The other night I decided to go to a Raptors game out of the blue, I did not plan on it and literally decided while sitting in a lecture at school. The reason? Rubio and Love (even Derick Williams to an extent) were in town and this would be the only chance to see them this year, a couple of friends agreed to come and it was all set. The Raptors under new coach Dwyane Casey were all about effort and defensive intensity and through the first week of the season it looked like the team bought-in to Casey's philosophy. This years version of the Raptors made it more enjoyable to watch them on TV and their newfound intensity is a big reason for that. Needless to say, the Raptors handled the Wolves pretty easily and even held Kevin Love to his worst game of the season, but one thing stood out for me: the horrific display of the Toronto crowd.
Look, I get it, the team is not that good. In fact, they may not even be mediocre and the odds of the Raptors making the playoffs are lower then the odds on Kobe reducing his shot attempts. But if you are already going to come to the game at least bring some enthusiasm with you. Within five minutes of walking into the arena my crew and I were in our seats. We did not go to buy concessions (seriously, eat anywhere else then come to the game, you will save about $20), we even grabbed some empty seats that were way better then the ones we paid for. Our rationale: when the people come we will move. This is the first problem I had with the Raptors faithful: the game is starting and you are not in your seat. About halfway through the first quarter fans were still filing in, many of them carrying their over-priced concessions. Look, if you get caught in traffic, or decide to go last minute getting in late is fine, its borderline unacceptable to miss the tip-off (of a game you paid to see no less) so you can buy a snack. Did someone come to claim their seats? Nope, as a matter of fact, many other fans did what we did and snagged better seats; unfair to the people who paid more? Definitely. What can be done to fix it? The Raptors could just move everyone down until the lower bowl is filled making the arena seem more full and raise the noise level. They could make tickets more affordable (especially given the quality of the team). They could even slash prices pre-game if the place is not filled up so the people that paid more in a section would get first dibs on a lower-bowl seat. Would they ever do this? Absolutely not. So we have a half empty arena, an organization that cares only about the amount of money we put into their pockets, and a team that will not over-come its lack of talent, no matter how hard they work. The result: One of the worst experiences I have ever had at an NBA game. Not all the fans were to blame, some of them brought it, but the other 80% mailed it in just like the Wolves did. It was so quiet that you could almost hear the players (and from the top balcony that is tough).
The fans are not entirely to blame for the brutal atmosphere, I would blame the Raptors organization just as much. 2 minutes into the game the scoreboard prompted us to chant "DE-FENCE" 2 minutes! Chants like that should be reserved when the team really needs it, or is making a big momentum push. Chanting for the entire game would just tire the fans out too, not even the Warriors crowd chants for the entire game, they pick their spots. Teams also love to play music while the teams are playing. I never understood this, there is absolutely no point, and you drown out the fans with it. How about playing music only during stoppages? I guarantee you that road teams couldn't be less intimidated by loud music. One last thing: as much as you may hate the Lakers, do you see how their crowd behaves at the end of games? During a sequence where the Lakers may put away a team the crowd rises and gives the team a standing ovation. The only standing ovation the fans gave during this game was to some guy who won a free dinner at the Keg for doing "Teach me how to Dougie" during a time-out. One more thing, I cant resist: Stop chanting for a free slice of Pizza! We all know that if the Raptors score 100 points that fans walk away with one slice of Pizza, does it matter if the Raps are up 10 and trying to do the sportsman like thing? No, the fans just want that Pizza, the fact that their team played their ass off and won the game does not matter one bit.
Is it worth paying to see the Raptors at the ACC? Is the time it takes to get there, park (or commute), leave (even more crowded) really worth it? It saddens me to say that it is not. Call me when the Raptors fans show up and the game experience is enhanced, otherwise I will just enjoy a game on TV; they mute the crowd noise during telecasts but sadly the volume is the same as if you were there.
No comments:
Post a Comment