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Leafs vs Raptors:

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PrimumHockeyist

PrimumHockeyist

Registered User
Apr 7, 2018
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It's been quite a while since I lived in T.O.

In a recent thread elsewhere on this board, I read more than one person say that the Raptors are now bigger than the Leafs in the city nowadays,

So, if the Leafs make it to the Stanley Cup finals this spring, do the people here who know the city now expect that the level of enthusiasm won't rise to the level that the Raptors inspired a few years ago?
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Toronto is a great sports town. Simple as that. Leafs, Raptors, and the Blue Jays all are well-supported with many people supporting multiple Toronto teams like myself.

As for your question, not sure about Toronto but the GTA as a whole is still Leafs dominant. The TV ratings also show that to be true. Leafs have always had good ratings even when they were utter garbage.

The Raptors are growing and had a quick rise while they were winning but bandwagoners are common. The Leafs will get them too once they win a round.
 
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At the moment the city is a great sports hub, but as soon as the Leafs make ANY noise in the playoffs...it'll just break the dam and the floodgates will open.

I do think Raptors are close to the second of power/rank in MLSE after the leafs.
 
Feels like the Raptors hype has died down a lot since the 2019 championship. Leafs have a higher number of loyal fans that'll stick with the team even when we suck. When the Raptors start rebuilding, their fans will get real quiet and likely won't sell out home games. Leafs on the other hand were still very relevant and sold out every home game even in the dark ages from 2005 to 2016.

The number of Bandwagon fans we get if we make the finals will be the same as what the Raptors got in 2019, as those people will cheer simply because it's Toronto (I did this in 2019 for the Raptors and I'm not ashamed to admit it).

Basically, in terms of quantity:

Leafs loyal + bandwagon fans > Raptors loyal + bandwagon fans

So if we do make the finals, expect this city to burn the f*** down. 2019 will be nothing compared to it.
 
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Now that Toronto is less then 50 % white, and minorities gravitate to the Raptors, I think the Raptors are 1st.

Forbes also has the Raptors being worth about 1 billion more then the leafs. So this is easily the Raps now. It's not 2003.
 
Puckstuff said:
Now that Toronto is less then 50 % white, and minorities gravitate to the Raptors, I think the Raptors are 1st.

Forbes also has the Raptors being worth about 1 billion more then the leafs. So this is easily the Raps now. It's not 2003.
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The Raptors being worth more does not mean they are more popular to the Leafs....it means that NBA franchises are more valuable then NHL franchises lol those Forbes numbers are also typically not what teams actually sell for in the real world anyways. There is no world where the Raps are bigger on the whole then the Leafs. Just not true at all.
 
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TheBeastCoast said:
The Raptors being worth more does not mean they are more popular to the Leafs....it means that NBA franchises are more valuable then NHL franchises lol those Forbes numbers are also typically not what teams actually sell for in the real world anyways. There is no world where the Raps are bigger on the whole then the Leafs. Just not true at all.
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I saw your location is Nova Scotia and mine is mostly Toronto (when I'm in Canada). So that probably has something to do with our paradigm.
 
Puckstuff said:
I saw your location is Nova Scotia and mine is mostly Toronto (when I'm in Canada). So that probably has something to do with our paradigm.
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I am originally from Toronto. I have a pretty good read on the way it is. The Raptors are probably bigger in certain parts of Toronto. If we are talking the fanbases as a whole? It isn't even remotely close. For reference a Blue Jays spring training game did better numbers then a regular season Raptors game earlier this season lol it isn't even in the same universe as the Leafs.
 
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TheBeastCoast said:
I am originally from Toronto. I have a pretty good read on the way it is. The Raptors are probably bigger in certain parts of Toronto. If we are talking the fanbases as a whole? It isn't even remotely close. For reference a Blue Jays spring training game did better numbers then a regular season Raptors game earlier this season lol it isn't even in the same universe as the Leafs.
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In what year did you leave? I think among Toronto people in 2023, they gravitate to the Raptors from my experience and what I see. I'm a white guy (but also a minority) here among many southasian people who are all obsessed with the raptors and don't really like hockey, only from my experience and who I speak with. But at a bigger level throughout Canada, the leafs may be more popular... so depending on location within Canada would effect which one is more popular. Obviously in places like Mississauga, Brampton, Milton, where I am, the Raptors are going to be more popular here then say in Nova Scotia or Orangeville.
 
