At least one young sports fan is feeling crushed after he made preparations to celebrate the arrival of the Larry O'Brien trophy to his Yellowknife school.
Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo
Jace Andrada, an 11-year-old St. Joseph School student is a die-hard Toronto Raptors fan, one of millions who were thrilled to watch the only Canadian NBA club's roller coaster ride through the 2019 playoffs, climaxing in their dramatic 4-2 NBA finals win over the Golden State Warriors. He reached out to Yellowknifer this week to express his disappointment when he learned the trophy would not be making it North.
Jace wrote that he heard about the cancelled trip from his teachers on March 3, despite being all set to see the trophy.
"Hi I’m a student who goes to ESJS in Yellowknife," he wrote. "I heard teachers saying the event was canceled because of some reason. Is it true? Cause I’m a very big Raptors fan just like my dad. We both have Raptors sweaters but if its true that its cancelled, I'll be depressed for the rest of my life."
On March 1, Yellowknifer was notified by Raptors' parent company Maple Leafs Sports Entertainment (MLSE) that the trophy would be visiting Aurora Village and St. Joseph School on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
On Tuesday, however, the story changed as Charzie Abendanio, manager of corporation communications with MLSE stated in an email the trip was cancelled.
"Unfortunately due to operational issues, we are no longer able to make the trip to Yellowknife," she stated.
photo sourced from Facebook.com, March 3, 2020
So instead of seeing the trophy at his school on Wednesday, a sad Jace and his seven-year-old brother Jaymiel – both in Raptors apparel – visited Yellowknifer with their mom Queeny Ann to express their disappointment. Jace explained that he has been a devoted basketball player for two years – recently finishing his 12-week stint with the Junior NBA basketball development team at Range Lake North School last Saturday.
During the same number of years, Jace has been a big follower of the Raptors with his dad Marc.
"Me and my dad are very big basketball fans and me and my family have always wanted to meet the Toronto Raptors," he said.
The family has their own basketball net at home and the two shoot hoops in their spare time.
"I've been a Raptors fan ever since my dad showed me basketball. He was watching a Raptors game one day and I watched with him. I saw how they were all shooting and I went outside and tried to shoot like that."
photo courtesy of Queeny Ann Andrada photo sourced from Facebook.com, March 4, 2020
Jace's favourite position is forward and favourite player is former Raptor Danny Green, (now a Los Angeles Laker).
He said he watched the championship series with much excitement last year and that was the reason he wanted to see the trophy up close.
"I thought I was going to be able to see the cup," he said of the trophy. "Me and my friend were super excited and planning on seeing the cup together since we knew most of the players on the Raptors have touched it."
Queeny Ann said her household is filled with hardcore basketball fans and she likes to support Jace as well as her husband in their love of the game. Jaymiel is still diving into the sport, she added.
"Jayce got really, really disappointed when he found out (Tuesday)," she said. "He got everything ready for the day like his Raptors sweater and was even asking if I could email his teacher to see if he could use his phone to take a picture."
Repeated requests to MLSE for comment were not returned before press deadline.
