The End Of Some Dreams

When I was a kid there would be times at a family gathering or something with adults around where an adult would try their luck playing me at a video game. The outcome was usually bad for the adult. I remember how bad they would be and said to myself that I would never be that adult. That was a goal of mine, never to be that adult. When I was older that was not going to happen to me. However thanks to modern technology you can now play games online. I get my butt beat by someone on the other end that is likely far younger than me.

When I started this blog there was another goal I had to walk the fine line of being a fan and still being a professional. People I know in the media suggested it was impossible. After all the root of the word fan is fanatic. There is also a pain that goes along with being a fan. You grow attached to players and teams. I have dealt with that pain all season in having my favourite player traded to Indiana. It would be something that would be easy to accept if the team got better but they did not. Now we head to another summer and a lot of folks are talking about Chris Bosh and his time being with the Raptors being done. I have loved as a fan watching Chris grow and become one of the better players in the NBA. There is always a debate in my head between objectivity and being a fan. Through out this season I have noticed the fan part of me is slowly going the way of my video game skills. The truth is I always some where stuck in the middle between being a fan and trying to be a journalist of sorts. It is becoming a painful experience to be a fan of this team in a lot of ways.

You also have this issue of fans saying you are a homer if you try to support the team and say something positive. The fan in me and the journalist in me agree this team needs changes. However does it need to get blown up and start over from square one? I honestly don't think that as well. This season on every level for everyone has been a horrible failure. The one exception to that might be Andrea Bargnani. However beyond that it has been a horrible year. The irony of that is for me personally it has been a great year. I have worked hard and got to accomplish a lot of things. So that is a good thing for myself and the Dino Nation Blog. Which hopefully is good for all of you that read it as well. But it is hard to be happy or proud when the main focus of this blog is in the state it is in.

The other thing is no matter how hard you try to fight it, we are all tied to the success of this team. That is the one common bond that Management, Coaches, Players, Media and Fans all share. It is all connected and each of those elements is impacted by this team and how it performs. If they under perform eventually that will mean less readers and viewers for folks in the media. I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say I am sick of this team and can't take it anymore. People frustrated with the whole T.V mess and TSN 2. Could you imagine if this team was on a playoff run? The 3 games (Pacers,Wiz, Sixers) down the stretch are on TSN 2. Ironically this game tonight was suppose to be on ESPN between the Raps and Wiz. The point is for everyone it is in the best interest of all for this team to be good. Sadly this season they were not.

I often wonder as well what makes fans tick these days. I mean there just does not seem to be the loyalty there was when I was that same kid kicking adults butts at video games. People just don't seem to care about the individuals like they use to. Fans have bought in and accepted that sports is a business. I understand that as the journalist in me. The concept of sports being a business. However as a fan I truly can't. I love players to much for that. Maybe I am old school in my thinking about some things. I mean there is something to be said for old school values. In wrestling which I often jump to for examples. John Cena wears a T-shirt that says Hustle, Loyalty and Respect. All great qualities and all things that are part of this blog. I think there is no question that I hustle. Scott Carefoot has referred to me as the hardest working Raptor Blogger out there. I do work hard and invest a ton of time into this thing. It has not been until this last little while that I have taken a day off here and there. Sometimes even my day offs are not really days off. I live blog for the Score and in fact am doing 2 games tonight. There are also the many things that go into getting all the guests I am able to get. Loyalty is something I also can say I truly am. I have stuck to my guns on many things and stayed loyal to the people that I feel strongly about. Lastly I do my best to respect everyone from the guests that I have to all of you out there. My father always told me when he was alive to respect those that respect you. I do my best to do that. Even sometimes when people don't respect me I do my best to take the high road. I may not be a fan of John Cena but I am of those values.

Sure we could have talked about the Raptors and Wizards in a game that means very little. However hopefully this was a lot more interesting. I pour a lot of myself into this and some people like that and others do not. I just feel it is the best way to do it. Gilbert Arenas is actually playing basketball again. Why that is another question altogether. I mean practice with the Wizards and get back healthy. However to play in these last few games screams to me as a look at me move. Arenas will say he is doing it for the fans. Do the Wizards have any fans that are still paying attention at this point? In fact do the Raptors? Oh what a classic it should be. Two teams that have been playoff teams now as total outsiders playing out the string. FUN WOW!!!