are where the money is. In terms of population, here’s how it breaks down: NYC has 8,363,710 people, LA has 3,833,995 people, Chicago has 2,853,114 people and Houston has 2,242,193 people. Yes, I know Toronto has a population of about 2.5 million people, but there is a difference. It’s called the Madison Avenue/Rodeo Drive factor.

If Bosh played for the Knicks, because there’s so much more media in New York or Los Angeles, he has that much more of a chance to become a superstar. (Think of how everything A-Rod or Kobe does becomes national news.) As Dime’s Austin Burton once pointed out, “Why do you think Eddy Curry is a national joke while Sean May isn’t so much; because Curry plays for NY. Why was the Marbury drama so big nationally while nobody ever talked about Jamaal Tinsley? Because Steph played for NY.”

DimeMag.com

Thoughts? I'm not sure if Bosh could handle Patrick Ewing type pressure even if he went to NYC. L.A. would make more sense for Bosh and the Raptors. He could hide in Kobe's shadow if times got tough(not likely) and Colangelo could spin Bynum as an elite center of the future no matter if it's true or not.

Oh and for the rebuttal, in case you haven't seen the main page today...
Raptors Republic: "Sorry Dime Magazine, Chris Bosh Isn’t Gone Quite Yet"

[Bendit]

What??? He doesn't want to go to Miami? What if he does? That would mean that at least a third of Dime's thesis is out the window because of the great ancillary riches awaiting Bosh if he plays in NY or LA. It would be more enlightening if Dime could back this theory up with another ex Raptor's earnings in the NY area (yes the Nets play just across the river off Manhattan)...Vince Carter...how much more did he pull down in ad revenue by switching cities? Oh, I forgot, Bosh will be winning a championship when he goes to the Knicks and have LBJ put him over the top. Can we all agree that LBJ is numero uno and Bosh will be helping him? Last I heard, the marketing world works like this...ride the top dog...the rest tend to be just that ...the supporting cast. It will be LBJ on the cover and his team (incl. Bosh standing behind him).

Another part of the thesis..."Bosh needs the limelight". What can I say? If Dime got this on good inside info and especially if they point to any public utterings of CB hinting this (other than his "winning" statement of last week) then we would surely like to know. Well who doesnt...and one can try and demystify the quality of "limelight" in Toronto I suppose. All I know is that there are many a dancer who chooses the National Ballet Co. in TO or a Oscar Peterson type musician who lived here in Mississauga, or world famed surgeons who operate in Ottawa or TO etc etc. As a matter of fact there are many Americans in academia who move to Canada to do research and teach. So I suppose, limelight, might be differently defined. And if that is truly the reason Bosh moves and is his route to happiness then I supose he must go. But to this fan of the team (primarily because this is my city) ...it was nice knowing ya...and you departed for the shallowest of reasons.

As far as pressure goes, NY fans are no different from TO fans...they just want their players to play hard. Bosh has always shown he doesnt dog it as a rule...so he'll be fine there. But if he is there by himself I cant see him doing any better than here....basketball wise or car dealership ads.

[Apollo]

NY fans are way more hostile than Toronto fans. Come on now man... The media down there isn't very fair either.

I think he's gone because he's tired of not making the playoffs and/or not accomplishing anything in the playoffs. Colangelo made a poor sales pitch this season. I think he will land on the team of his choice and get his max money contract. I am hoping its with a team that's capped out because Toronto is more likely to get some servicable players back, maybe even a borderline star?

[Bendit]

NY fans are really only hostile to those who consistently miss open/big shots or dont play hard. Now I am distilling this but this is true. Eg. They loved Oakley and had a love hate relationship with Ewing...cause he didnt take them to the promise land....and a Starks who used to run hot and very cold. And of course Isiah's time was a disaster. Toronto fans would have ripped some of the teams and players if they played here.

Yes there are a lot of newspapers/radio in the area competing for scraps and gossip but NY is really a baseball town before its a basketball one so the stories are even more vicious in that sport. I lived there for a while so I write from a bit of exposure. I would bet that the Montreal newspapers are even more vicious about the Canadiens than the NY papers in any sport.

Your reasoning is much more plausible than the stuff in the piece. I can understand that...a player wanting the highest accomplishment in their field/sport. But beware Bosh...or you may become third option on a team (like Carter) and still no trophy.

[mo-sales]

Fear of being out of the limelight is the least of my worries for why Bosh would leave. If anything he seems to be a fairly laid back guy who enjoys being able to go out in public and not be mobbed everytime he wants to buy a pair of shoes. I've never seen him in public and would mob him, but thats besides the point.

There are two great tragedies in life, the first is not getting what you want and the other is getting it.

[DonCarlos]

I love how Americans try to play down the sheer size of the GTA. The Greater Toronto area, according to the 2006 census, is 5.6 million. And that still doesn't count Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Hamilton and Barrie, all cities within an hour's drive of Toronto. That's well in excess of 6 million people within about 100 kilometers of the ACC.

[Bendit]

I love how Americans try to play down the sheer size of the GTA. The Greater Toronto area, according to the 2006 census, is 5.6 million. And that still doesn't count Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Hamilton and Barrie, all cities within an hour's drive of Toronto. That's well in excess of 6 million people within about 100 kilometers of the ACC.

The Toronto area is one of the best kept secrets around. Personally, I'd rather keep it that way. While we have our problems they are somewhat miniscule in comparison to the large urban centres in the US. I see where the commute for the avg. worker into the downtown area is longer than LA!! I suppose some would call this "progress"??

[brothersteve]

We must be getting near the end of season.

The completely unfounded speculation about who will go where and why has started. And as usual, it will be 100% wrong - probably not even pointed in the right general direction.

I think I'll wait until after the Raps are out of the playoffs to ramp up the unfounded rumor mill.