Moments before tip-off in the Raptors game Wednesday, with nary an inkling of the dispiriting blowout to come, Franklin Zafico leaned back in his lawn chair and glanced across the fake grass expanse of Mississauga’s Celebration Square.

The park in the centre of the city was dotted with Raptors fans sitting on folded chairs and blankets, all of whom came to watch Game 5 of Toronto’s Eastern Conference final series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on large screens at the south end of the square.

As Zafico noted with pride, the vibe was a far cry from the raucous, roiling intensity of that other square where fans watch the game: downtown Toronto’s “Jurassic Park.” Kids played soccer in the dusk light, families munched on snacks together, and there was no booze-fuelled tomfoolery to be seen.

“It’s a mini-Jurassic Park,” said Zafico, a 24-year-old from Mississauga, “a suburbs Jurassic Park. It’s a family friendly environment.”

In so many ways, from the constant presence of Drake — either courtside in the flesh or through the ubiquity of his music—to the ruminations on the state of pro-sport in this city, the Raptors’ playoff run has been all about the 6ix.

But the 905 is just as invested as the dwellers of the old boroughs.

“We have the same pride. I think we’re just more chill out here,” said Divya Moraes, a 24-year-old photographer from Brampton.

A few yards away, Hashim A Sulaiman echoed his 905 compatriot. “It’s more laidback,” in Celebration Square, he said. “We just all want to see the team do well.”

While the suburban cities that arc around Toronto are just as abuzz about the Raptors’ playoff run, they also contain a large part of the team’s fan base. As Zafico put it, Toronto is hockey-obsessed, but in the 905, “it’s basketball first.”

What’s more, several of the most prominent Canadian players hail from the GTA’s other area code, including the two Canucks in this series: Cleveland forward Tristan Thompson, a Bramptonite, and Pickering’s own Cory Joseph, the clutch backup Raptors point guard.

How does the 905 embrace the Raptors? Let us count the ways.

In April, Brampton rapper Rajan — full name: Rajan Gahunia — released his ode to the team, “Northside Since ’95,” a reference to the year the Raptors were born as an NBA expansion franchise. A highlight rhyme: “Everywhere you go you see Raptors apparel, from Atlanta to Toronto like DeMarre Carroll.”

There’s also, of course, the newly christened Raptors farm team, the Raptors 905. Featuring some of the young rookies from the big club for part of the season, the Raptors 905 team placed a respectable third in their division during their first season in the NBA Development League. The team also includes players with GTA origins, such as Sim Bhullar, the Toronto-born, Brampton-raised behemoth—he’s listed at 7-foot-5, 360 pounds—who became the NBA’s first South Asian player when he signed with a pro club in 2015.

About an hour ahead of game time, Asuka Lapierre and her friend Hyatt Dearing were some of the first Raptors fans to show up. They sat at one of the green picnic tables in Celebration Square, as techno music blasted across the field from a city-sponsored aerobics class. Like many others who came for the game, they didn’t see their Raptors fandom as something tied to their area code. The team belongs to everyone.

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“Toronto, it’s the national team,” said Lapierre, 18. “I feel like it really brings everyone together.”

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