Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri. The 2019 Toronto Raptors NBA Championship parade and rally show that a lot of people go into the making of a championship team. This picture of what we are calling the "three wise men" show that some contributions are really amazing.
Lowry wore a Damon Stoudamire jersey. Stoudamire was the Toronto Raptors first draft pick (number 7 overall) and won the 1995-1996 Rookie of the Year award.
Toronto Coach Nick Nurse had some love for Canada, quoting Bono about how "the world needs more Canada. The world just got it."
Toronto Mayor John Tory said Raptors Way is the new name of Bremner Boulevard around York Street near Jurassic Park.
The parade route started at Princes' Gates at Exhibition Place. The parade went down Lake Shore Boulevard West past BMO Field and Rogers Centre (aka SkyDome), the first home of the Raptors. The route went north up York Street to University Avenue and then followed University Avenue to Queen Street. The parade went east on Queen before turning north to Nathan Phillips Square. The rally was in a very full Nathan Phillips Square.
NBA TV carried the Bell Media feed with Lisa LaFlamme (CTV) and James Duthie (TSN) anchoring the Bell Media coverage. Adrienne Arsenault and CBC Toronto anchor Dwight Drummond anchored the CBC coverage that was available online. Didn't watch the Rogers feed but know that Tim Micallef and Sid Seixeiro with Breakfast Television’s Dina Pugliese anchored for Rogers Sportsnet and Citytv. We saw reports from the multiple properties of Bell Media: CTV, TSN, CP24, eTalk, and The Social.
The traffic became a subplot. Traffic was stopped on the eastbound lanes in the Gardiner Expressway to watch the parade. Later, subway stops were closed including the Queen, Osgood and Dundas stations.
Crowd estimates were at about 2 million people for the celebration. Toronto chief communications officer Brad Ross said that estimate is at the "lower end." The GTA is just over 5.9 million.
Superfan Nav Bhatia was the honourary parade marshal. Bhatia also got out of the vehicle and walked part of the route. There wasn't a second choice for that honour.
Chip and dip; load management; plant guy; Spicy P; Fun Guy; Kwactus — these are some of the phrases that will be remembered long after the parade grounds have returned to normal. “I don’t want my chips plain. I want my chips with the dip. So bring them dips. That dynasty’s over." — Drake
People are getting out of their cars on the highway just to catch a glimpse of the @Raptors' championship parade. 😲 pic.twitter.com/Yo5BpUKQsI
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 17, 2019
There has been talk about players from Spain and Cameroon. There was Chris Boucher, the only Canadian player on the Raptors, who is now the 7th Canadian to win the NBA title as a player.
We hadn't heard an official number for the total of Jurassic Parks. The number 59 was floated during the parade coverage.
We had been surprised Justin Trudeau wasn't more prominent in the Raptors run. The Canadian prime minister was at the rally. The Bell Media cameras captured Trudeau shaking hands with Ontario premier Doug Ford with Toronto Mayor John Tory looking on. Ford was booed heartily when introduced at the rally.
The Toronto Maple Leafs (Nazem Kadri) and the Toronto Argonauts (Pinball Clemons) were represented on one of the buses.
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"Now, the question is, do they get an invite to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or 24 Sussex Drive or both?"
My friend Leroy asked this question. I gave the smart aleck answer to note that the Trudeau family doesn't live at 24 Sussex drive because of the deteriorating conditions at the prime minister's residence.
Leroy has a serious question: the Toronto Raptors may be caught in a void in the time-space continuum. The Raptors are Canadian but there is no apparatus to welcome a winning team in Canada. Toronto FC didn't get that luxury in winning the MLS Cup in 2017. Grey Cup champs don't have that option.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson wants the Toronto Raptors to come to Parliament Hill.
The White House does have that tradition but the current regime doesn't like Canada. Really doesn't like Canada.
Most of the Raptors aren't likely to want the invite, even if they live in the United States. Normally, we might see a lack of invite as a snub but in the current circumstances, a snub won't feel so bad.
Raptors co-owner Larry Tanenbaum said he would take the team to Israel if the Raptors win the NBA title.
The Raptors could visit Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States, who saw Game 2 in person in Toronto. That would be pretty sweet.
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This section was going to devoted to the wonderful spirit of Toronto based on 2 horrific attacks in 2018. There were a bizarre combination of shootings and stabbings around Bay and Albert streets (NE corner of Nathan Phillips Square) as well as the Eaton Centre (NE of Bay and Albert) during the Raptors rally. There were reports of serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Matt Devlin, Raptors TV voice and master of ceremonies, came out to calm down the crowd. From all reports, police acted swiftly and effectively. We hope all of those affected recover quickly.
I love how Toronto comes together in good times and horrible times. My heart sank for those in the 2018 attacks who lost their lives, the injured, and those lives affected as a result. Toronto gets teased by most of the rest of Canada. When the time arrives to come together, few do it better than Toronto.
A NBA championship was won for the first time in Canadian history. Toronto came together to celebrate. There was some minor damage to a police squad car but no injuries reported after celebrating the Raptors NBA title.
I would love to live in Toronto not just for the sports or an actual competitive newspaper market but for the companionship I find in the people I meet in Toronto. A big city with a lot of heart.
Canadian Heritage Minute: pic.twitter.com/Nc5wq7Zbfo
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) June 14, 2019
Headlines from the major Toronto newspapers after the Toronto Raptors win:
Champions — The Globe and Mail
We The Champs — Toronto Star
Prehistoric — Toronto Sun
The Canadian TV numbers for the Raptors have been impressive. The Numeris data has 7.7 million Canadians for Game 6, though that is the combined numbers for TSN, CTV (with the ABC feed), and RDS (en Francaise). Bell Media says nearly 16 million Canadians watched some part of the title-clinching victory.
The numbers showed that 82% of TV viewers were watching in Toronto and Hamilton.
photos credit: CBC News Network all but photo 2: CTV/TSN; photo 6: TSN
Twitter capture: @TSN_Sports; @TIFF_NET
map credit: Google
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