Raptors Preseason: Seeing Game 1 Live at Scotiabank Arena

After what felt like decades, the Toronto Raptors made their triumphant return to Canada, as a win over the Philadelphia 76ers helped the franchise set the tone for what looks like a very promising season. After almost two years away, Raptors fans getting back in the arena was a sight to behold.

The first thing you notice walking into the arena is the seeming mass of humanity greeting you at the door. Nearly two years of keeping ourselves within groups of less than ten took a toll on our psyche.

The second thing you notice is the staff out front. Tents, spaced out cues, extra folks in blue waiting to check you, lines for vaccine verification, lines for ticket verification, the works. The part of you the freaked out somewhat by entering this crowd for the first time is calmed by how tight the protocols are.

When the lights dim and the in-house voice of Mark Strong tells you to “Make Some Noise!” for the first time since February 28th, 2020, you notice a funny feeling in the pit of your back and the crook of your jaw. And you smile. For the first time, you fully comprehend that both Toronto and the Raptors have come home.

The Toronto Raptors fans were incredible.

You had to be there to see it. The starting lineup immediately caused a stir when the announcement came. Returning cornerstone players OG Anunoby and Fred VanVleet came as no surprise, but several key changes occurred too.

Pascal Siakam, still sidelined and recovering from surgery, was replaced in the frontcourt by rookie Scottie Barnes. Neither Gary Trent Jr. nor Khem Birch saw the floor, leaving the starting two and five spots open for the Raptors’ acquisitions from Miami in Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa.

Barnes, Dragic, and Achiuwa were just three of the ten new faces making debuts playing home at Scotiabank Arena. For each player, the crowd roared when they entered the game for the first time. From Barnes to David Johnson, every player on this roster elicited a hearty cheer from the crowd.

It was just preseason. It was the most meaningless of meaningless games, but the fans still raged like they were watching a heavyweight fight. We just wanted to yell. We wanted to clap. When was the last time any of us had clapped like that?

Because Scotiabank was about two-fifths full, there was a lot more sound space available. This meant you could hear anything anyone shouted from across the room.

When Barnes roared after a dunk, he was heard loud and clear. When Siakam cheered his teammates from the bench, we could hear his voice from the cheap seats.  And when fans heckled the opposing team, you better believe the 76ers heard them.

Here are some of the highlights of the night:

"“Hey Drummond!  You got knees for elbows, that’s why you can’t hit a damn free throw!”"

"“Where’s Simmons?  Where’s Simmons?”"

"“Thybulle, you’re a cupcake!”"

"“Hey Drummond!  Remember when you were an All-Star?”"

I love our fans.

The Toronto Raptors just wanted it more.

As far as the game goes, the team seemed to feed off the fans’ energy, then the fans fed off the team’s, and back again, and it continued on and on and on like some electric tango. You could feel the joy in the air.

The 76ers looked like they were playing Game One of the preseason, warming up and taking it easy. Contrast this to the Raptors, many of whom were experiencing their first taste of NBA action. They scrapped on defence, they ran the break, they played the game with a burning passion.

The entire team was there, and they wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else. And yet, one Raptor stood atop and lead the charge as the team’s emotional leader. It was the youngest Raptor there, Scottie Barnes.

Barnes plays the game with his heart on his sleeve. This we know. He fights on defence, uses his absurdly long arms for deflections and to recover loose balls, talks smack, and conducts himself with a Kevin Garnett-like flair for the loud and violent highlight reaction.

You could see that watching the game on your TV, but what you could have seen was the way he carried himself on the bench. Barnes checks out for the first time with 5:00 to go in the 1st quarter. He goes to the bench, but he never sat down.

He stood there for almost the entire time, yelling, helping his teammates to communicate on defence, pointing and screeners and cutters, clapping encouragement, and celebrating baskets with his arms outstretched.

His demeanour was infectious. By the end of the third quarter, the entire team was joining him standing on the bench. This is the kind of thing that can’t be developed in the gym or taught by a coach.

Barnes had a great opening night. The 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and excellent defence were impressive, but it was the intangibles that stood out the most.

This kind of inherent quality, this infectious fire and heart, can galvanize a team and ignite a crowd. That’s something we can’t fully appreciate unless we’re in the building. We need to be in-person to fully appreciate what a player, and person, like that can do to an arena full of crazy fans, and for the first time in two years, we can.

It felt good to be home.