For Joe Carter, Raptors’ run brings back memories of Blue Jays’ historic titles. But this time, it’s even more exciting,
World Series hero says mood in Toronto today is even more exciting
When baseball legend Joe Carter was in town last week, the energy he felt — even moments after stepping off the plane — took him back to those electrifying days in the early 1990s when the Toronto Blue Jays were back-to-back World Series champions.
But, he says, Raptormania feels even more feverish because of social media, a younger fan base, Jurassic Park and dozens of outdoor viewing parties across the country that are drawing thousands.
“Times have changed. These crowds are loud and exciting … It’s a different breed. There’s a lot more excitement now,” said Carter, who lives outside Kansas City. “You get to the airport, and even the customs agents are a lot friendlier — all you’ve got to do is say Raptors and their eyes light up.
“It’s exciting times for Toronto, and rightfully so. They’re the greatest fans in the world,” Carter told the Star on Saturday.
Excitement is building as the Raptors prepare to play the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday at Scotiabank Arena. The Raptors — Canada’s only NBA team — need one more win to clinch the championship, which would be a first for the franchise.
The last time Toronto won a major North American sports championship was in1993, after Carter’s walk-off homer gave Toronto its second straight World Series title. It was the second consecutive Blue Jays championship. Prior to that, the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1967.
Carter, who was in Toronto last week for a golf tournament and watched Game 3 in a hotel cinema, described the mood in the city: “It’s ’92, ’93 all over again … although we didn’t have a Jurassic Park (then).”
“The town has been starved since we won in ’92 and ’93 … Fans have been waiting for this,” said Carter, himself “a huge Raptors fan.” He said he was “kind of shocked” to see all the outdoor viewing parties, modelled after Scotiabank Arena’s Jurassic Park, popping up from coast to coast. According to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Raptors, there are now 56 outdoor public viewing parties, and about 36 Cineplex movie theatres, that are screening the NBA Finals nationwide.
“The (Raptors) are not just playing for Toronto, but for all of Canada, and that’s exactly the way we felt in baseball. We weren’t just playing for the city of Toronto; we were playing for all of Canada. And boy, what an experience. It was great.
“We knew that from the east coast in Nova Scotia, all the way to Vancouver, that the Canadians were rooting for us and it was all about Canada,” he recalled. “It was unbelievable. Everywhere you walked, everywhere you went, people throughout the whole country, all they were talking about was the Blue Jays. And it gave you a little pep in your step as you walked around town.
“If (the Raptors) can pull it off on Monday, it’s going to be a zoo out there in Toronto,” Carter said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, just like it was a lot of fun for us.”
When the Jays won the 1992 series in Atlanta — the first World Series Championship in team history — he said they danced and partied at their hotel until 3 a.m. When they won the following year in Toronto, he did media interviews into the wee hours, as thousands of jubilant fans converged on Yonge St. to celebrate.
He described the mood leading up those decisive games as fun, exciting and intense, saying home games were so loud “you can’t even hear yourself think.”
“There’s just electricity, like 100,000 watts of electricity everywhere … You’ve got the banners, horns honking. It’s just people in a great mood,” he said.
“For players, it gets you so pumped up … As soon as we would walk out, just for batting practice three hours before the game, the place was packed. And people were yelling and screaming … And that never happened in Toronto.”
Before that, said Carter, the Jays’ fan base was less boisterous and Toronto “was more of a quiet, subdued town.” After their win, the city’s image changed. Toronto was no longer just a hockey town; it became a baseball town — and now it’s a basketball town, with Scotiabank one of the largest and loudest venues of the NBA, he said.
Alot of athletes dream of making it to the championships, but Carter said his motto was always “I want to win it, not just get there.”
“Never be happy with just getting there,” Carter said. “Focus your mind on winning. And that’s what (the Raptors) have done. They are hungry and they are playing well.”
Carter added: “I sent Kyle Lowry an Instagram message. I said, ‘Look, it’s great that you guys get there, but don’t be satisfied with just getting there. You’re there to win it.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, that’s what we’re here for.’ ”