I make no secret that I’m a huge Raptors fan.  A dyed in the wool, from the very beginning follower of the purple dinosaur.  The win against Michael Jordan and the Bulls? I watched it.  17-game losing streaks, and coaching changes? I’ve seen them.  The first “shot” from Vince against the 76ers- caught that too.  The players that came, and wouldn’t stay like number 15, McGrady, Bosh, and Leonard? Yup, saw them too.

Of all the things gone under quarantine I miss this team the most.  Yeah, I know how ridiculous right? A team of multimillionaire grown men who play a sport for a living that I’ll probably never meet.  I have started missing my friends a bit more, which is something because I’m pretty much an ambivert anyway.

But the Raptors? They got me through a tough year last year.  My mom passed after a six month battle with cancer in December.  She wasn’t an NBA fan, but watched the early rounds at home with us.  She was in hospital for tests in June, and I remember watching part of the 4 hour parade in her hospital room.

In early July, we made one of our handful of trips to the ER to get her checked out.  I remember as we waited for the doctors neurotically checking my phone to see if Kawahi Leonard had dared offer us a hint as to where he’d land.  It’s okay Kawahi, I’m past it; especially if it was going to cost the team Fred Van Vleet and Pascal Siakam for Paul George as was rumoured.  What would have been the point of bringing you back without those two?

I never watched a full game early this season.  But I managed to sneak peeks while my mom’s Personal Support Worker (PSW) came at night, who I also chatted Raptors with; their son was playing basketball at school out west.  My mom passed in early December, and afterwards Raptors games became a way of spending time at night with my dad, a fan too.  Countless nights during the win streak I watched from the edge of my seat biting my nails while they won another one.    The 35-point comeback win against the Dallas Mavericks is a highlight of the season.

It sounds corny to say the positive of no NBA is the Raptors will remain champs for another season.  To say that, is to underestimate the value of sport as a distraction, and the team as a rallying point.  Because over the years the Raptors have come to personify Toronto; A team of players who keep their heads down, and work hard without a superstar but still successful.  When you guys come back, I’ll still be here.