I saw chatter on social media a few days ago about the Raptors planning a special tribute to Vince Carter in honor of the franchise 20th anniversary. My first thought is that it was a bad idea because I remember how the trade rumors happened and it seemed to have left a bad taste in the mouth of Raptors fans. However, after I thought about it a little more it made perfect sense. Vince Carter put the Raptors on the map. He made the franchise relevant during his seven years as a player for them.
During pre-game warm ups Raptors fans booed him and was shouting derogatory things about him. Even when they first started the tribute video fans were hesitant to show love. However, by the end of the video the fans came around and gave Vince a standing ovation. The video tribute was simple, but touching. The reaction and support from the fans and franchise left Vince a bit emotional. You could tell that it meant a lot to him. Kudos to the Raptors front office for being classy and taking a risk to honor one of the best players to ever wear a Toronto Raptors uniform.
