Fans Ready For A Different Kind Of Vin-Sanity

Before the Toronto Raptors take the Air Canada Centre floor against the New Jersey Nets in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Saturday afternoon, the players will have a few hours of playing down the significance of facing former superstar Vince Carter.

“Whether you hate him or like him, he’s still an all-star,” Toronto’s franchise player Chris Bosh said.

It’s understandable that at least on the surface the Raptors are treating New Jersey like any other team whether they feel that way or not.

The faithful however, aren’t about to sit silently.

“Oh I hope we kick his butt,” a fan named Anna admitted Friday, a day before the verbal assault begins.

“It’s ridiculous,” another fan named Adil seconded.

“He did Toronto wrong, so it’s not going to be a great welcome.”

Yeah, Carter’s going to hear it from the fans and there will be plenty of pacifiers, bibs and other props to support this city’s belief that he’s the biggest baby in the NBA.

“He doesn’t deserve to come back to the city,” longtime Raptors supporter Steve insisted.

“He’s not welcome here so he can stay in New Jersey for all I care.”

A lot of Raptors fans likely feel the same way, but since that’s almost certainly not going to happen they’ll have to settle for booing as loudly as they can every time the man once known as “Wince” touches the ball.

It’s almost guaranteed to be the most hostile few moments in Raptors history at the ACC, though Toronto coach Sam Mitchell doesn’t believe there’s a need for any of it.

“You all need to let this Vince Carter stuff go,” he said after practice Friday. “It’s not about Vince coming back to Toronto . It’s about the New Jersey Nets and the Toronto Raptors. Vince Carter just happens to be a member of that team.”

Carter played more than six seasons with Toronto before the disgruntled star departed for New Jersey in a December 2004 trade.

“Let it go,” the Coach of the Year candidate continued. “We let it go the day the trade happened.”

Bosh certainly did, though as one of just three Raptors to have played with Carter in Toronto , he said he understands why fans are still upset.

“Because they loved them him so much when he was here,” Bosh said.

“It’s a thin line between love and hate, that’s the old cliche everybody uses and it’s true. When he was here, everybody loved him, it was `Vince Carter, Vince Carter,’ and when he decided to go his separate way, it just turned a lot of people sour.”

Here’s the Raptors’ schedule for their first round best-of-seven series against the New Jersey Nets.

Saturday, April 21 @ Toronto – 12:30pm

Tuesday, April 24 @ Toronto – 7pm

Friday, April 27 @ New Jersey – 7pm

Sunday, April 29 @ New Jersey – 7:30pm

Tuesday, May 1 @ Toronto (If necessary, TBA)

Friday, April 4 @ New Jersey (If necessary, TBA)

Sunday, April 6 @ Toronto (If necessary, TBA)