Accept it, Toronto: You

[Prelude420]

By: Austin Burton

2007: “Toronto as a market won’t ever be New York, L.A., Boston or Miami. Playing in a small market while not being a flashy guy isn’t a kiss of death, but (Chris) Bosh’s low profile might not resonate with H.O.F. voters if he doesn’t win big (like Reggie Miller) or put up amazing numbers (like Karl Malone and John Stockton).”

2009: “More than LeBron, Wade or any other superstar, Bosh seems most likely to change teams in the much-hyped 2010 offseason. The NBA’s resident self-marketing guru and undercover comedian is just waiting to break out in a bigger market, i.e. New York, Miami or L.A.”

Two times I can remember calling the Raptors a small-market team, and two times I’ve incurred the wrath of the Toronto faithful. The arguments are the same: We’re the 4th-biggest city in North America … We sell out every Raptors game … What other team can say a whole country backs them? … Blah, blah and blah.

Whatever.

It’s time to face up to some truths. As a city, Toronto is not a “small market” by definition. Fine. But the Toronto Raptors are unquestionably a small market franchise within the framework of North American professional sports. (Might as well throw the Blue Jays in there, too.) And you can’t really argue against that.

How many times were the Raptors on ESPN, TNT or ABC last season? Three? Four? That’s probably even going too high. Even when the Raptors are good, like when they were one of the Top-3 teams in the East a couple years back, they have zero TV presence and zero profile this side of the border. In their most recent heyday, Raptors’ playoff games still got the NBA TV junior varsity treatment.

Bosh, the face of the franchise, is a great player and a charming personality and a nice guy. Do you know why he’s nowhere near as popular as Chris Paul or Ray Allen? Because he plays for the Raptors. Bosh has had to become the Black Seth Rogen and basically live on Twitter and uStream just to get some kind of mainstream attention, and he’s still less famous than Tay Zonday. But you know if CB4 played for the Heat or the Rockets with that same personality, he’d be a media force. The sight of kids or grown men outside of Canada rocking Bosh jerseys is rare enough — actually catching somebody in a Jose Calderon or Andrea Bargnani jersey would be like seeing Bigfoot walking down West Broadway.

The closest the Raptors have ever come to being a legit big-market organization was when they had Vince Carter in his prime. Vince was the most exciting player in the world for a time; and even then he could only get the Raps so close. When Vince left, so did the Toronto’s chances of reaching actual “big market” status. And when Bosh is gone next summer to, yes, a bigger market, and Hedo Turkoglu is the focal point of Raps’ marketing, expect that status to drop even more.

http://dimemag.com/2009/07/accept-it-to ... franchise/

ur a ****

[Percy44]

[quote="tha-prince"]These writers need to recognize that sharing a city with the Maple Leafs is a hard task. The Leafs are to the NHL, what the Cowboys and Lakers are to the NFL and NBA respectively.

The Raptors are the second team of this city, and outside of Boston, NY, LA and perhaps Dallas, no other city can hold two top level teams like Toronto.

quote]


Uhh I think your forgetting Chicago, The Bear, Cubs, White Sox, And Blackhawks are all very big teams in the city of Chicago

[T-dot Raps]

Miami is a big market? It's a **** sports town.

[basketball royalty]

What a load of BS. He mentions Chris Paul as a guy who benefits from the high exposure of a big market when in reality as good as he is he is practically an unknown. There are two players that get big pub and they are Lebron and Kobe. Outside of that you have small timers or has been guys like D12, DWade or AI and Shaq. Doesn't matter where they play the reality is the world only has eyes for one or two guys at a time.

[carlosey]

Toronto is indeed a big market team. Weve never had a playoff contender year in and year out and attendance is high. Not to mention that the Raptors also have their own television channel which cant be said for all other franchises in the league. Just because we are not in the ESPN market doesnt mean Toronto is not a place where dollars flow. As a matter of fact, the finances of being in Canada have helped. The canadian economy was not hurting as bad as the American one. Perhaps that has allowed the Raptors to be more assertive with their investments in this time where there is a bit of uncertainty for all the American teams.

The author of the article knows very well that the Toronto fan base is a large and devoted one. He is just trying to get people riled up so that it results in more traffic for his site. Dave Feschuk anyone?

Dimemag is a small time publication and whomever wrote this is a two bit reporter and that is the truth. Accept it Austin Burtan: Youre a nobody using a gimmick to get attention. The truth hurts.

[why22]

By: Austin Burton

2007: “Toronto as a market won’t ever be New York, L.A., Boston or Miami. Playing in a small market while not being a flashy guy isn’t a kiss of death, but (Chris) Bosh’s low profile might not resonate with H.O.F. voters if he doesn’t win big (like Reggie Miller) or put up amazing numbers (like Karl Malone and John Stockton).”

