The Stupid Boo Or Not Boo Debate Is Back

I grow tired of media, fans etc weighing in on what people should do in terms of booing players. It comes up every time McGrady, Carter and now as of Wednesday Chris Bosh comes to town. Do we hear people losing their minds over Matt Bonner, JYD or Oakley getting cheers? Then why must everyone feel the need to tell others what they should do in terms of jeers. I just find the whole topic stupid to a point. Everyone connected to the Raptors have their own opinions on players that have played for this team good and bad. Where should I or anyone else get off in telling you what to feel and do?

I have said in this blog that Bryan Colangelo was wrong to call Bosh's effort into question at the end of his time here. He should have said nothing and left it alone even if he felt it was the 100% truth in his mind. But there is different because Bryan Colangelo is in charge of running this franchise. The paying customers at the Air Canada Centre do not have to show any restraint or professionalism in how they react to players. There is a line to how far it should go and that I will agree you can debate. But to debate if people should boo or not boo is beyond stupid.

Not to mention the fact we all know what will happen anyway. This is the city that has booed Vince Carter for years and T-Mac even longer than that. Chris Bosh is going to get booed out of the building at the ACC on Wednesday and everyone knows it including him. People make various arguments as to why you shouldn't boo him. He gave 7 years to this franchise and did lots of work in the community with charities and what not. He also far more than Vince Carter ever did connected with the fans and the city. He embraced Toronto in his time here. However his comments since leaving have not reflected that. He made one valid point in his final press conference as a Raptor. Never in the Bosh Era did the folks at MLSE invest in this team beyond the tax threshold. He felt that was a mistake and likely felt it was a lack of faith in him or in wanting to win. He did not go as far as that but it is a logical assumption. He also had the opportunity to play with two of the best players in the NBA, and guys who were his friends, although not to the point the media hyped it up. I can understand the fact he left and even if it just stopped there be supportive about it.

But it didn't just stay at that. He could have just attacked MLSE and said that he felt the organization was not committed to winning, and while he loves the fans and Toronto, he can not remain if that is the case. I mean heck to me that would kind of make him a hero in a way. Calling out MLSE and putting it on them to explain their actions was a much better exit strategy than the one he went with. No he decided to take to Twitter and turn his free agency into a side show. He decided to make some documentary about it that has still to see the light of day. He decided once he had chosen to go to the Heat to go on every single program in the U.S.A that would have him. Then their were the stupid comments he made. Saying that Canada was different. Now he explains it more when he gets ripped for it. But if he truly cared about his time here and organization he knows that people in the U.S will not see it as that. They will see it that were living here in igloos with no cable to get NBA League Pass. The one that irked me most of all was the now my grandmother can watch me play games. Excuse me Mr Millionaire Athlete you can't afford to buy her league pass? She was not living up here so she could get it right? But what Bosh was really saying was he could be on national television in the U.S on TNT and ESPN. Barkley jokes about TNT being bias against Canada aside the Raptors just to not draw for ESPN or TNT, and they gain no advantage in terms of advertising dollars. But all that being said, Vince Carter because he was more flashy and had more fans than Chris Bosh was able to break through on to main stream U.S television. He even got to play on Christmas Day before it was expanded to the 5 game festival it is now. So maybe it is just a case of in terms of popularity, V.C was better than Chris Bosh.

This is why many are mad at Chris Bosh. It is all this junk after the fact. Tweets like "Life has Changed" and willingly or ignorantly rubbing it in to Raptors fans. If people are mad and hurt by all that has gone on, they have every right to be. Chris Bosh made his own bed and as much as he may want to say that we had a great 7 years and life goes on. He knows that in Toronto that is not going to fly. Perhaps the thing that boggles my mind is he was here and saw it all go down when Vince Carter left. Was he not paying attention? If there is anything of all of this that totally stuns me, it is Chris Bosh managed to have a worse exit from Toronto than Vince Carter did. I honestly did not think that was possible.

Yet Bosh seems to legitimately care about saving his legacy such as it is in Toronto. What other explanation can be given for every time he is misquoted, or taken out of context, he comes running back to Canada on the radio or t.v. Which by the way he wanted no part of from the time the season ended until well after he decided to go to Miami. He shut out the media in Canada during that time. Surely he is not stupid enough to think he can save his legacy here is he? I still consider him the best player this franchise has had. But just as Vince Carter did with his exit, it will prevent that from ever being acknowledged.

Chris Bosh stopped doing the thinking and let "his people" do his thinking after he left from that final press conference in Toronto. While his people did an excellent job in getting him exposure in the United States, they did an equally horrible job in protecting his legacy in Toronto. If that in fact matters to Chris, he should have taken control. I wanted to just blame "his people" for what he has become, but ultimately the people work for Chris and he is in charge. If he let them take control that is his fault at the end of the day.

This blog in his time in Toronto supported Chris even at times when not a lot of people did. I am not ashamed of that at all. I have never said this in the blog but he once even messaged me and said he had read this blog before and liked it. I will assume that was the truth and be thankful for that. But ultimately there is no defending how he left, and I will not even attempt to do so. I have also never said this in the blog before, but while were on the subject it seems a good time to mention it. There was some talk about having him come in the blog for an interview. It was nothing I ever mentioned because I was not certain it would ever happen. Ultimately it never did. But I would get chances to talk with Chris in getting access with the Raptors so it really didn't matter. If people pay attention to my twitter account they can probably figure out who was making these promises about Bosh coming to the blog and did not come through. I don't hold that against Chris though. I would not be shocked if he was never even made aware of it. That same person accused me of changing. That I was not going to be taken seriously as a journalist because I had turned my back on Bosh or was bashing him. He can think what he likes. The reality is at the end of the day I am disappointed in Chris. I felt he was a better person than what he has shown since leaving Toronto.

But those are my feelings and you all have yours, so as it has been said in the past in this blog, it is not my right or anyone's to tell you what to do. If you pay for a seat in the arena, as long as you are not doing anything that would be against the rules the ACC has in place in terms of conduct, no one should have an issue with it. I have made my feelings known about how I hate people cheering for Pizza. But I only express why I feel that way and ultimately you don't have to listen.

These debates about fans booing or not booing need to come to an end, they are pointless and really are for no one to say other than each individual. Boo, Cheer or read the newspaper when Chris Bosh is announced at the ACC. It really is your personal decision. Your right as a fan. Don't let anyone take that right away from you.