Toronto Raptors fan Raj Singh Ghuman canB次元官网网址檛 help but release a boisterous cheer as his car B次元官网网址� bedecked with a Raptors flag B次元官网网址� passes another vehicle with Ontario plates on the approach to the Golden Gate Bridge, deep in Golden State Warriors territory.
The Brampton, Ont.-based NBA fanatic arrived in San Francisco on Wednesday to catch Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, and couldnB次元官网网址檛 help but crow after his team trounced the reigning champions 123 to 109.
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The Raptors lead the series 2-1 going into FridayB次元官网网址檚 Game 4, and on Thursday morning Ghuman threw on his Kyle Lowry jersey and headed to a San Francisco park to celebrate with other Canadian Raptors fans at a meetup he organized through WhatsApp.
B次元官网网址淢y wife is constantly calling and messaging me: Be careful not to carry my Canada flag around, take my jersey off after a game, but I donB次元官网网址檛 listen to her. IB次元官网网址檓 a proud fan,B次元官网网址� chuckles Ghuman, who says he was among the dozens of boisterous fans who erupted into B次元官网网址淥 CanadaB次元官网网址� at the Oracle Arena following WednesdayB次元官网网址檚 win.
The spontaneous explosion of national pride was caught on video and made the rounds on social media Thursday.
B次元官网网址淚t was literally like about a hundred of us singing the national anthem and overpowering every single person locally in that arena,B次元官网网址� he says.
B次元官网网址淲e are known in the NBA to be the best fans but weB次元官网网址檙e also known in the NBA to travel to the most away-games. There are times when you hear the Raptors fans out-cheering the local fansB次元官网网址�. WeB次元官网网址檙e doing our parts, you know. Every single time we cheer louder, especially at home, it pumps up the players and they know weB次元官网网址檙e the real 6.B次元官网网址�
The 40-year-old Ghuman says heB次元官网网址檚 run into many Canadian devotees of the Raptors in the Bay Area, largely because of the WhatsApp group he created.
B次元官网网址淚t started off with like three four people; now, weB次元官网网址檝e got like 50, 60 people,B次元官网网址� says Ghuman. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 bringing people together.B次元官网网址�
Nothing has made Toronto native Sara Chugh feel more patriotic than this Finals run.
The expat proudly wears her Raptors gear amid a sea of yellow Warriors merchandise she sees everywhere she goes.
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B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 so funny because I became patriotic once I left Canada,B次元官网网址� says Chugh, who moved to the Bay Area in 2010 to work as a lawyer.
B次元官网网址淚 mean, I always loved the country, but then you come to the U.S. and Americans are very proud. So I have started to buy my Roots (clothes) and Raptors and Olympic Canada gear and wear it out here.B次元官网网址�
Tongue firmly in cheek, sheB次元官网网址檚 even trolled her U.S. friends by texting pictures of cheering fans in TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Jurassic Park and forwarded those boisterous renditions of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 national anthem.
ItB次元官网网址檚 all in good fun, she says, noting she has not detected much animosity coming from Warrior fans, who include her Chicago-bred husband.
B次元官网网址淭hey have a very fun attitude with Canadians. They tend to tease us a lot,B次元官网网址� she says, admitting that might be because some Warriors fans donB次元官网网址檛 view CanadaB次元官网网址檚 team as a real threat.
B次元官网网址淚 do think that, but that might work in our favour because then we crush them.B次元官网网址�
Lex Gopnik-Lewinski, owner AugieB次元官网网址檚 Montreal Smoke Meat, a Berkeley deli, also detects a lot of local affection for the Canadian team, which he attributes to general ideological sympathies in northern California.
B次元官网网址淧eople here in the Bay Area want to be down with Canada B次元官网网址� the amount of people I have asking me how they can get Canadian citizenship, or if they eat enough poutine can they get across the border, especially with the climate here in the United States has been pretty striking, even with the fact that weB次元官网网址檙e in Warriors territory and weB次元官网网址檝e got a Raptors flag up and an autographed picture of Vince Carter.B次元官网网址�
Since opening the deli 18 months ago, Gopnik-Lewinski says itB次元官网网址檚 become a friendly haven for expats wanting to cheer homegrown sports teams.
Meanwhile, Raptors owners Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment hosted a Game 3 viewing party at a San Francisco Bar dubbed B次元官网网址淐anada HouseB次元官网网址� for the evening (including a visit from the consul general of Canada in San Francisco), while HolyCraft Brewing Company has turned into an unofficial gathering place for 26-year-old expat Shan Kuang and her university friends from Ontario.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 where sheB次元官网网址檒l be Friday, and if the Raptors win she expects thereB次元官网网址檒l be a B次元官网网址渉ugeB次元官网网址� after-party hosted by another Canuck friend.
B次元官网网址淚f we win Friday, the entire city is going to be wrecked in red,B次元官网网址� says Kuang, originally from Saskatoon, who moved to work in the tech sector. B次元官网网址滻tB次元官网网址檚 going to be all the Canadians coming out of the woodwork on a weekend game, too. ItB次元官网网址檚 going to be insane.B次元官网网址�
Then there are the Facebook group B次元官网网址淩aptors Fans of the San Francisco Bay AreaB次元官网网址� and the Slack group B次元官网网址漅aptorsInTheBay,B次元官网网址� which share photos and stories about expat fans celebrating in the area and make it easy to find like-minded fans.
Ghuman, who has relatives in the Bay area, says heB次元官网网址檚 been a season ticket holder for 14 years and travels to playoff games when he can. In recent years, thatB次元官网网址檚 included jaunts to Miami, Indiana, Washington, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Philadelphia.
B次元官网网址淪ome people buy fancy cars, some people buy shoes, purses, bags. I have a passion for the Toronto Raptors.
The Canadian Press
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