The Toronto Raptors are planning to commemorate Vince Carter as a part of their 20th anniversary celebration. Over the entire year they will be commemorating players from the past that have been exceptional with the Toronto Raptors. Who else reminds you of Toronto Raptors other then Vince Carter and Chris Bosh? They are the two names that brought Toronto to the playoffs before (#WeTheNorth) started. This in my opinion is great and it really gives some good publicity towards the Raptors as they are sometimes overlooked on in the NBA.
Now me and my fellow colleagues were discussing this, and one brought up the idea of a publicity stunt, and how the Toronto Raptors are using this and DRAKE to bring upon more publicity. Now, I could agree to that in some part. You see, the the Toronto Raptors wouldn’t have to use so much resources to publicize themselves in order to gain more attention to the league, as long as the NBA and its fan gave the Raptors the respect they definitely deserve. Yes, gaining Drake and making a 20th year anniversary and also adding #WeTheNorth is a great marketing campaign and brings a lot of attention north of the border, but you got to understand that teams that do not have that luxury of being in New York, Los Angeles, Miami or Texas, have to resort to other measures in order to gain a competitive balance. The reason New York and Los Angeles receive crazy attention is the ridiculous markets they have. The reason Florida and Texas receive so much attention from free agents is the reason that there is NO income tax, which makes it a great place to get money. So what’s with fans not having anyone love for the place basketball was created? No it’s not because its cold, because there are places in the states where the temperature drops lower then Toronto (Minnesota, Chicago, and Detroit). Is it because of the taxes? Maybe, but if you think about the Boat loads of money players receive on endorsements and salaries they can deal with paying for free health care. The sad truth is the fact that we just don’t receive enough publicity. During the FIRST time in 12 years the Toronto Raptors were pre-scheduled on TNT against the Chicago Bulls and DeMar DeRozan said that in his entire career, this is one of the first times his family will be able to see him play without having to come to Toronto or without him travelling. So you can see that Toronto sometimes have to commemorate players and bring Drake in to bring attention to the city.
So far we need to enjoy the fact that the CURRENT Toronto Raptors are a good team, not a great team, but they are definitely a playoff team. They need to take advantage of NOW by using their good basketball team to market the beautiful city of Toronto, and the beloved Raptors team, not to mention the ridiculous crowd and fans. Toronto has a LOT to prove to the NBA and to Global NBA fans, in a place where only a few teams really receive the publicity they deserve, the Raptors need to earn their place. Hopefully they will with their new team. #WeTheNorth
