Remembering the past and moving forward
I remember when I first became a Raptors fan – when I first really started watching the beautiful game of basketball – falling in love with my hometown Toronto Raptors. Morris Peterson, Jalen Rose, and Jerome Williams were the dream team in my books. Of course, they were led by great fans, and a great leader: Vince Carter.
Carter was the face of the franchise – he continuously, and almost solely, put Toronto on the NBA radar. His performance in the 2000 Slam Dunk competition was mesmerizing, and his in-game dunks were arguably some of the best the NBA has ever seen.
From 1998 to 2004, Raptors fans got to witness the growth and rise of a superstar. Although the team has yet to make it to the second round of the playoffs since the inaugural season in 1995, fans stood by the team and their superstar.
Of course, all good things must come to an end. It came time that Carter, after six years in a Raptors uniform, decided to move on. Towards the end of his tenure as a Raptor, many questioned the effort Carter put into each game. As he became riddled with injuries, his explosive, acrobatic dunks became less frequent, placing him under heavy scrutiny by the fans. After a couple of horrible seasons, and through accusations of faking an injury, Carter demanded a trade to finally continue his career away from Toronto. Needless to say, this outraged many fans – myself included.
I remember watching the next few seasons after Carter left – it was brutal. The team was in shambles, under poor management and filled with shoddy personalities. Many fans endured through these seasons, and a large majority were bitter at Carter’s blatant dismissal and betrayal of Toronto.
Now that the team has finally formed a solid foundation under Derozan, Lowry, and Coach Dwayne Casey, the dust has finally settled. On Nov. 19, the Raptors and the city of Toronto displayed a tremendous amount of compassion and respect towards the man they once loathed. A beautiful video tribute brought home feelings of nostalgia to the Air Canada Centre crowd as the Raptors took on the Memphis Grizzlies.
In commemorating the Raptors’ 20th anniversary as an NBA franchise, videos have been made to honour a few select individuals who have shown passion and dedication in a Raptors uniform. Undoubtedly, Vince Carter deserved to be on that list – and perhaps even at the top of it. His time as a Raptor was simply unforgettable – making a video tribute dedicated to him was necessary.
The video itself was well done, and it even had Carter in tears as he thanked the Toronto crowd. Perhaps the most important aspect about this moment is forgiveness. After the video tribute, and a standing ovation from the Toronto crowd, it became clear that the fans had finally moved on. With the current Raptors roster giving fans a lot to cheer about, there is absolutely no need to stay bitter and angry about what happened in the past. By cheering for Carter, rather than booing him, fans showed poise, respect, and class both to him and to the NBA. Only by forgiving the past can we move forward – in thanking Carter, the Raptors have taken a step forward, beginning to write their own story as an emerging team with tremendous heart and hustle.