As the 2011-12 Playoffs in the NHL and NBA come to an end we take a look at the past, present and future of our teams.
Before moving to the United States, Canadian born James Naismith developed not only what we know today as the game of Basketball, but also wrote the original basketball rulebook and was credited to introducing the football helmet.On March 3, 1875, the first organized indoor hockey game was played at Montreal’s Victoria Skating Rink and today, ice hockey is Canada’s national winter sport and most popular sport among Canadians. The world’s first documented baseball game took place in Beachville, Ontario on June 4, 1838 and although baseball is usually associated with the United States, baseball has existed in Canada from the very beginning. The world’s oldest baseball park still in operation is Labatt Park in London, Ontario.
If Canadians have been such a major influence and contributors to some of the most popular sports today, why do our professional sport teams suck!? Is it the players? The fans? Coaching? Management?
Toronto Raptors
As part of the NBA’s expansion into Canada, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies (now the Memphis Grizzlies) The Toronto Raptors were established in 1995 and like most expansion teams, the Raptors struggled in their early years; but after acquiring Vince Carter the team set attendance records and made the 2000,2001 & 2002 playoffs. After making no significant progress, Carter was traded to The New Jersey Nets and Chris Bosh emerged as the new team leader, playing until his contract expired in 2010 where he was traded to The Miami Heat. In February 2006 Bryan Colangelo was announced as the new president and G.M. of the Toronto Raptors and with the 2006 NBA Draft Pick, Colangelo chose Andrea Bargnani which made Bargnani the first European selected first overall in the history of the NBA Draft. There have been many players that have come and gone with the Raptors organization including Chauncy Billups, Jalen Rose, Damon Stoudamire, Hedo Türkoğlu, Jermaine O’Neal and Charles Oakley and Alonzo Moruning (though they chose not to report to the organization and were traded). Throughout all the player, venue and management/coaching changes at least the organization has not been the worst team in the NBA, with the exception of the 1998 season.
On June 21 2011, Dwane Casey, who was an assistant coach with Dallas, was officially hired as the new head coach of the Toronto Raptors. Though The Raptors placed 11th in the eastern conference division in there 2011-12 season, Dwayne Casey’s is optimistic that the Raptors will be a better team in 2012-13 season. He aims to focus on defensive strategies and balancing defensive and offensive techniques. As a fan there is one request.
Restore the team name, back to the original 1946 name: The Toronto Huskies. Names are important and teams should reflect the community they are a part of, reflect the geographical location of the city; and highlight the rich history of basketball in Toronto. Huskies are proud, fierce, powerful, tireless, beasts that work in teams, and Huskies didn’t go extinct. The Jurassic Park era has long come and gone. The Toronto Raptors are one of the only professional sport team that doesn’t include blue or white anywhere in there logo. Could this make a difference?
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the “Original Six” members of the National Hockey League. The Original Six is group of six teams that composed the NHL for the 25 seasons between the 1942–43 season and before the 1967 expansion, where they added six new teams. These original six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Toronto Arenas were founded in 1917, changed their name to the Toronto St. Patricks two seasons later and then adopted the final name The Toronto Maple Leafs in 1926.
You might not know it but The Maple Leafs have won thirteen Stanley Cup championships, second only to their rivals The Montreal Canadiens, who have won twenty-seven championships. However, the last championship the Leafs won was in 1967. You don’t even need to do the math to realize how bad this looks. In the 2011-12 season the Leafs finished 26 out 30 in the league. Despite all the ups and downs, changes in ownership and management, “curses” and venue changes The Toronto Maple Leafs are worth more than US$500 million dollars and are the most valuable team in the NHL followed by the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports company based in Toronto that own The Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, The Toronto FC Major League Soccer team, The Toronto Marlies and includes the ownership of the Air Canada Centre, the home arena of the Maple Leafs and Raptors.
What is confusing to some is with all this money why can’t our professional teams be more successful? More importantly; win games!?
The debate can and has gone on for decades regarding our teams. They include everything from what players we should draft or trade,who we should fire, what are jersey’s should look like and the list goes on. I don’t think fans are asking to much, we don’t expect our teams to win every game but at least show us the fans that you are putting in 110%.
Im sure the debate will continue throughout the summer and we can only wait and see what the 2012-13 NBA/NHL season will bring us. Until then we have our Toronto Blue Jays to keep our hopes alive! Let’s Go Blue Jays!
