At night, Air Canada Center, all 19,800 seats are filled.
Last season, with the arrival of Vince Carter, the Raptors’ attendance ranking rose by 6 places.
So far this season, Raptors’ attendance has climbed another rank, reaching ninth in the league, entering the top ten.
All this credit goes to one person, Vince Carter, there’s no doubt about that.
As a rookie who has only entered the league for 5 seasons, the Raptors have basically no foundation in Toronto.
The last time they had a professional basketball team dates back to the distant 1949, the Toronto Huskies at the founding of the NBA.
The Huskies only existed for a year before closing due to poor management, until 1993 when they, along with fellow Canadian Vancouver Grizzlies, rejoined the NBA in its expansion plan.
This time, the franchise fee for the Raptors to join the NBA was 140 million US Dollar; basketball has become a commercial game dominated by big capital.
For a new team like the Raptors, the immediate priority isn’t winning championships, not every new team can meet someone like Pat Riley of the Heat, using his experience and connections to quickly build a team and successfully push for the championship, moreover, Riley’s path has taken many years.
The Raptors’ primary task is to open the market, to attract enough fans in Toronto willing to come to the arena on game days, willing to buy the team’s merchandise, willing to pay for long-term tickets to provide the team with a stable cash flow, then attract enough advertisers to cooperate with the team, advertising in the arena and on TV, to generate sufficient commercial income.
Survival is the first priority; Toronto management doesn’t want the basketball dream to shatter again like in 1949.
The good news is that Toronto’s sports market is huge, much stronger than Vancouver, Toronto’s basketball fans have enough passion to support the Raptors.
In the 1995-1996 season, as a nascent team with poor roster and record, the Raptors’ attendance ranked third in the league, showing the fanaticism of Toronto fans.
But relying solely on fan enthusiasm is unsustainable; subsequent two seasons, the team’s performance was poor, rookie scandals plagued the team, causing the Raptors’ home attendance rate to drop, from third to eighth, then slipped to sixteenth, the team felt a strong sense of crisis.
In the 1998-1999 season, the Raptors moved from the previously outdated SkyDome to the current Air Canada Center.
This means the Raptors will share a venue with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, two professional teams from different leagues will openly and covertly compete.
Hockey is historically older and far more popular than basketball in Canada; the Maple Leafs are a symbol of Toronto city.
They joined the hockey league early in 1917 when the NHL was established, unlike the Huskies, they persevered until now.
Before the 70s, the Maple Leafs were one of the most successful teams in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup 13 times, including two dynastic three-peat championships.
However, after winning in the 1966-1967 season, the Maple Leafs have failed to claim the championship until today.
Even so, the Maple Leafs’ 80-year cultivation and past glory in Toronto are unmatched by the Raptors.
Now, the Raptors are sharing the home venue with the Maple Leafs, competing for market and attendance, it seems a bit like hitting a stone with an egg.
Be aware that in Boston, when the Celtics and NHL’s Boston Bruins shared the Garden Arena, the Celtics were always at a disadvantage.
Even though the Celtics have had glorious championship experiences, in Boston Garden, they couldn’t even warm up in the arena before games.
Because Boston Garden is the Bruins’ home, the Celtics were just borrowing it, only after Fleet Center’s initiation, did the Celtics and Bruins stand as equals.
Now it seems the Raptors are entirely outmatched, seemingly destined to be the sidekick and follower of the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Center.
However, one person’s arrival changed everything, that person is Vince Carter.
It is said that at the 1998 draft, when the Raptors traded Jamison for Carter in Toronto, the team’s executives were trembling with excitement.
And the Raptors’ management’s expectations of Carter did not go unmet; he soon began showcasing his unparalleled court charm—dunks.
In a game against the Indiana Pacers, located at Indianapolis’s Citizen Square Center.
In the November Rookie of the Month selection, Vince Carter lost to the Celtics’ Paul Pierce.
But Carter soon used his performance in the game to prove who the real best is, making people understand that the NBA is not just about stats, but about how you play and score.
Basketball is sports, but also art.
That night, there weren’t many Indiana fans at the scene, out of more than 16,000 seats, only more than 13,000 were filled.
Because the opponent is the Raptors, Pacers fans aren’t very interested in this team newly joining the league.
In these two seasons, the Raptors went through scandals, internal conflicts, Stoudemire drama, and Thomas clashes.
The team is very talented, but scattered and mediocre in performance, giving little hope or highlights.
Yet during the game, Carter had one move where he broke through the defense from the left side with the ball, rushed into the basket and facing the towering Schmitz, stunned the audience with a two-handed folding reverse dunk.