Why some feel the need to tell people how they should feel is beyond me. If you want to boo Vince Carter who am I to tell you not to do that. Who is anyone to tell you that. I have be accused of being a Vince Carter hater. I am not and personally I never would boo him myself. I don't hate Vince the fact is I pity him in many ways. You may say why on earth would you pity someone that has millions and is a star in the NBA. The reason is pretty simple actually. Vince Carter should be in the conversation with Kobe and Lebron as the greatest players in the game. But he is not and why? The answer is Vince has never taken his massive talent base and used it to it's full potential. He could have been one of the greatest to play this game. Instead of pushing to be that, Vince was more concerned about winning a slam dunk title and playing in All Star Games. When you think about what Vince will be remembered for, it would be more than likely one of 2 things that will be the greatest accomplishment of Vince Carter's career. It will be the Slam Dunk title he won in Oakland or it will be a dunk in the Olympics where he jumped over a french draft choice of the New York Knicks that never would be a factor in the NBA. While Kobe lives and breathes to win titles and M.V.P's, and Lebron is looking for a title ring and a billion dollars. What does Vince do? The same things he always has done. He smiles, shakes hands and cracks jokes and once in awhile reminds you how good he can be. Vince Carter could have and likely should have had a hall of fame type career. But instead you are not even certain if he would get his number retired by the team that launched his NBA Career. Vince Carter is frustrating for many because if they could have the skills that he had they would live in a gym and try to get every last drop out of them.
Vince Carter is not a bad person because of it. He did a lot of good for people in his time here. People often forget that aspect of things. Still at the end of the day for whatever reason you choose to dislike him that is your personal choice. Stan Van Gundy chimed in on this whole circus that is Vince coming to Toronto. He said that they see it as a joke and he thinks people just boo for the sake of booing. That half the people booing likely never saw him play in his time here. Normally I love Stan and am happy to agree with him on most things. However on this one he is out to lunch. Is there a small element of what he is talking about. Sure there is some who just follow the crowd so to speak. However there is a true bitter feeling for many that boo and it is something that will never go away. It's not Stan's fault he just doesn't truly understand.
I wonder what Chris Bosh thought as the Boos rained down on V.C. If he is thinking of ending his days in Toronto he could be thinking that could be me. If that ends up being true it would be sad to me. While Vince never has used his full talent as mentioned above. I think Chris Bosh has built himself into a superstar. He has worked hard to be an all-star and for everything he has got. I think when Chris Bosh goes out on that floor you get the best he has to give on a given night and you have got that from day 1 to today. No matter what Chris ends up doing at the end of this season. I find it hard to believe I would ever want to boo him for any reason.
What I also don't get is why people get so bent when Vince and Demar DeRozan get mentioned in the same sentence. I don't think Demar or anyone was saying he is better than Vince right now. Vince won rookie of the year and had a breakout first season. Things can change but at this point you would not think Demar is on that quick a rise to the top. He shouldn't be as he only played a year in college. Vince was older and more NBA ready when he came to Toronto. What Demar is for me is the next one. Will he ever be as good as Vince it is far to early to tell. If pressed to come up with an answer to the question I would say no. However that does not mean Demar can't still be Heir Canada. The man who one day will be king. There is no question that Demar can be capable of doing some of the things Vince did. I think he can win a dunk contest some day. He can bring the excitement and wow factor that Vince once did. I don't think we will ever hear Demar say dunking is overrated. Vince Carter will always be a part of the story of the Raptors. However that does not mean there can not be a new chapter for Demar. Vince Carter and his legacy is not something that needs to be protected like he was a God. V.C was not a Jordan and about the only thing they share in a school they attended and the fact both have won a Dunk Contest. Actually they both are Olympic Gold Medalists as well. Personally when Demar said "Air Canada" was back I applauded the kid. Let him dream big and give him the chance to get there. I am confident that he will work hard to make it happen. Demar in terms of work ethic is much more like Bosh than he is Carter.
I guess the point to all this is no one has the right to tell you how to be a fan and what you care to boo or cheer. The WWE has given the tag of Bizzaroworld to Toronto. This is because the fans in Toronto often by design would screw up the WWE Plot lines by Cheering when they should have been booing and vice versa. The NBA is not scripted entertainment and no one should try to script the fans that fill the arena. The greatest thing about what I do is getting to write about a team that has passionate and crazy fans. That is a great thing and I am not about to do anything to insult that passion and tell you what and who to be passionate about. In this blog I have never taken away my passion for the people I respect and enjoy. So it would not make any sense to tell you what to think or do in that way. You may like Jose Calderon and think I am far to hard on him. That is cool. You might have liked Joey Graham when he was here. Whatever it is that is your right and do not let anyone tell you what to feel or think.
I do my best to entertain and inform folks. But what you take away from what is written or the interviews is always up to you. I just want folks to remain passionate and for this team to be successful. I love what I do and the fact that I am writing on my Birthday should speak to how much I do love what I am doing. So for all the people who are trying to end what I guess is ANTI-VINSANITY....you have no chance to stop it anymore than you did stopping VINSANITY itself. Raptor fans are not robots and they will do what they feel. If this team does not perform how they feel they should they will boo. When you look at how Atlanta is begging just to get fans, just be thankful for the fact, that fans and having passion is not a problem here. So embrace it, do not try to mold it or shape it. Just let it be. After all that has been Vince's attitude for awhile so he says. I am not sure If I believe him. Deep down I think he hopes it will all just go away but it never does. Unlike his Cousin Tracy McGrady who LOVED all that came with being public enemy #1. Vince has never been comfortable with it...much like he never truly seemed to be comfortable with being the leader of this basketball team when he was here.
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Happy birthday brother. good looking out man.
ReplyDeleteGreat breakdown of the whole "Vince Carter" saga. Love it. Everything you said was on point. It's sad to see though (like you said) that he is not in the same conversation as Wade, Kobe and LeBron. I never thought that we would truly see a player be the next Mike, but Vince Carter once made me believe. We'll talk about him in a few years as a guy that "shoulda, coulda, woulda". That will be his legacy as a Raptor and as an NBA player.....I'll make sure to keep checking out the stuff you write!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the B-Day wish Sam and thanks for the kind words about this blog Shyne. If anyone want to give me a gift just get a friend to come read the blog. That is what this year is going to be about. Growing this thing to a larger level.
ReplyDeleteBooing VC just has to stop, Fans that do that are even more immature than VC was when he left. It was fine for the first 2 or 3 years, but now it's just Old.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree if fans want to boo let them boo. It is there choice and there right and that is the point I was trying to make here. We have no more right to tell people who to do than we do who to cheer.
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