In Canada, Kawhi Leonard Is Rising To A Status Usually Reserved For Hockey Royalty

[doniceage]

Don't take my earlier comments wrong. If you're the type of sports fan that watches highlight shows, sportscentre, listen to sports talk radio.... Leonard, and the Raptors, are the biggest story in forever.

All I'm getting at is the fact that if even if the Raptors win the whole thing, there are large swaths of the population who wouldn't be able to name Leonard... while I think it's virtually impossible to find anyone that has never heard of Matthews or Tavares.

There is a great argument to be made that Leonard may actually be the best athlete (in regards to how good he is, in his sport) that has ever played in Toronto.

Hockey in Ontario (Canada) is part of the collective conscious. Basketball will never have that, no matter how good the players and/or team are.

I am sure about that being basketball will never compare to hockey in Ontario. I just find it ironic first it started with free food and drinks then up to a penthouse. Just crazy!

[30ranfordfan]

I am sure about that being basketball will never compare to hockey in Ontario. I just find it ironic first it started with free food and drinks then up to a penthouse. Just crazy!

With every year that goes by, it does seem to get bigger and bigger. I'm not much of basketball fan myself (I've tried over the years, I just can't get into it). There's certainly a large following. Can't deny that.

[clvc0017]

The comments for those who did not think he would get to this level did not age well lol........

[30ranfordfan]

The comments for those who did not think he would get to this level did not age well lol........

He's still not as big a name, in Toronto (and ESPECIALLY Canada), as Mitch Marner.

[markw2856]

He's still not as big a name, in Toronto (and ESPECIALLY Canada), as Mitch Marner.

It really is all about where you live and the sport you are interested in. If you have Leonard and Marner walking down the street in the US, Leonard is the superstar. Marner would probably be looked at as the ball boy

I love that Toronto is in the Finals. So glad to see Toronto and Canada get some love.

[clvc0017]

He's still not as big a name, in Toronto (and ESPECIALLY Canada), as Mitch Marner.

You're joking, right?

He's probably sold more jerseys in the last few months than Marner has sold since he became a Leaf. All of his shoes, clothing, etc. is sold out everywhere you go and online.
The New Balance Canada website crashed last week when his "Fun Guy" t-shirts were re-released.

Marner might not even be playing for Toronto in a few weeks.

[creasecollector]

Leonard is big in Toronto no doubt (especially more so after tonight..... hopefully), but Toronto and the surrounding area is a hockey city. He doesn't measure up to a hockey layer status, especially around this area. Not to take away from anything he's done or anything like that. Just being born and raised in Toronto, it's just the way it is.

One amazing run by the Raptors doesn't take away from the popularity the Maple Leafs or its stars have here. In the short term with jersey sales and all that, sure, but in total popularity? I'm not so sure on that one.

[30ranfordfan]

It really is all about where you live and the sport you are interested in. If you have Leonard and Marner walking down the street in the US, Leonard is the superstar. Marner would probably be looked at as the ball boy

I love that Toronto is in the Finals. So glad to see Toronto and Canada get some love.

Exactly!

You're joking, right?

He's probably sold more jerseys in the last few months than Marner has sold since he became a Leaf. All of his shoes, clothing, etc. is sold out everywhere you go and online.
The New Balance Canada website crashed last week when his "Fun Guy" t-shirts were re-released.

Marner might not even be playing for Toronto in a few weeks.

You realize that jersey sales mean nothing, if we're talking about overall fame? You know that if the Raptors win tonight, and turn this into a three-peat by also winning titles in 2020, and 2021.... while the Leafs continue to get bounced in the 1st round (or even miss???) the playoffs - the Leafs (and their top talent) will still be a much bigger part of the public consciousness than the Raptors?

The only thing that's going to change that is time. I'm almost 40..... I expect I'll see the day when basketball, and maybe even soccer, are bigger sports in Toronto than Hockey is. I really do - but I'll be in my 70s or 80s when that happens.

Don't get me wrong. Basketball has a huge following. It's an incredibly popular sport (in Toronto), and it's getting bigger. This finals run probably means that baseball is permanently in the #3 slot (where it's been for most the last 20 years, but it did have a short reprieve).

(Ontario) People that are REALLY into sports know who Kawhi Leonard is. They have since before he was traded here. I'd bet at this point...... most of the public knows his name, with how much he's been talked about in the media the last week. The difference between Leonard & Marner: The 67 year old grandma, who has been waiting most of her whole life for the Leafs to win another Cup..... she knows who Marner is. She knew it was a huge deal when Tavares signed with the Leafs. She'll have forgotten Leonard's name by the fall.

I'm not talking about sports fans that follow things closely. I'm talking about the casual fan whose sports watching is limited to (some) playoff games, the odd HNIC, and the Olympics. They get their sports new from CTV, when a really big story happens.

In 1993, do you think there was anyone in the city of Toronto that didn't know who Doug Gilmour was? The Raptors are still decades from being able to penetrate the market at that kind of level.

I'm not saying any of this to knock Leonard, or the Raptors. Leonard would be on a very short list (him, Alomar, and that's probably it) of truly generation-talent type players to have played, in their primes, in Toronto. As good as Marner, Matthews, and Tavares are..... they're not Crosby, McDavid, Ovechkin type players.Great players. Superstars even... but they're a notch below that "elite of the elite". Leonard is part of that group, in the NBA.

People are making a huge deal over the whole "Jurassic Park" thing. You realize that there would be 10x the people wanting to get in, if this was the Leafs. Right?

[creasecollector]

It really is all about where you live and the sport you are interested in. If you have Leonard and Marner walking down the street in the US, Leonard is the superstar. Marner would probably be looked at as the ball boy

I love that Toronto is in the Finals. So glad to see Toronto and Canada get some love.

Sure, in the US, definitely. But in Toronto, Ontario? They'd both be recognized for sure, but the total popularity of hockey players still overshadows basketball players. The long-term history with the fans/city just isn't there with the Raptors like it is with the Maple Leafs.

[doniceage]

Let take another glance at Leonard and the Raptors.

McDonald's Has Given Away 2 Million Free French Fries Due to Raptors Promotion

Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard hit a three-pointer with 3:32 remaining in the third quarter of Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals to put his team up 83-71 over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

At first glance, all that shot did was pad a comfortable Toronto lead with the fourth quarter nearing. However, that make, which was the Raptors' 12th three-pointer of the night, meant a lot more.

Per Jake Edmiston of the Financial Post (h/t Scott Gleeson of USA Today), McDonald's has given away more than two million orders of medium french fries in its Ontario-based restaurants thanks to a promotion promising free fries each time the Raptors have made 12 or more threes in a game this season.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...tors-promotion

So by the time this is all done McDonald’s give out one fry per person in Toronto. I would say everyone in Toronto knows who Leonard is with McDonald’s help.

Don