It’s an exciting week in Toronto sports, as fans gear up for some serious Raptors nostalgia.
The legendary Vince Carter, Mr. “Air Canada” himself, is back in Toronto to celebrate the retirement of his legendary #15 Raptors jersey. Celebrations kicked off today as Carter touched down at Toronto Pearson and headed to an Air Canada hangar for a very special unveiling – an Airbus A220 decked out with a custom tribute livery featuring Carter’s name, jersey number and signature.
“The city of Toronto, and Canada as a whole, has meant so much to me throughout my career,” said Carter. “I’m deeply touched by this tribute from Air Canada and can’t wait to share the excitement with all the incredible Canadian fans who backed me from day one.”
Air Canada’s Vince Carter tribute plane.
It’s a fitting tribute to the man who put Toronto NBA basketball on the map and inspired a nationwide buying spree of front-yard hoops. Thirty years ago, a basketball net was a rare thing at a house in Canada. Now, they’re everywhere, and Carter is a huge part of that.
He ran into some PR problems later in his tenure with Toronto, and some fans turned on him (as fans do). But he was always a lovely guy to speak with when I covered the Raptors for the Toronto Star (not as the main guy, that was the irreplaceable, hard-working Doug Smith, but occasionally).
I covered the decision when the NBA awarded the team to John Bitove’s group back in the day, and I was the first Canadian journalist to interview Vince when he came to town after becoming a Raptor. I believe Doug was busy that day so I was assigned the task of chatting with Carter one-on-one.
Later, the Star sent me to Florida to surreptitiously snap photos of his wedding in Palm Beach, and to write a short story about it for the paper. I still have photos in my laptop of Vince and his new bride entering the lobby of the posh Breakers resort, where the reception was held. I didn’t see the ceremony, but I hid in some bushes (I’m not proud of this by the way, but it’s the truth) across the road from the church where the wedding was held and watched wedding guests come and go
PEARSONLICIOUS: TORONTO AIRPORT FOOD FESTIVAL
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