It was, presumably, an effort to spread the basketball gospel to the far reaches of Canada, and to “give something back” to the community that is home to the “farm” team of the National Hockey League Toronto Maple Leafs.
The ‘effort’ was the decision by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment to have the NBA team that that entity owns, the Raptors, play an exhibition game at the home of the St. John’s (Newfoundland) hockey Leafs, Mile One Stadium.
Wonderful thought, and particularly appealing to the local sports fans, no doubt, given that the opposition was the once-lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, now a team with the highest-profile rookie to come into the NBA in years, young LeBron James.
As fate (or lack of proper preparation) would have it, with a full house watching, it evidently became clear that condensation on the temporary playing floor would not allow the teams to play safely. The Raptors, and the NBA, determined that conditions were unsafe and called the game off.
Amazingly, Raptors officials actually herded the players from the teams out of the building BEFORE letting the crowd know the game would be cancelled.
It was a stunning display of arrogance, and a classic case of turning a negative into an even bigger negative.
Presented with what was, in effect, an opportunity, Raptors officials could have, from a “public relations” perspective at the very least, if nothing else, (or simply because it would have been the right thing to do) handled this situation very differently.
With thousands of moms and dads and youngsters on hand to see their first-ever, and possibly only-ever NBA “game”, the players skulked out of the building-- caught by TV cameras, but not so noticed by the poor fans.
Did any of the Raptors officials think about another way of handling this situation, other than General Manager Glen Grunwald lamely offering to return to Newfoundland “within two years”?
Perhaps a slam-dunk contest was out of the question, given the potentially slippery conditions. But how about a three-point shooting contest to entertain the fans?
Maybe an impromptu “Question & Answer” session with young LeBron James, or Raps star Vince Carter, holding a microphone in their hands at center court and kids having an opportunity to ask questions?
Or a quick ticket stub “raffle” to offer a chance to at least a few fans to take photos with/of their favorite players?
Or better still, with the allotted time still available and everyone already there (even though the game was delayed, they were supposed to be playing an entire game, after all), how about asking (insisting?) that each one of the players on both teams spend some time in the stands, signing autographs?
Oh yes, a few of the multi-million dollar athletes might have had to walk up a few flights of stairs to get to the top of the small arena, but one senses they are in good enough shape to handle the task.
Any of these things would have brought a smile to the faces of youngsters, many of whom had been thinking about this night for weeks and weeks.
Any of the above would have given a sign, a glimpse of hope, that today’s professional athletes are not totally out of touch with the “average fan” – and that MLSE management, accustomed to charging ridiculously high amounts for sometimes middlish entertainment value at the Air Canada Center in Toronto – was not equally out of touch.
Any of the above would have turned a mess into a positive experience for many of those on hand.
Instead, in their wisdom, Raptor officials determined that the precious players were somehow at risk of a hostile reaction from the crowd.
Rather than actively doing something positive, they ran out the back of the building, literally (while unsuspecting volunteers, many of them youngsters, were still trying to help dry off the floor).
Sometimes, when you don’t “do” much of anything, as the Raptors officials did not, you are really “communicating” a lot.
And by implying that the St. John’s sports faithful, of all people, might have reacted badly was dead wrong, and also missed the point.
All they wanted was to see the players a little, see them up close, and see them as real people, not small distant figures on a TV screen.
The Raptors had a chance to take an unfortunate circumstance and do something really neat, and they failed on all counts.
Perhaps what is most disappointing is that –tucked “safely” on their bus and the subsequent flight home-- they probably still don’t get it.
The Coach comments that he missed a chance to “see different guys” play in one of the fall’s last exhibition games. The team President says the organization was concerned for the safety of the players. The General Manager says they will come back in two years.
They all so badly missed the real point of the whole exercise.
Talk about a missed opportunity.
