#WeTheNorth
We The North campaign has been a catch for people living in Toronto to hop on the bandwagon of supporting the Raptors. In the article by Mike Ganter, he says that the crowd supporting the Raptors is similar to the fans that cheer for European football. A large part is due to the capitalization of this NBA team and making it to become apart of Canada’s national identity. The We The North campaign promotes itself through various social media platforms, such as twitter. They have billboards all over the city and t-shirts with #WeTheNorth displaying Toronto’s affection and support for the Raptors. Though football may be the modern day religion for Europe, and other countries abroad, basketball is certainly on an equal playing field or higher than hockey in the amount of fans in Toronto.
Mike Ganter says that during the Raptors vs. Cleveland game a couple days ago that was held in Cleveland, the support was beyond a fan level that has been seen for travelling fans of the Maple Leafs or the Jays. Mike says, “It’s as if the We the North campaign has freed up Canadians to show some of the national pride we all have, or suspect we have, but as Canadians rarely show at the risk of being thought too brash or outspoken or something else un-Canadian.” Being a fan of the Raptors myself, they have become more of a basketball team to many Torontonians. Their mascot, Drake, already famous brings a sense of belief to the team and an increase in popularity to the Raptors as he is seen at every game.
It is also an emotional experience being a fan or a player for the Raptors — Vince Carter, a former player of the Raptors shared a tribute video during the half time against the Raptors last week. As the video started, many Raptors “booed” the video, but as the video progressed, the crowd starting a standing ovation for him which brought tears to Carter’s eyes. Canadians decided to put away their anger or unforgiveness towards him for leaving the team and instead praised him for his success. Could the Raptors and all of its campaigns be acknowledged for bringing Canadians together to form a community that stands by its previous champions? I am not sure, but though the team has increased support because of the new logos and campaigns, its meaning to Canadians has a much deeper affect. It has become a religion that compels Canadians to act “uncanadian”, follow the scores and their twitter account, and to be the loudest at an away game.
