The AltRaps Blog

Out Of Left Field: RAPTORS: A SURE BET FOR GETTING MORE ATTENTION
Here’s one untouched upon reason why the Raptors don’t get more widespread attention outside their core fan base: People in Ontario can’t stop by a convenience store and include the Raptors on a Pro-Line ticket.

Putting your money where your mouth fuels interest in sports. Just listen to a discussion among guys in an office on Mondays during the NFL season. They’ll talk about how they did in the pool or how a team scored a meaningless last-second touchdown to blow the point spread or the over/under. It’s similar for the NHL, baseball and soccer in Ontario (no one does the arm’s-length symbiotic relationship with gambling better than the NFL).

But NBA talk, as I’ve found, can be a non-starter. The league’s absence from Pro-Line isn’t the only reason, but it’s a big one, since Ontario is Canada’s most populous province and has the biggest influence nationally on cultural tastes. The league has been off Pro-Line since the mid-1990s. Commissioner David Stern, off on a power trip, made it a condition of granting the Raptors franchise.