It Was A Fun Ride
Well, it was a fun ride.
I got to be honest here: I needed a couple days to emotionally come to terms with our season — and more importantly, our title defense — officially being over. I know our beloved Raptors exceeded everyone and anyone’s expectations (whether it was analysts who cover the league or Raptors fan who follow the team closely).
Simply put: we put up one hell of a title-defense and we should be damn proud. If someone told me before the season even began that we’d be one W away from the Conference Finals after losing Kawhi, I would’ve signed up for it. You would’ve too. But the good guys aren’t going to the Conference Finals. They’re now heading home where an uncertain future awaits our team. Our title defense is officially over.
It’s also okay to feel disappointed that we’ve been eliminated despite exceeding expectations overall. It’s also okay to feel satisfied with our title defense (especially compared to past playoff exits that left me wondering why I even follow sports in the first place). It’s okay to feel however you want to feel. We just got eliminated from a playoffs where we believed we had a respectable chance of once again making the Finals. If you follow and love the Raptors as much I do, then you are bound to feel some level of pain about it.
The reason I bring this up is because I see the occasional person on Twitter telling those that feel disappointed not to feel disappointed because we at least went down swinging. These same people will cite that our 2015 playoff exit was far more excruciating; also, that our 2017 and 2018 dismissals were far more devastating. Granted, all of that is true — but if someone wants to feel disappointed then let them feel disappointed. Who are we to tell someone how to feel.
(Alright, mini-rant over. Back to our originally scheduled programming).
Winning the title was it’s own kind of joy and is something I will never forget. But fighting tooth-and-nail defending our crown was something I hadn’t experienced before as a fan (and I gotta admit, I really really really enjoyed it). It was a whole lot of fun. Our team’s championship swagger was off the charts. The collective championship swagger of the Raptors fanbase was off the charts. We kept all the receipts for those who said Kyle Lowry wasn’t a winner and we cashed in every single one (and then some). We dunked on those who ever doubted us and said you can’t win in Toronto. We proved the entire league wrong. We proved that Toronto is now a basketball city.
All of which is why being eliminated this postseason kind of hurts more than usual (for me at least). I think it’s because we’ve climbed the mountain. We’ve been to the top. We admired the view from atop with our replica championship rings basking in the glow of the sun. We looked down at the souls of our vanquished opponents. We were champs. I’ve now acquired champagne taste and championship dreams and whatever expectations come with raising the Larry OB (whether realistic or not).
But yes, overall, this was a phenomenal season and probably my favourite Raptors team off all-time. I can feel sad that we got bounced from the playoffs while also feeling happy for the entire journey that brought us to this point.
It was a season I’ll never forget. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to put on my replica championship ring, pour myself a cold one, and reflect on the joys this team and franchise have given me.
Until next time…
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