I used to think that the Raptors had such a large fan base simply because they were one team representing an entire country, but lately I've noticed that it's not really the cross-country support that the Raptors have, but moreso local support from Ontario residents. I don't think I've ever seen such fan loyalty, especially after watching the fan turnout in the first game of the series with New Jersey. So me and my buddy were talking about reasons why you guys have so much support and came to the conclusion that it's because you guys don't have NCAA teams to compete with. In Canada, there's only the NBA as far as basketball goes, so fans are more loyal to their NBA teams than those living in America are. Anyone notice any truth to that theory?
Yea, I definitely agree with that. Ontario has a pretty decent basketball community. It's not like New York or anything, but there's more basketball fans in Ontario than the rest of the country. The problem is, our university basketball scene isn't all that interesting (the high school leagues get more coverage). All the best players go to college in the US, so basketball fans really only identify with one Canadian team. Not to mention, there are a lot of playoff-hungry Leafs fans that just converted to basketball when their team didn't make the playoffs.
<div class="quote_poster">Chutney Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yea, I definitely agree with that. Ontario has a pretty decent basketball community. It's not like New York or anything, but there's more basketball fans in Ontario than the rest of the country. The problem is, our university basketball scene isn't all that interesting (the high school leagues get more coverage). All the best players go to college in the US, so basketball fans really only identify with one Canadian team. Not to mention, there are a lot of playoff-hungry Leafs fans that just converted to basketball when their team didn't make the playoffs.</div> Just to expound on the topic, the thing that I think turns a lot of American basketball fans off of the NBA (and I'd be included in this category) is the commercialization of it. It's all about money, from the players to the league officials, whereas college basketball is all about loyalty and school pride. There are really a lot of issues that college fans have with the NBA, but that's usually at the heart of it all. Most avid college basketball fans I know in my personal life, and even on these forums (like UKFan, Schaddy, etc.) just stop watching basketball when the NCAA season is over, or if they follow the NBA, it's with half-hearted enthusiasm.
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Just to expound on the topic, the thing that I think turns a lot of American basketball fans off of the NBA (and I'd be included in this category) is the commercialization of it. It's all about money, from the players to the league officials, whereas college basketball is all about loyalty and school pride. There are really a lot of issues that college fans have with the NBA, but that's usually at the heart of it all. Most avid college basketball fans I know in my personal life, and even on these forums (like UKFan, Schaddy, etc.) just stop watching basketball when the NCAA season is over, or if they follow the NBA, it's with half-hearted enthusiasm.</div> If a similar choice was available for Toronto, I'm pretty sure there'd be the same sentiment among a lot of basketball fans. This city's a hockeytown and, as a result, there are certain qualities that people appreciate more than others: things like selflessness, toughness, passion, etc. A lot of people get a little turned off the NBA by the same problems that US college fans find. Vince Carter's a perfect example of this mentality. Its been 3 years since the trade and the Raps are finally a team worth watching, but he still gets a ridiculous amount of hate. People can't stand the hype, VC's passive personality, and the way he turned soft after his big contract. He's the exact opposite of the typical hockey player and he represents a lot of the problems that college fans have with the NBA too.
Having no college ball definitely helps, I lived in Chapel Hill for a year so I kinda got the flavor. I would go to school and say something related to the NBA and people would have no clue what was going on because they only followed NCAA. It's also true that we're a hockey town but I'd say the raptors do a good job carving out their niche. There's a solid group of people around who like their NBA, or maybe just something non-puck related. Win or lose this team always seems to find a way to be entertaining (off the court if not on). I've never followed a team that had so many random entertaining events happen in the background. Raptors news comes straight from the national enquirer it seems.
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Just to expound on the topic, the thing that I think turns a lot of American basketball fans off of the NBA (and I'd be included in this category) is the commercialization of it. It's all about money, from the players to the league officials, whereas college basketball is all about loyalty and school pride. There are really a lot of issues that college fans have with the NBA, but that's usually at the heart of it all. Most avid college basketball fans I know in my personal life, and even on these forums (like UKFan, Schaddy, etc.) just stop watching basketball when the NCAA season is over, or if they follow the NBA, it's with half-hearted enthusiasm.</div> Well in Toronto I'd think that the sense of pride is strong in Raptor fans too. The Raptors are marketed as "Canada's team", and as a result fans feel much more connected to the team. Even if there was a NCAA team here in Toronto, I don't think that people would be too engrossed in it. The Raptors are mainly supported by immigrants (brown, Asian, black etc) while the rich, white folks mainly play and watch hockey. Therefore, there won't be as deep a sense of affiliation from the majority of fans, whose parents have never been educated in Canada. The interest can come, but it'll take at least two generations to become fully rooted.
<div class="quote_poster">AirJordan Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I completely agree with you Locke, but don't forget all the middle-eastern fans</div> "brown".
