Sports are a big deal across Toronto. Obviously, with the Raptors being the NBA champions, they are the biggest draw , but as there’s a Toronto team in three of the major North American leagues, we know that there’s plenty of high-quality sporting entertainment across town. Watching your team play on television, on your mobile, through a game console, or even at the stadium itself is always a great experience – helped significantly by a win – but there are methods and events which can make the Toronto sports experience even greater.
Get yourself to the parade
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The best aspect of any sports viewing experience is watching your team win – an experience which is made even better if your team wins the title. One of the biggest sporting events in Canada, is the CFL Football, with its champions staging a huge parade in their home city each year. This year, the Blue Bombers partied in Winnipeg, with thousands of people flooding the downtown streets to get a glimpse of the CFL champions. With beers, cheers, and bare-chested champions, it was a joyous event for the team’s fan base starved of a Grey Cup for 29 years.
However, the Toronto Argonauts are the CFL’s most successful team. They may have missed the playoffs this season, but with a .739 Grey Cup win percentage through 23 appearances in the Grey Cup, and their latest win coming in 2017, you can bet that they’ll be staging another parade through Toronto soon. When the Argos achieve that feat again, make sure you get yourself downtown for the celebrations.
Feel the flow, back your calls
Above all other sports, when you’re watching basketball, you can feel the momentum shift as it’s happening before your eyes. The Toronto Raptors may not be the same team that they were when they went from beating the Warriors in Game 1 to becoming NBA Champions, but they’re still a top team and have enjoyed their fair share of comebacks in this NBA season.
Knowing how Head Coach, Nick Nurse, reacts to adversity and which players are capable of game-winning plays puts Raptors fans at an advantage over other teams, and not just because a game isn’t over until it’s over. Now, live in-play betting has arrived in Canada, with there being NBA odds at William Hill for each game and the option to cash-in on bets placed before tip-off in case momentum starts to swing the other way.
See what fandom is like when it really matters
While championship games are most important historically for a franchise, they don’t come around too often. What does come around at least once per season, however, is a huge rivalry game in which two teams and fan bases have a history of dislike for each other. In Toronto, it’s all about seeing the Maple Leafs face off against one of their many storied foes. Battles for Canada are pretty big, with the Battle of Ontario against the Sens and games against the Habs always drawing a raucous crowd.
The biggest rivalry for the Leafs in modern hockey, though – due to the Sens and Habs slipping out of the playoff picture while Toronto has established itself as a contender – is against the Boston Bruins. Established long ago as a part of the Original Six, the teams have met several times in recent playoffs to heat up the rivalry once again. In the last two seasons, the first-round series have gone seven games with the Bruins coming out on top twice.
Now, every regular-season contest between the two Atlantic Division clubs is a fierce meet, and even more competitive in the playoffs. They look set to avoid each other in the first round this season, but if Boston and Toronto meet later in the playoffs, the atmosphere in Scotiabank Arena and gritty play on the ice will be a tremendous experience to behold.
There you have it: three ways to make the sports experience even better in Toronto – which will you get the chance to try this season?
