Both the Toronto Raptors and the Blue Jays are the only Canadian teams in the NBA and MLB, respectively, and wear the only jerseys with the maple leaf. This comes with great responsibility as the weight of a nation’s fan base rests on their shoulders, creating immense pressure on Toronto sports teams.
This week, the Blue Jays lost the first two games in the American League Division Series, and it seemed that the country’s morale was down as a result. The Rogers Centre was full of 50,000 hopeful Canadians, painted blue and sporting the maple leaf emblem on their chests and hats. On the heels of this loss though, the Blue Jays fought hard and clawed their way back to victory in the next two games. Their determination is likely driven by the watchful eyes of Canadian sports fans, hungry for success in the playoffs.
The Jays, just like their fans, all know what’s on the line in their first post-season chance in years. If they win, the hype train rolls forward and the Jays remain the darlings of Canadian sports. If they lose, Canadians will have to shrug off another disappointing year for a Toronto sports team.
The Blue Jays know they represent Canada. Following game one of the ALDS, pitcher David Price said in his post-game interview, “I want to do well for my teammates, I want to pitch well for the country.” He also mentioned that he was disappointed in his Game 1 performance, giving the impression that he let down Canada as a whole.
That is the precise pressure of playing for a Toronto sports team: you’re representing a nation.
The Raptors have not won a playoff series since 1995, and they hardly even reach the postseason so the past two seasons have been a big deal. But ask any Raptors fan: they choked. The pressure of the whole nation must have played into their nerves, not to mention the added pressure from Drake’s fanbase.
The Raptors’ Global Ambassador seems to have a magic wand on culture—anything he touches gains a buzz. Before Drake, Makonnen’s Tuesday, formerly unknown artist Roy Woods, and the Toronto Raptors all would never have had the hype they have now.
But the self-proclaimed “6 God” and his divine influence only add to the pressure for Toronto as it brings in not only sports performance, but cultural representation. Over the past two years, hip-hop feuds played out on the court. When Toronto played Brooklyn two years ago it was Jay-Z versus Drake; the year after, it was Drake pitted against Wale’s Washington Wizards. These feuds only add to the hype, and ultimately, the pressure by making the game not only about which city’s sports team will dominate, but which city’s cultural representative as well. The Maple Leafs are the only Toronto team that doesn’t carry the singular pressure of being the only Canadian team in their league. Leaf players feel no relief though, as the city of Toronto has the largest hockey market in North America, and arguably in the world. Toronto is hockey-crazed. And so, that pressure is still there, arguably stronger than any other sport; players’ names are splattered across all the newspapers and news stations in Toronto. Toronto fans take great pleasure in analyzing their team’s mistakes under a microscope, and the blunt banter that is thrown around the day after a game-deciding mistake can make the player responsible a Toronto pariah.
The Leafs have not won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and the city expects better. They’ve been starved of victory for so long that they’ve become rabid. The fans and the media just wait in their natural habitats, waiting to pounce on any poor million-dollar-making hockey player that cannot deal with the pressure.
Toronto is home to 2.6 million people, many of whom want to take pride in their city’s professional sports. But at what cost? Our country gets our hopes up so high that these players often crumble under the pressure. With Game 5 of the ALDS series coming back to Toronto, the eyes of the nation are on the Jays and the stakes are high as Canadian fans hope and pray for a win. So if you’re reading this, maybe we’re too hyped.