2009: “More than LeBron, Wade or any other superstar, Bosh seems most likely to change teams in the much-hyped 2010 offseason. The NBA’s resident self-marketing guru and undercover comedian is just waiting to break out in a bigger market, i.e. New York, Miami or L.A.”

Two times I can remember calling the Raptors a small-market team, and two times I’ve incurred the wrath of the Toronto faithful. The arguments are the same: We’re the 4th-biggest city in North America … We sell out every Raptors game … What other team can say a whole country backs them? … Blah, blah and blah.

Whatever.

It’s time to face up to some truths. As a city, Toronto is not a “small market” by definition. Fine. But the Toronto Raptors are unquestionably a small market franchise within the framework of North American professional sports. (Might as well throw the Blue Jays in there, too.) And you can’t really argue against that.

How many times were the Raptors on ESPN, TNT or ABC last season? Three? Four? That’s probably even going too high. Even when the Raptors are good, like when they were one of the Top-3 teams in the East a couple years back, they have zero TV presence and zero profile this side of the border. In their most recent heyday, Raptors’ playoff games still got the NBA TV junior varsity treatment.

Bosh, the face of the franchise, is a great player and a charming personality and a nice guy. Do you know why he’s nowhere near as popular as Chris Paul or Ray Allen? Because he plays for the Raptors. Bosh has had to become the Black Seth Rogen and basically live on Twitter and uStream just to get some kind of mainstream attention, and he’s still less famous than Tay Zonday. But you know if CB4 played for the Heat or the Rockets with that same personality, he’d be a media force. The sight of kids or grown men outside of Canada rocking Bosh jerseys is rare enough — actually catching somebody in a Jose Calderon or Andrea Bargnani jersey would be like seeing Bigfoot walking down West Broadway.

The closest the Raptors have ever come to being a legit big-market organization was when they had Vince Carter in his prime. Vince was the most exciting player in the world for a time; and even then he could only get the Raps so close. When Vince left, so did the Toronto’s chances of reaching actual “big market” status. And when Bosh is gone next summer to, yes, a bigger market, and Hedo Turkoglu is the focal point of Raps’ marketing, expect that status to drop even more.

http://dimemag.com/2009/07/accept-it-to ... franchise/

this guy is so dumb, does he not realize we are in the top 10 in the leuge in attendance

[SharoneWright]

If your hose is short
And your pump is weak
Better stand close
Or you'll piss on your feet.

Dude's shoes are drenched.

[mrsocko]

The writers argument seems to be that Toronto is not in the States so it's fans don't count. Or they are not a big market because he says they aren't. Lack of guys wearing Bosh shirts in Miami counts as proof. Is he related to Gary Bettman.

Knob

[HSTRIP]

Stupid article with a little truth. The CRTC/Canadian Content media laws in this country are killing it... Not just for sports, but also with music. They say they are "helping Canadian business" by enforcing these laws but at the end of the day Ted Rogers is the only one seeing the money.... It's the same with the 'Canadian' music industry... but I wont get into that. We as Canadian's should go protest at queens park... walk on to the Gardner, yell and kick that we want ESPN and other American networks... we are being censored. There are other better ways of helping Canadian business.

[Tanking It]

Nate became famous because of the dunk contest not because he plays in New York, if the guy never won that dunk contest and couldn't jump through the roof nike wouldn't give a damn and he wouldn't sell a single jersey.

Then was have not ALL the other winners of the dunk contest get as big. Did you know Desmond Mason won the dunk contest.

Yes the dunk contest help's, but there is no other history of a player winning the dunk contest, who are even better then Nate, or another role player like Nate, going and getting the level of endorsements that Nate gets.

And that still does not explain why the Marbury years in NY had his jersey selling like hot cakes.

[Morena R]

WTH, this makes no sence.

If Toronto is a small market then how come were making more money then Miami ?

Team Value1$400 mil

The Toronto Raptors
are owned by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan,
who bought them in 1998
for $125 mil.

Vs.

Team Value: $393 mil

The Miami Heat
are owned by Micky Arison (Net Worth: $5 billion),
who bought them in 1988
for $33 mil.

This dude is talking out of his a**.

[youngLion]

Accept it, majority of American media: You're xenophobic.

[toast]

Yet he hasn't been voted into the all star game since he moved there. In fact I don't think he has made an all star game (correct me if I am wrong)

Wrong, very wrong. I believe last year was the first time he hasn't made the team since his rookie season. Either that or 07-08 was, but he was definitely there his first few years in NJ.

Not sure if he was voted in though. I think Wade stole that starting spot from him, makes sense.

