一篇關於暴龍迷的報導
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How Toronto Raptors fans used the Internet to stave off extinction
The Toronto Raptors are finally getting some revenge. The red-headed
stepchild of Canadian sports, formerly known as the “Craptors,”
have emerged from the darkest period in team history and are headed
for the franchise's first division title. But if you go online you
might think the Raptors were already a basketball dynasty.
Leaguewide, Toronto fans have earned a nasty reputation for savagely
defending their team online, even when the Raptors couldn’t defend
for themselves on the court. The official team website (www.raptors.com)
is the second most popular in the NBA receiving 80 per cent more page
views than the league average. There are more websites and blogs devoted
to the Dinos than any other franchise and local podcasters have been
celebrated in the New York Times and Sports Illustrated. Through the
power of online balloting, fans recently flexed their muscle by voting
star forward Chris Bosh onto the Eastern Conference all-star team.
“[The Raptors] have the most rabid fans of anyone in the league,” wrote
sportswriter Bill Simmons of ESPN.com in a recent column. “There are more
of them than you’d ever think, they take every slight personally, and
they’ll absolutely keep sending emails to people like me until their team
is given the credit they deserve.”
Until recently the franchise didn’t deserve much credit. They’d suffered
four losing seasons in a row, disgraced superstar Vince Carter had given up
on the team and fled town. Rock bottom came late last season when they had
the dubious honour of surrendering 81-points to basketball villain Kobe
Bryant.
In the face of such humiliation and shattered expectations, the team’s
dwindling fan base regrouped and fled underground – to the blogosphere
– where they could cheer for and talk about their team without anyone
knowing their secret shame: they like the Raptors.
Toronto Star basketball beat writer Doug Smith equates this phenomenon to
group therapy. “It’s a place where like-minded fans can vent; whether
they’re venting about the right things doesn’t really matter,” he says.
Chuck Swirsky, play-by-play announcer for the Raptors, daily blogger and
voice of the franchise, bears the brunt of this cyber-venting every single
game. “I probably get 70, maybe even closer to 100 e-mails from fans
during the actual game,” he says. “Fans ask questions like, ‘Why isn’t
Chris Bosh in the game?’ and ‘Why aren’t we playing zone defense?’
I’ve worked in Chicago, I’ve been in Detroit and I don’t think I’ve
ever been around a fan base that is so crazy."
Demographics have a lot to do with this online fervor. “It’s a younger
audience that follows basketball,” Smith says. “They are Internet savvy
and much more able to get information and share thoughts online than many
hockey or baseball fans.”
There is also something fundamentally Canadian about Raptors fans: the
inferiority complex. The team is largely ignored by the U.S. media and
here at home, where hockey is gospel, the Raptors are openly disdained
by puck-headed hockey Brahmins like the Toronto Sun's Al Strachan, who
once called for the liquidation of the franchise to free-up resources
for Hogtown's fortunate son, the Maple Leafs.
Geography is another important factor. With fans spread from Port McNeill,
B.C. to Gander, Newfoundland and six players on the team’s 15-man roster
having played internationally, both Smith and Swirsky get countless e-mails
from fans in places like Italy and Spain, Yellowknife and Israel.
Adam Francis and Dave Randell began cheering electronically three years ago
when the team was at it’s lowest. They launched Raptors HQ
(www.hooplife.ca/raptorshq), a sober and sophisticated website with
daily updates, game previews and analysis. It’s one of at least seven
frequently updated Raptors fan sites on the web, more than any other
NBA team.
“It’s a lot more fun to talk about a team that’s bad,” Randell says.
“There is more speculation, you’re desperate, grasping for something,
anything, that could make the team better.” With 10,000 daily hits from
around the world there seems to be a lot of desperate fans out there.
In a gesture to the international flavour of the club Raptors HQ posted
an entire entry in Spanish, catering to fans of the team’s two Spanish
stars, Jose Calderon and Jorge Garbajosa. “We’re not trying to be the
voice of the Raptors, but rather the voice of the fans of the Raptors –
in any language. It’s a voice that wasn’t that loud when we started.
But it’s loud now,” Francis adds.
It’s also a voice that is about to get louder. As the Raps charge into
the playoffs it’s clear that general manager Bryan Colangelo has molded
the once-moribund franchise into a real contender and a team with the
potential to be very good for very long.
But if you don’t see a lot of Raptors fans on the street, it’s because
they’re hunched over their keyboards hounding guys like Bill Simmons to
recognize the club. “Stop emailing me. I like your team,” Simmons wrote.
“I was wrong. OK? I was wrong! LEAVE ME ALONE…!” However, the true
test of the fans’ online power still lies ahead. Stephen Colbert of
The Colbert Report recently announced the Raptors were “dead to him”
for some perceived slight or another. Will fans return the scorn?
Bloggers, you know what to do.
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