Generally, it's a rule here not to devote posts to responding to columnists, but Dave D'Alessandro of the local Star-Ledger is apparently just asking to get slapped upside the head with his slobbering approbabation of Vin Weasel:
This is the guy who literally kept a franchise viable when it wasn't that clear basketball would catch on in Canada -- only to be remembered as an ingrate, a quitter and a villain by the time he got out of his fourth season.
Excuse us for rolling our eyes and mouthing, "C'mon," just like The Weaz was caught doing on camera when fans at Air Canada Centre were giving the "M-V-P!" chant for Chris Bosh a couple months ago. Where's the proof of this? There were plenty of NBA fans in Canada pre-Raptors, never mind pre-Carter. Where's the proof the Raptors were going downhill? Don't bring up the Vancouver Grizzlies -- that was another city 3,000 km away.
The Weaz was good for the people who edit the TV packages and a few casual fans with short attention spans, but he ultimately set back the NBA in Canada. There are still people who have trouble buying in since they remember what a joke it was that the face of the franchise was, like I say, a multi-million-dollar mope who sulked his way out of town. That's right. Vince literally kept people from getting into the Raptors.
(UPDATE: Apparently the Star-Ledger dropped the "Newark" some time back. Can't imagine why they wouldn't want to be associated with Newark, but where we come from, newspapers have to be associated with some geographical entity.)
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4 comments:
As a BC native, allow me to stand up and defend the tattered name of the Vancouver Grizzlies. The Grizz were smothered in the crib by horrendous management (hello, Stu Jackson!), and then sold down the river when Michael Heisley was allowed to buy the team with the sole purpose of moving it to the States. Even at the bitter end, with a horrible team and an owner who made the woman in "Major League" look like Wellington Mara, the Grizz were still getting 14,000 to 15,000 a night, incredible under the circumstances.
You demand proof from Carter but you provide none yourself for your statement that he "set back the NBA in Canada." It just seems ironic that you can make unsubstantiated claims but that you won't stand for them from anyone else.
As New Jersey fan who doesn't know what to think of Carter (hot, cold, pouty, racking up assists, driving to the basket, jacking up contested fadeaway 3s)... I'd just like a little more proof that Carter was detrimental to the development of the NBA's Canadian fan base.
Hey Jersey guy, read the last paragraph over again:
"There are still people who have trouble buying in since they remember what a joke it was that the face of the franchise was, like I say, a multi-million-dollar mope who sulked his way out of town. That's right. Vince literally kept people from getting into the Raptors."
The team's Canadian TV audiences, before they started winning this season, were in the 110,000 range, which is barely half of what they were when it was a playoff team 5 years ago.
That proof enough for you?
Dennis,
Good point. No one should cite the Grizzles' relocation as proof the NBA couldn't work in Canada. The way that team was run, it would have failed almost anywhere. Besides, there's too much to do in Vancouver to sit inside and watch a 22-win NBA team.
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