I know for a fact that he wasn't voted into the game since he left Toronto, because I check his bio when I wrote it up. Which is kind of the point votes is more about popularity and exposure than it is numbers. Being voted into the game by the coaches is usually based on numbers. I wonder if anybody has any numbers on promotional money, because Vince's marketing dollars should have gone up when he moved to NJ if this myth of the big markets is actually true.

[Rebel INS]

Stupid article with a little truth. The CRTC/Canadian Content media laws in this country are killing it... Not just for sports, but also with music. They say they are "helping Canadian business" by enforcing these laws but at the end of the day Ted Rogers is the only one seeing the money.... It's the same with the 'Canadian' music industry... but I wont get into that. We as Canadian's should go protest at queens park... walk on to the Gardner, yell and kick that we want ESPN and other American networks... we are being censored. There are other better ways of helping Canadian business.

LOL you really think you're missing out on much by not being able to watch BSPN?

[mrsocko]

We as Canadian's should go protest at queens park... walk on to the Gardner, yell and kick that we want ESPN and other American networks... we are being censored. There are other better ways of helping Canadian business.

Under the Canadian constitution Telecommunictions is a Federal responsibility. Protesting at Queens parks would do little good. Try Parliament hill. If the CPC ever gets a majority you may get your wish as they are fro more freedom in this regard.

[Tanking It]

I think Nate is the greatest example, Nike would give him this own shoe over bosh. Does that not say something?

http://www.sneakerright.com/product_353.html

Are we really going to count a low number produced, player Hyperdunk shoe. Does not anyone who is signed with Nike gets this?

[Yosemite Dan]

The GTA has almost 4 million people and we're not a big market team. Yet Vince Carter was regularly the top all star vote getter, by a large margin, and the Raptors were one of the top road draws in the league during Vince's heyday. For a city that is supposedly Siberia to the US media we did pretty good around Vince's prime.

The players make the team, if we have an exciting team fans want to watch regardless and all of a sudden we are a major league city. The truth is we have boring players and guys like Bosh, Jose and Bargs and thier style of play does not make NBA fans tremble with excitement. No matter where Bosh plays, a finesse big man does not capture fans' imaginations.

A good example is the Blue Jays. Now they're considered small market but in the late 80's and early 90's they routinely had the highest payroll and were considered a glamour team and a big market team because they were selling out every game. In fact many of the have-not teams complained about the Jay's payroll and how they couldn't compete much like the Jays' complain now about the Bosox and Yankees. The Jays had stars like Henderson, Winfield, Morris and Molitor and were a top 3 draw on the road for years. Somehow in the 16 years since they were a contender the population of Toronto has doubled yet now they're small market. The fan base hasn't shrunk, (TV #'s confirm that) it's just the Jays have been mismanaged since 1993 and haven't come close to the playoffs and aren't giving fans a reason to go. Had Pat Gillick stayed as GM the Jays would have continued to be a perennial contender and might be selling out to this day. If anyone of you were old enough to remember during the late 80's and early 90's the Jays were the top team in the city, over the Leafs, so the hockey city excuse doesn't fly there.

[draft]

Stupid article with a little truth. The CRTC/Canadian Content media laws in this country are killing it... Not just for sports, but also with music. They say they are "helping Canadian business" by enforcing these laws but at the end of the day Ted Rogers is the only one seeing the money.... It's the same with the 'Canadian' music industry... but I wont get into that. We as Canadian's should go protest at queens park... walk on to the Gardner, yell and kick that we want ESPN and other American networks... we are being censored. There are other better ways of helping Canadian business.

Sportsnet and The score would probably shut down if espn was allowed here.

[greed416]

WHO THE F*** CARES!!!

we got a great team this season! an awesome GM who pulls players in !!!

we as Toronto'ians loves our team!!! enjoy the game of basketball !!!! have fun with it!!!

why we constantly prove ourselves to the states ?

I'm happy we have a team!!!

[Tanking It]

A good example is the Blue Jays. Now they're considered small market but in the late 80's and early 90's they routinely had the highest payroll and were considered a glamour team and a big market team because they were selling out every game. In fact many of the have-not teams complained about the Jay's payroll and how they couldn't compete much like the Jays' complain now about the Bosox and Yankees. The Jays had stars like Henderson, Winfield, Morris and Molitor and were a top 3 draw on the road for years. Somehow in the 16 years since they were a contender the population of Toronto has doubled yet now they're small market. The fan base hasn't shrunk, (TV #'s confirm that) it's just the Jays have been mismanaged since 1993 and haven't come close to the playoffs and aren't giving fans a reason to go. Had Pat Gillick stayed as GM the Jays would have continued to be a perennial contender and might be selling out to this day. If anyone of you were old enough to remember during the late 80's and early 90's the Jays were the top team in the city, over the Leafs, so the hockey city excuse doesn't fly there.

Did the jay's not bleed a ton of money during that time too?