So, what do we think?

Under the cover of darkness, and as a direct suck-up to The Global Ambassador, the Raptors came out with the new jerseys last night.

What? You missed it?

Don’t worry, I presume you’re not alone and I was certainly trying to get some sleep when it happened because I’m not staying up for laundry ever and didn’t feel like being part of their Reindeer Games.

So when Drake finished his OVO thing down at the Ex sometime after 11 p.m. by wearing a replica of black model – a Cory Joseph one, I’m told – I truly did yawn.

Anyway, what’s the immediate reaction, besides “when do they go on sale because MLSE needs some of my money.”

I don’t mind them, actually. Kinda like the rounded lettering on the front, the inclusion of the Maple Leaf was an absolute must and even though I probably wouldn’t have known that was ‘T’ and an ‘O’ on the leg piping, I guess that’s kind of unique.

The colours and combinations are basic and not surprising – some variation of red, black and white for the three main ones and, of course, black and gold because, well, because Drake!

I really didn’t have an issue with a little purple and never did but pedestrian colours like red, black and white are fine with me.

What I hate, or at least dislike because it’s a uniform and who really cares an awful lot, is that the word “Toronto” is nowhere to be seen. I get that they want to be “Canada’s Team” and that’s well and good but to not have the city name anywhere on any of the versions – outside of that convoluted T.O. thing down the side of the shorts – kind of ticks me off a bit.

Have your say

Regardless of the idea that they want to represent the entire country, it’s still Toronto’s team and those 5,000 or so folks who stand outside watching playoff games on a big TV probably should have been better served.

So, I guess the overall reaction is:

“They didn’t screw it up very much.”

That, of course, runs counter to the whole “re-branding” process that has been botched from the very start.

Not only do I think it was unnecessary – it was if they figured the team was going to suck and needed to mask that fact and then the team got pretty good and they were stuck with the idea – but it’s been messed up from the get-go.

Remember the Great Logo Fiasco? The day it was originally leaked and there was no red in it all until they made a quick change to add jus a touch?

And I don’t know what the original idea for the main uniform was exactly but I know some of the players detested it – “it’s effed, Dougie” one of them told me – but now that there’s lot of red back in it, I’m sure everything is fine.

Finally, to have the new look debut at some music festival after 11 p.m. on a holiday Monday night – solely because of the guy doing the unveiling and a direct way to either make peace or suck up to him was nonsensical on its face.

Like I said, I don’t really care an awful lot but, really, whose interests were served by having TGA do this as a huge surprise to fans at the OVO thing, many of whom I bet were oblivious to what was going on.

But, thankfully, the whole sorry story is now over; everyone can get on with what really matters: How the team might do in the actual playing of basketball.

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Okay, so we remember King Crimson and Frampton Comes Alive was a must-have album back in the day so how about this?

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I was at all those World Series games back in the day, I’ve kept a pretty close eye on the TOD shenanigans since then and while I wasn’t in the park yesterday, I’d say that was the most electric atmosphere at a Blue Jays game since Carter (Joe, not Vince) hit that homer decades ago.

Am I right on that?

A perfect confluence of events: Price, the holiday, the culmination of a week in team history like no other.

Wonder if they can keep it going? I don’t imagine they’ll be selling the joint out every night like they did back in the day but I would imagine the consistent energy in the joint will be like nothing many fans have ever experienced.

And what’s it gonna be like when the Yankees come to town? That’s going to be wild because I bet a lot of New York fans – who always travel well and have tended to dominate the seats for games here over the last little while – have already got their tickets.

That’s going to be wild and, I suspect, a lot of fun.

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Speaking of the baseball stadium, here’s one for you.

After weeks away and with all that’s been going on in the city and what’s to come and the time of year, I’m putting attendance – real people in the seats – at five figures for the Argos opener on the weekend.

Over or under?

And it’s too bad because it’s not a bad team that’s been winning and probably deserves more attention but, man, I can’t think of a major sports franchise that’s dropped out of the consciousness of the casual fan than the football team has.

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