Suzy Perch drove six hours to Toronto to witness history — and witness it she did.

Standing alongside thousands of fans in Maple Leaf Square — better known as Jurassic Park, the ground zero for all things basketball in this city — she watched as the team she’d cheered for ever since Vince Carter dawned the purple jersey did what no other Toronto Raptors team had done before.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment,” she said, standing at the front of the crowd during half-time, well before the Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 100-94 and crowned themselves champions of the Eastern Conference. “I drove from Montreal for this, so, we’re not losing tonight.”

She was not disappointed. The Raptors are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Approximately 1,200 fans crammed themselves into Jurassic Park, the concrete void once envisioned to be part of the usual mix of condos and office towers, on Saturday, with thousands more spilling down Bremner Blvd., past York St. and Lower Simcoe St.

Many waited hours to get a spot near the front. Some arrived as early as 11 a.m.

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The gates to the entrance were initially supposed to open at 6:30 p.m., but a sudden downpour around 6 p.m. delayed it by about 15 minutes as staff worked to help fans around large puddles and move them through security.

Velda Foster and Matthew Da Silva, both from Scarborough, arrived at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday to wait at the front of the line. It was their third and fourth time at Jurassic Park, respectively, and they were fourth and fifth to get in.

“It’s just a lot of fun being here,” said Velda, a long-time Raptors fan. “There’s an energy in the atmosphere, and I’d much rather do this than stay in my living room.”

For many fans of the team, Jurassic Park is representative of the Raptors’ true fans. The people that wait hours to watch them on the big screen. The people who stand for three hours straight and leap up and down every time Kawhi Leonard nails a three-pointer.

Da Silva’s been to a game in the Scotiabank Arena, and he says he likes the Park better.

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“This place has a certain energy to it. It’s authentic.”

The Park has always been a coveted spot for fans of Toronto’s franchise teams during playoff season, but Saturday was different. Unlike before, fans were lining up to witness history.

“We wanted to see history in the making,” said John Manalese, a U of T student from Toronto who joined the line to Jurassic Park at 2 p.m. with his friend, Prateek Kumar. “We’ve been to a few games here and there at the Park, but this one we couldn’t miss out on.”

The Raptors’ sixth game against the Bucks was nothing if not turbulent, and fans in the Park reacted accordingly to the highs and lows. They cheered when Fred VanVleet scored and booed when Giannis Antetokounmpo hit a free throw.

But as the clock winded down, as Drake waved a goodbye to the Bucks’ bench, a feeling of jubilation washed over the crowd.

“We did it,” said Perch. “This is our moment.”

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