It's that time of year again. Spring semester has wrapped up, the Florida weather has changed from hot to flaming hellscape, and the Toronto Raptors are no longer playing basketball. The first thing people usually ask me when I tell them I'm a Raptors fan is nothing because they usually don't care. Sometimes, however, someone will ask "Oh? Are you Canadian?" which often prompts a "Then why?" when I say no.
So to save time on those occasions people ask me, I'm gonna list them out and explain them here so I can just give them a link. Also if you're one of those people I gave the link to, future me says "Hi."
1. It's the closest team to my hometown.
Buffalo, New York is a great sports city. It's one of those cities where the teams are just ingrained into the culture. I can't remember a time when I tuned into a Bills or Sabres game and the crowd wasn't packed, even if it's the first week of December when it's 10 degrees out. And by that point, the teams most likely aren't even that good. The Bills are probably 5-7 with a six percent chance of making the playoffs and the Sabres have probably lost 12 games straight and have started tanking. Which makes it a travesty that Buffalo doesn't have an NBA team or even a G-League affiliate.
So in the absence of an NBA team, basketball fans in Buffalo have five teams to choose from:
1. The Knicks - This is probably the most popular choice because they're in-state (in a city that's 7 hours away) and have a pretty rich history. They're also a poorly run franchise with annoying fair-weather fans and I hate them.
2. The Nets - Similar to the Knicks but are somehow a worse organization. Most popular amongst the hipster trash.
3. The Clippers - Now at the surface-level this one seems a bit random until you find out that before moving to Los Angeles, they were the San Diego Clippers and before they moved to San Diego, they were the Buffalo Braves. This is probably the least acceptable because if you're a Buffalonian who supports the Clippers, you're actively betraying your city.
4. The Cavaliers - I hate LeBron.
5. The Raptors - High-quality team, great culture, best players, best mascot, 2-hour drive,10/10.
Now from my fair and balanced analysis, you can probably understand why I would choose to support the Raptors.
2. They're fun to watch.
I can't remember a time, in all my basketball watching years, when the Raptors have been boring to watch. Even when they're bad there's always been an exciting young player who's starting to come into their own. Even when a star leaves there's someone waiting in the wings to take over the team. When Vince Carter left, Chris Bosh stepped up, and then when he left DeMar DeRozan filled his shoes. Even now when the team is the best it's ever been they're developing players like OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet. When other teams are constantly tanking and rebuilding, the Raptors retain a culture of trying to win, which makes the games more enjoyable.
3. They have the best mascot.
I mean, seriously, what other NBA mascot is taking down a Dinosaur?
4. Canada is just cooler than the United States, top left.
There. I said it, free healthcare and poutine have swayed me .
5. Drake is our ambassador.
Do I need to say anything else?