Yesterday a video made the rounds on social media of radio personality Sid Seixeiro from Toronto radio station the Fan 590 and his passion about the Raptors and their upcoming playoff run.
Back in 2011 he had a similar "rant" about the Canadian Men's National Soccer team.
I loved both of these passionate pleas for change. I've posted the videos below for your enjoyment.
Between the video and a conversation I had with someone yesterday about this very blog, I decided to go back through the past few years and see what I thought of the sports landscape a year a go, 2 years ago. ect.
Not much has changed. I still think the Toronto Rock deserve WAY more recognition that they get, I still think that TFC is the best team to support in Toronto, I still think that the Raptors play second fiddle to the Leafs in MLSE's mind and, I still think that the Jays just need to drop the "small market" b.s., really open up the cheque book and, start being a big game player like the Yankees or Tigers because the money is there with the ownership group.
There is one thing that has changed.
My opinion on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In 2012, when I decided to start blogging again, I was following the Leafs pretty closely. I thought that the times were changing for the better.
Fast forward to today and I just don't care anymore. Sure, the NHL having 2 lock-outs in 10 year span didn't help either but, the team has simply been given the patchwork treatment for years and years and never properly has been rebuilt. You can't do that in today's NHL. Look at a team like Colorado today, they were a bad team for years. But drafting Landeskog, Duchene and, Mackinnon took them from a bottom dweller to a competitor. Yes it takes years and patience but that is how you properly rebuild a team in today's salary cap world.
The Leafs will always have no issue selling tickets and people will blindly be fans. This is a fact. In Canada's biggest city with a history as rich as the Leafs and talking about Canada's most popular sport this is an inevitability. The thing the Leafs organization needs to worry about is people like me, the fans who have just turned from being a follower to simply not caring.
I don't hate the club. I obviously don't love the club, I just don't care.
A wise man once said "The opposite of love is not hate, it's apathy".
Yesterday was an interesting day for Toronto sports.
The first news of Phil Kessel re-signing with the Leafs broke, and now it seems like it will be an 8 year deal at 8 million per year. That's big money but he's also the big name player for this team so I don't feel strongly either way about the deal. It makes sense, offer him some more cash so he doesn't test the market.
The news of a roof at BMO field broke this past weekend (funny enough, I first saw the news on TV while eating a post TFC-game burrito in liberty village) and I've been looking for a good reaction from both supporters and non-supporters with very little luck. The main concern is that the cost will be passed on via increases to ticket prices.
Personally, I like BMO a lot. It's not the fanciest stadium, nor is it state of the art. I get it, Tim Leiweke wants to make TFC one of the premier clubs in MLS. TFC already has a great academy set up and now they want to make BMO one of the best grounds. I just don't think MLSE needs to spend 100 million on a roof at BMO. For that money they could build a new stadium and leave BMO to the city and the Argos.
If BMO gets a glass roof, I won't really care (assuming that the glass won't obstruct the scenery surrounding BMO) but I think that BMO is unique in the sense that the stadium is an addition to the exhibition grounds as opposed to being a stadium built on a plot of land that was designated for a stadium. At certain times over the summer you get to see the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) in the background and other times you can hear the music coming from the Molson Amphitheater across the street or even seeing the Honda Indy being set up. It's really cool how the different events of the year take place around this stadium and putting a roof on the stadium could block all that out. Not to mention the view of the CN Tower rising up over the east side stands. BMO field; for all it's plumbing issues in cold weather and it's "lack of amenities" (which, I would argue are just fine) is a unique little stadium in a prime spot and I really don't want to see the experience compromised.
Don't get me wrong, I understand that the concern is when it is raining no one is coming to the games, but frankly I don't care. I'm a half season ticket holder since season 2. I know that come rain or shine the real supporters of TFC will be in attendance regardless.
I love BMO. Don't change it just for the sake of saying "we have a roof".
Then we got the news about Drake and the Raptors yesterday.
Frankly, I'm not a huge basketball fan. I enjoy going to games as I feel basketball is a much better in-stadium game than it is on TV but I really dislike how the NBA has become a league of guys grouping together via free agency and trying to win championships all together in the city that is the flavor of the week. First it was Boston, then Miami and now, Brooklyn.
Part of the reason it is Brooklyn, at least it is apparent that the Raptors believe, is due to Jay-Z's involvement with getting the Nets out of New Jersey. I'm not so naive to think that it didn't play a part but then again Jay-Z was also a part owner.
Drake is not.
Drake is a famous rapper that happens to be from Toronto and goes to a fair amount of games. That's it. Are the Lakers giving Jack Nicolas an undefined role as "Global Ambassador" because he has season tickets? Come on. This is so stupid. Drake isn't going to be negotiating contracts or trying to make trades. Masai Ujiri is.
Look, I get it. The MLSE wants to turn the Raptors around because, outside of a few years when Vince Carter was around, this team has been nothing but a joke. So how do you do that? You win. You don't bring on a famous rapper, your don't change the team's name (thank goodness that isn't happening) and, you don't try to make the future all about hosting an all-star game (which Toronto will do in 2016). Congrats on getting the all-star game, but you don't make that the biggest deal for basketball in Toronto since the team came to town.
I'm glad Drake wants to see the Raptors win. So do I and, I bet so do many other people out there. Do I deserve a job with the Raptors because of that? No, because I don't know enough about basketball.
Frankly, I'm embarrassed (as a big sports fan who is a resident of the GTA and supports Toronto's teams) about the publicity stunt pulled yesterday. If it wasn't enough only last week Drake was on ESPN's First Take and said (and I quote) "That's my team. I'm always there, I'm always supporting" in reference to Miami. LAST WEEK!!!!
Stupid.
Those are my rants for today. Surprisingly it was not the Leafs that got me going today. Drop me a comment if you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear the opinions out there.
