(Sorry... but...) PLEASE let the Leafs be Relevant Again!

[N-E-B]

I agree that basketball is terrible, but I'd rather see the Raptors be relevant than the Leafs...

At the end of the day, I wish nothing but misery on every single Toronto based sports teams. It sickens me that the Blue Jays and Raptors play up the whole "we're Canada's team" thing. I'll cheer for you when you start splitting your home games between the major cities and change your name to the Canada Blue Jays.

I hate Toronto sports teams. Immensely.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by vanisleflamesfan

Is that Steve Nash? I heard he retired... I'm sorry but I don't think (even in a sport as lame as basketball) that a retired player can be the MVP.

Steve Nash is one of the greatest athletes of all time. He's also Canadian, and he bleeds red and white. Even diehard fans of rival teams have mad respect for him and everything he's done for the sport he loves.

You can hate on basketball all you want, but cracking off about Steve Nash just makes you look like a fool.

[getbak]

If I became a basketball fan, I would not cheer for the Raptors just because of their stupid, trying to be cool to 12 year-olds in 1995, name.

Also, there are only two colours a sports team from Toronto should wear: Blue, and a different shade of blue.

[PeteMoss]

TSN has NBA rights and no NHL rights so not a giant surprise they'll promote the sport...

[Flames89]

I agree with the OP, in that I wish the Leafs were better - solely because it is hard to know hockey is even being played anymore in this city. Everything is basketball and games 1-5 of the 3,000 game baseball season.

[starseed]

I like the Raptors, and have warmed to the NBA in recent years, but I get what the OP is talking about. I was hoping to catch the Flames game at a bar here last Saturday, but they wouldn't turn it from the commercials and highlights show on Sportsnet after the Raptors game. So annoying.

The Leafs need to be relevant enough to shower money and 'national' media attention on the sport of Hockey just at least to the point where bars are turning their channels to HNIC over an NBA highlights show.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by pylon

Basketball is a horrible sport. The only sport in the world that pretty much requires a pituitary disease to be successful.

Volleyball says hello.

Honestly, what is the big deal? Apparently hockey is the only sport that is allowed to be followed in Canada now? This thread reeks of ethnocentricity (bordering on racism). Expand your minds people. There is ZERO hockey coverage in the States besides the NHL network. I don't get all bent out of shape about it. I just find the coverage that I want directly. The internet is great that way.

[Poe969]

You know, when you got to tsn.ca you can just put /nhl beside it and it only gives you the NHL news...

I'm a sports fan but prefer the NHL so I only focus on NHL stuff. Others are baseball fans and others are basketball fans. You can focus your attention on just one sport and not worry about the others if they bother you so much, I'm sure that's what fans of other sports say/do regarding hockey.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by vanisleflamesfan

*

I hear this: "fastest growing sport in Canada" cliche used often and used to describe a lot of sports*. I'm going to have to go ahead and ask for a source. CITE YOUR SOURCES!!


*Soccer, cricket, basketball, snowboarding, tennis, etc.

I don't think that has been true for many years now—not since the invention of the Elan SCX and the subsequent parabolic skis revolution in the late '90s.

But yes, basketball does suck.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

The other alternative is that it's all about the Leafs on those sites... I'll take basketball.

[GioforPM]

^^. This. It won't be NHL that replaces basketball or baseball on Tsn. It will be the Leafs.

[troutman]

Don't mind the basketball, but I don't like the Jays being shoved down my throat like they are automatically Canada's team.

[Incogneto]

I am no basketball fan, but it is about 100000 times better than Baseball. God, I would rather die of dysentery then have to sit through an entire baseball game. Soooo slow, plotting and boring.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Basketball is growing in popularity and will only become bigger in the coming years. In the next 10 years Canada will be the unquestioned second best basketball country after the US. Like it or not, it's not going anywhere, and easily trumps hearing about the Leafs. The Raptors are highly likeable, the Leafs are the most revolting franchise in sports thanks to TSN and Sportsnet.

[FlamesAddiction]

I don't like basketball either. The constant squeaking drives me nuts. It's like nails down a chalkboard or rubbing two pieces of styrofoam together.

I just don't get the appeal. Way too much scoring and showboating. It's one thing in a sport like hockey or soccer to celebrate a goal which is a relatively rare event, but when a team gets 40 to 50 baskets in a game, there is no point in swinging from the basket and puffing out your chest like you just did something awesome. Most of the time, I think they try to make it harder than it is.

Having said that, it's easy enough for me to ignore. I don't think I have watched anything basketball related in years. I couldn't even name 5 current NBA players.

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by robaur

I'm guessing you're trolling....nah I think thats giving you too much credit.

I think you're just a bigot.

Guy doesnt like basketball, must be racist..... well done, robaur. You set the bar high this morning.

[codynw]

I'm no fan of basketball, but it's far less offensive than baseball.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by troutman

Don't mind the basketball, but I don't like the Jays being shoved down my throat like they are automatically Canada's team.

Are they not Canada's team though?

Just because some fans have picked another team doesn't make them not Canada's team.

I would think that overall more people care about the BlueJays and Raptors more then the other NBA/MLB teams.

Media has to play to the majority and overall those two teams are the most relevant in Canada overall.

[The Big Chill]

It's interesting to see how some of us on here are hockey fans, and others are sports fans (with one of those sports being hockey). I'm definitely a sports fan. I have my favorites, but I can sit down and watch a sport I know little about and start to enjoy it. Its how I became a soccer fan even though I didn't grow up playing it. I also took interest to rugby when the World Cup was on, and enjoy tennis when Milos or Genie are playing.

I have this argument within my own circle of friends on occasion. A couple of us love all sports, and others think the only sport that should exist is hockey. I find it really interesting.

[bubbsy]

nah, happy to see the leafs right where they are. will be even happier should the sabres win the lottery so that he is in the leafs division and becomes a deterrent in the leafs winning that division again for anohter decade. even better would be if somehow another eastern team wins the lottery such that both mcdavid/eichel are in the eastern conference