Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured image: The energy at ‘Jurassic Park’ was at an all-time high in April, catching the attention of fans across the league. | Courtesy of The Toronto Star
This spring, Toronto sports fans had the chance to experience something that hasn’t happened since 2002: the Maple Leafs and Raptors making the playoffs in the same season.
Although the two Air Canada Centre tenants have each had their brief stretches of success over the past 15 years, Toronto sports fans have been deprived of enjoying them at the same in April. Furthermore, in six of these 15 years, Torontonians have not had the opportunity to cheer for either team come playoff time.
This April finally brought an end to this trend, as both the Maple Leafs and the Raptors successfully made it to the playoffs in their respective leagues. The city saw a playoff fever that thousands of youth and young adults had not experienced in their lifetime.
This fever was especially present on York campus, where hundreds of students showed their support by watching the games, posting on social media, and wearing Leafs- and Raptors-related gear.
“The playoff fever in Toronto has a huge impact on York’s campus since people are more willing to go to campus bars to watch the games,” says third-year theatre student Maddy Fisher. “I’ve gone to Shopsy’s more in the past month or so just to watch sports with friends than I have all year!”
York students jumped on a ‘hype train’ by sharing pictures at sports bars on Instagram, sending videos of the mayhem at Jurassic Park/ Maple Leafs Square on Snapchat, tweeting their brief thoughts about games, and giving their detailed opinions about games via Reddit.
But among everything else, the feeling that was most prevalent through the April playoff run was national pride.
“When Toronto makes it to the playoffs, people become extremely patriotic to not only the sports team, but also Canada,” adds Fisher. “I see an increase in various swag items that reflect both the sport and Canada as a whole. It’s definitely a sense of pride for most people.”
Looking at York Lions teams, one cannot help but wonder about the effect that a similar sense of support would have on the performance of our teams. The inspiration that a passionate York crowd can give has been known to work wonders in the past.
“There is a huge difference between a normal regular season game and a playoff game,” says Fisher. “The crowd is always more vocal and is willing to go as far as they can to ensure a win for York. Some fight the other team, some fight the referees, and others pray.”
Unfortunately, not every team benefits from a rowdy York crowd voicing support for their team, especially the Lions’ teams that fall outside the popular soccer and football sphere. When asked about his experience supporting the York men’s basketball team, second-year environmental studies major Abdeali Saherwala remarked on a vastly different experience when compared to Fisher’s hockey experience. Saherwala was disappointed with the atmosphere at the game, and felt the cause was directly related to a lack of attendance.
“I believe that hype and crowd support can really boost morale for players, who are trying their absolute best to win. But without the support from the York community, it is difficult to draw emotional strength and resilience,” he adds.
So this year, why not take the time to support your Lions? Whether it is a men’s soccer championship game or a regular season basketball game, any support will be needed in the upcoming 2017-2018 York Lions season. Your cheers will yield noticeable results on the field, pitch, court, or rink, so I hope to see you there this year!
