As the only Canadian franchises in the NBA and MLB, respectively, the Toronto Raptors and Blue Jays carry an outsized profile in the Canadian sporting narrative.
Not only is it OK to cheer for Toronto in these two instances, but it may be patriotically mandatory, judging by the number of Raptors and Jays caps and jerseys worn across the country.
The Raptors blare that loud and proud with their slogan: 鈥淲e The North.鈥� But this week it鈥檚 We The West as the Raptors acknowledge their pan-Canadian following by bringing their training camp to the CARSA gymnasium on the University of Victoria campus today through Thursday.
It is the fourth consecutive year, and fifth overall, that the Raptors have held their training camp in sa国际传媒 As identification of the level of interest in the club, the Raptors intra-squad game Thursday at CARSA gym sold out in less than 20 minutes.
But this is not a sporting interest that translates south of the border, which makes the Raptors (and Jays) even more a source of pride for some Canadian sports fans, even though few of the players are actually Canadian.
The Raptors have been nibbling around the edges of elite status in the NBA Eastern Conference but still feel they don鈥檛 fully get the recognition they deserve, probably because of where they play.
鈥淚 love that people underestimate us,鈥� said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, in addressing the media Monday morning in Toronto, before boarding a plane with his team to Victoria in the evening.
鈥淭hey have done it every year and we end up [getting] 50 wins.
鈥淚 like the fact that they slight us. We should be playing with a chip on our shoulder. We鈥檙e the little team up north that they don鈥檛 respect or whatever. We have to earn that [respect] and get that back again like we did last year.鈥�
But the next step has proven the most difficult. LeBron James and the Cavaliers swept the Raptors in the second round of the playoffs last season and 4-2 in the conference final in 2016.
鈥淭his is not about the regular season. It is about pushing through in the playoffs and getting over Cleveland,鈥� added Casey.
Raptors star point-guard Kyle Lowry has come to the hometown of former point-guard and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, and to the campus where Nash grew up watching the UVic Vikes鈥� Canadian university championship dynasty of the 1980s in McKinnon Gym, which still stands next door to CARSA.
鈥淲e have the opportunity to be a special group but we can鈥檛 look too far ahead,鈥� said Lowry.
Lowry said ultimate respect will come for the Raptors only if they take the next step: 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 won a championship. If we win a championship, I am sure the conversation would be completely different. Until we get to that point, there will always be criticism [from outside sources]. Even if you win a championship, there will be criticism.鈥�
The CARSA gym floor provides a fresh canvas to apply the first strokes of painting the picture of the 2017-18 season, before the Raptors leave for their first two exhibition games Sunday and next Tuesday in Hawaii against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Raptors star DeMar DeRozan touched on that when he also addressed the Toronto media Monday: 鈥淚t鈥檚 always great being in this moment where you start from ground one. I鈥檝e never been big on talking. I let my actions speak for themselves. I can鈥檛 wait to get out there.鈥�
DeRozan also touched on a journey for this Raptors team that does not yet seem complete without that ultimate prize.
鈥淭he guys here have been through hell, I feel like, at times,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen the highest points and felt the lowest and have been able to carry that over. This is my ninth year and I鈥檝e seen so much of having success and having failures. It鈥檚 about putting all that together going into this training camp and guys who experienced that last year trying to share that with all the new guys. We鈥檝e all got to come together [because] the sky鈥檚 the limit for us.鈥�
Meanwhile, most of the NBA players are Americans and U.S. race politics regarding the NFL, Stephen Curry and U.S. President Donald Trump will follow the Raptors into Victoria. DeRozan was asked about it by the Toronto media: 鈥淎 lot of the NFL players are doing a heck of a job standing up for what they believe in. It鈥檚 great to see all of those guys sticking together. Even though we鈥檙e not in the same sport as them, we could help do the same in ways of spreading positivity, learning and trying to make a change. It starts on us. We have a voice. We could spread so much as a whole as long as we stick together. It鈥檚 great. I鈥檓 definitely going to play a part in it. I鈥檓 all for it.鈥�
The Canadian content this week at CARSA will be provided by Raptors try-out hopefuls Kyle Wiltjer and Andy Rautins. This is a familial homecoming to the Island for Wiltjer, son of Olympian and Sidney-raised former Parkland Secondary Panthers basketball star Greg Wiltjer, who won a national championship at UVic. The former Kentucky/Gonzaga collegian Kyle Wiltjer, who won a silver medal with sa国际传媒 at the 2015 Pan Am Games and played 14 NBA games last season for the Houston Rockets, was signed by the Raptors last month.
Rautins has also represented sa国际传媒 and the veteran of the European pro leagues is the son of former NBA and national team player turned broadcaster Leo Rautins.
All practice sessions at CARSA are closed to the public. The only fans who will get to see the Raptors dribble and shoot will be those who got tickets for Thursday鈥檚 intra-squad game. The team will be holding clinics for youth players this week.
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