When We Were Young... It's 3:30am on a chilly Amsterdam night and I’m awake. I’m awake not because of the usual sleep disorder that I sometimes face. Or the sound of the TV that I left on. No, it’s something different this time. It’s a song that I absolutely love. It’s Billy Joel’s - "This Is The Time". It's one of my all time favorites for two reasons. One is the video by NBA TV that shows all of the greatest NBA players and different times of glory for our League. The other reason is the best reason. It brings me to think of a time when 14 guys came to a city to bring back a game that was born in Canada. A time when the game had to be reborn to a glorious city with the most passionate fans ever!! A time when we all were outcasts from other teams and we had one chance to make something great. It was a time when most thought we would fail. But to us this was the best time because it was .... WHEN WE WERE YOUNG. The time was 1995-1997 and Toronto was hot with ambition and promise. The 28th NBA franchise was about to begin its first season. A management group that was headed by basketball fan and businessman John Bitove, had spearheaded a group that finalized the deal and brought basketball back to Canada. It was the home of the games founder James Naismith. It was the start of a wonderful year filled with heartache, triumph, and celebrations. The city was ours if for only just that year. The Toronto Blue Jays were the toast of the town and the Toronto Maple Leafs had the tradition from years past. So it was a big deal to bring a basketball franchise to Ontario... Read on... http://thenbabreakdown.blogspot.com/2010/10/wright-way-no-chaser_24.html