Puckstuff said:
In what year did you leave? I think among Toronto people in 2023, they gravitate to the Raptors from my experience and what I see. I'm a white guy (but also a minority) here among many southasian people who are all obsessed with the raptors and don't really like hockey, only from my experience and who I speak with. But at a bigger level throughout Canada, the leafs may be more popular... so depending on location within Canada would effect which one is more popular. Obviously in places like Mississauga, Brampton, Milton, where I am, the Raptors are going to be more popular here then say in Nova Scotia or Orangeville.
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Like I said I have no doubts that in parts of the city the Raptors are bigger then the Leafs are but if we are talking about the overall size of the fanbase which includes more then just specific areas of Toronto itself it isn't remotely close. Like it is more of a conversation of which of the Jays and Raptors are #2 then it is the Raptors pushing the Leafs at #1 right now.
 
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They're not

The raps fan base does skew younger then the leafs due to pricing, the NHL being a gong show, hockey being inaccessible for a lot of people etc. So it might feel that way to some

Jays are similar as well

Basketball has made massive strides however. 10-15 years ago playing it was kinda weird and it was hard to find programs in smaller towns to do so (my town didn't have a rep team until I was in grade 6 for example while you could play hockey at 4). Now it's significantly more popular game
 
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Does it matter which team is bigger?

Toronto is a HUGE city with more than enough fan support for maple leafs, Raptors, Blue Jays, Argos, TFC. I think people sometimes forget just how massive greater toronto is. It's easily one of the biggest markets in north America. Just look at pretty much any away game for toronto teams i think Toronto teams have the best "away fan" support in general. That goes for Leafs, Blue jays and raptors. It's cool.

Anyways, i think the leafs are still bigger than the raptors especially when you tie in the history and cultural fabric of the city.
 
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Puckstuff said:
Now that Toronto is less then 50 % white, and minorities gravitate to the Raptors, I think the Raptors are 1st.

Forbes also has the Raptors being worth about 1 billion more then the leafs. So this is easily the Raps now. It's not 2003.
Click to expand...
That shows the value of the NBA vs the NHL, not the Team itself.
Raptors are 2/3 with the Jays, neither are close to the Leafs.
 
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Eternal Leaf said:
Toronto is a great sports town. Simple as that. Leafs, Raptors, and the Blue Jays all are well-supported with many people supporting multiple Toronto teams like myself.

As for your question, not sure about Toronto but the GTA as a whole is still Leafs dominant. The TV ratings also show that to be true. Leafs have always had good ratings even when they were utter garbage.

The Raptors are growing and had a quick rise while they were winning but bandwagoners are common. The Leafs will get them too once they win a round.
Click to expand...
The Argonauts and Rock are both poorly supported despite both teams winning championships.
 
TheTotalPackage said:
I disagree. The Leafs are #1, but the gap has certainly shrunk substantially.

I do believe the sizes of the fanbases for the Leafs are Raptors are going in opposite directions, however.
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Biggest difference is Raptors are Canada's only team, you get fans across the country.
Leafs have fans across the country but it's not at the same rate, they're pretty hated outside Toronto.

Other issue is Leafs lack of playoff success, Raps have a recent ring and that goes a long way. If you thought the Raps parade was impressive, just imagine this city if the Leafs won a cup...there'd be absolute havoc.
 
PrimumHockeyist said:
It's been quite a while since I lived in T.O.

In a recent thread elsewhere on this board, I read more than one person say that the Raptors are now bigger than the Leafs in the city nowadays,

So, if the Leafs make it to the Stanley Cup finals this spring, do the people here who know the city now expect that the level of enthusiasm won't rise to the level that the Raptors inspired a few years ago?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies Leaf fans.

You guys are due for deep run. PH
 
As a big fan of both teams, and as someone that lives in the city, this is my answer.

The Raps were definitely in more favour, especially during their championship run(s). Plus they benefit from the NBA marketing(which destroys the NHL).

It's also a more accessible sport, many casual sports fans I know find it much easier to follow basketball and the athleticism on display is much easier for a casual fan to get behind(which I totally get).

They're also more popular with immigrants, which is huge in a city like Toronto(also awesome).

In saying all of that, the popularity swing is big on the Leafs not making any noise, had we been winning rounds and cups in the last 6 years I think they'd be much, much higher.

Anyways, it's a great thing that the city loves all of its teams.
 
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