Perry Jones interview - would be upset if Toronto drafted him

[NoPropsneeded]

MOst fans are like that, to a degree, but Raptor fans are the worst.

no, detriot pistons fans are the worst.

[Joey]

MOst fans are like that, to a degree, but Raptor fans are the worst.

I disagree. Thats far too general a statement to make.
I know, I for one, do not take slights as personally some others. And I am also a Raptors fan.

Vince Carter is STILL my favourite player.
As a Raptors fan, should I not then be holding a life-long grudge against the guy?

I rooted for Bosh to get his shit together when the entire US Media was on his case.
As a Raptors fan, should I not then be holding a life-long grudge against him too?

But when a young NOBODY comes to say they'd be upset if they got drafted by any NBA team, I just think he's completely ignorant and didn't think before he spoke. That's not the type of character I look for in players.

I like guys who don't make ignorant, off the cuff remarks that are BOUND to upset someone.

And thats what this is about. The nature of his comments HAD to upset SOMEONE. Any fanbase is absolutely going to be offended by those comments. And you can sub out 'Toronto' for anywhere in the World, and Perry Jones comments would upset SOMEONE. And likely more than one.

It's the nature of his comments. Not the level of sensitivity of the fanbase.
EVERY fanbase will have it's fans who far more emotionally invested in the well being of a team, and as such, will likely be more sensitive to negative comments made. I don't think Toronto is at all unique in this regard.

You don't think the entire city of New York would go nuts if he came out and said "I hate traffic and crime, so I'd be upset if New York drafted me."

Yes, these are things that one would have to deal with while residing in said city, but by no means should these singular elements define ones opinion of the city, team or region. And if they do become the basis of your opinion, at least admit that you are ignorant to eveything else about the city.

[Tim W.]

I think you're taking the statement a little too personally (which may or may not be ironic). It IS a generalization, obviously. I'm a Raptor fan and I don't think I'm overly sensitive, but as a whole Raptor fans seem to be more sensitive than other fans. I mean, does any other city boo their former players as much, and for as long a period as Raptor fans do? Does anyone really know why McGrady gets booed anymore?

Did his statement come off as ignorant? Sure. But I'm not going to jump to conclusions based on one statement from a 19 year old kid.

[Joey]

I think you're taking the statement a little too personally (which may or may not be ironic). It IS a generalization, obviously. I'm a Raptor fan and I don't think I'm overly sensitive, but as a whole Raptor fans seem to be more sensitive than other fans. I mean, does any other city boo their former players as much, and for as long a period as Raptor fans do? Does anyone really know why McGrady gets booed anymore?

Did his statement come off as ignorant? Sure. But I'm not going to jump to conclusions based on one statement from a 19 year old kid.

I do agree that the booing is out of hand, but like you said, its not because they actually know why they are booing, or because which specific statement. Its out of tradition almost at this point. haha


But which statements am I taking too personally?
I haven't once taken anything personally about this.
He didn't even say anything bad about Toronto. Just customs.
As I stated, the nature of his comments are bound to upset someone. Regardless of intent.

They didn't upset me personally at all.
I was disappointed to hear him make such silly comments, but upset? Personally attacked? Offended? Not in slightest.

To be honest, I felt sorry for him that he's gotta live with having made such a ridiculous comment.


All I'm saying is that when someone makes silly, ignorant comments like that, regardless of intent, it shows a lack of better judgement.

[Tim W.]

I do agree that the booing is out of hand, but like you said, its not because they actually know why they are booing, or because which specific statement. Its out of tradition almost at this point. haha


But which statements am I taking too personally?
I haven't once taken anything personally about this.
He didn't even say anything bad about Toronto. Just customs.
As I stated, the nature of his comments are bound to upset someone. Regardless of intent.

They didn't upset me personally at all.
I was disappointed to hear him make such silly comments, but upset? Personally attacked? Offended? Not in slightest.

To be honest, I felt sorry for him that he's gotta live with having made such a ridiculous comment.


All I'm saying is that when someone makes silly, ignorant comments like that, regardless of intent, it shows a lack of better judgement.

I disagree. Thats far too general a statement to make.
I know, I for one, do not take slights as personally some others. And I am also a Raptors fan.

What makes you think I'm talking about you? I'm speaking in generalizations. You can't speak about a group of people and not speak in generalizations. I'm not saying Europeans are soft, or anything. I'm not disparaging an entire ethnic group, here.

To me, the Perry's statement wasn't even worth commenting on. He's a kid and kids say shit. Did he mean it? Was it an inside joke? Was it simply ignorance? Who knows. That's the point. It's the whole "Kanter won't workout for the Raptors" thing again. Raptor fans, in general, tend to jump to the worst conclusions quicker than any other fan I know.

[Soft Euro]

You should know the things I've said in my life. As you probably have as well. This is nothing, a tiny phrase. We're just lucky there's no microphone in our face all the time (because, well, that would not get high ratings as noone cares).

Weighing it on a scale like this makes it 'a lack of judgement'. For me, my comments were only that, comments. Unfortunately for these kids it is different, but to me, that's the problem of the audience. They too have a right to say silly things.

[Tim W.]

You should know the things I've said in my life. As you probably have as well. This is nothing, a tiny phrase. We're just lucky there's no microphone in our face all the time (because, well, that would not get high ratings as noone cares).

Weighing it on a scale like this makes it 'a lack of judgement'. For me, my comments were only that, comments. Unfortunately for these kids it is different, but to me, that's the problem of the audience. They too have a right to say silly things.

I;ve thought the same thing. Unfortunately it's a product of today's 24-hour news culture. EVERYTHING gets blown out of proportion. I've always been pretty careful about what I say, but I would hate to think that anything I said could come back to haunt me. The worst is watching people try and interpret an offhand comment by someone as if it were gospel.

[nubreed000]

we should probably change the subject to something else that would be less of a "hot button subject" and completely unrelated to the issue of race. like something NOT connected to race one bit.

i suggest the following:

have you ever noticed that the portions of fried chicken in restaurants are much smaller in canada than in the u.s.? and our cups of grape drink are much much smaller?


see, has nothing to do with race AT ALL.

Now you're just being racist, lol

[heinz57]

Now you're just being racist, lol

hey now... assuming that the vast majority of NBA players are fried chicken and watermelon aficionados goes far beyond race.

and fried chicken, watermelon, and grape drink are delicious.

[nubreed000]

Not a fan of grape drinks but fried chicken and watermelon are quite delicious, especially after a blunt.

Anyways, my point was that you don't see athletes of other sports complaining about playing in Toronto (for the Jays, for example).

[heinz57]

Anyways, my point was that you don't see athletes of other sports complaining about playing in Toronto (for the Jays, for example).

The Jays get to play here when its warm. The Raps play when its FREEZING.

cold makes the best of us cranky.

[Joey]

The Jays get to play here when its warm. The Raps play when its FREEZING.

cold makes the best of us cranky.

And the Jays usually win more games than they lose.

The same cannot be said for any other team in the city.

[nubreed000]

The Jays are still doomed to failure as long as they're in that division though.

[Joey]

The Jays are still doomed to failure as long as they're in that division though.

Well I guess that depends on what you consider 'failure'.

I think the fact they are able to remain competitive most years, while having a SIGNIFICANT drop off in talent compared to NY and Boston (and even TB) is something to be looked upon as a 'success'.
You gotta keep in mind that only 8 teams out of 30 make the Playoffs in Baseball.
So the other 22 teams need SOMETHING to look back on to be proud of and to built upon.
I think the Jays, most years, afford themselves that.