Well! Today, June 17, 2019, was a day for the books. The day our city shut down to celebrate with the Toronto Raptors.

Jumping on my bike in Etobicoke I cruised down the bike path towards the Princess Gates at the east end of the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. Not knowing exactly what I would encounter, would I get close enough to get the shots I already created in my mind… Time would tell.

The bike path was definitely busier than usual. Families decked out in the Raptors jerseys, with their homemade signs and flags as far as the I could see lined the path. I knew this was going to be special.

After locking my bike up, I wandered into the crowd towards the gates. I wanted to face the archway of the Princess Gates to capture the boys as they rolled through.

It was 10:00AM and the parade was to begin. The crowd was definitely getting excited. We all waited and then waited some more. At about 10:35AM I heard a dad beside me calling his son’s school to tell them that little Timmy (not his real name) would not be going to school today. When he hung up I said: ” You’re a good dad.” He replied: “Well, let’s see what happens in 20 years.” LOL!

The Raptor (@95theraptor) was the first to emerge after Coach Nick Nurse and the training staff. That dinosaur really got the crowd going and the energy grew from there.

The team themselves were on double decker buses and you could hear the crowds scream up ahead of my position when they saw familiar faces on the buses. The first Raptor I saw was Surge Ibaka (@sergeibaka). Man! He was into it! Poppin’ bottles and cooling off the crowd with a little bubbly.

And then! You saw them! The reason I came down! To see Mr. Kyle Lowry (@kyle_lowry7) hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy he’s been chasing for the last 7 years as a Toronto Raptor.

On the same bus towering over the heads of the people celebrating was the MVP trophy held by Mr. Kawhi Leonard (@kawhileonard). Always super chill, this cat was definitely feeling the love Toronto was throwing at him. The crowd was chanting #onemoreyear. Later down the route Kyle started a #5MoreYears chant that the crowd quickly jumped into and Kawhi started laughing…heeeeeey! Wait a minute! Please stay Kawhi!

I grabbed the shots I wanted and then made my way to the office at King and Yonge. On the entire trip I could hear the crowds cheering for their heroes.

I did try to go to City Hall but I couldn’t get any closer than Queen and Bay streets. I have never seen such crowds in my life. All in all everyone had a great time. All for a couple isolated incidents the day was a great success.

Congratulations to the Toronto Raptors on being the NBA 2019 Champions!

#WeTheNorth