I haven’t been to Toronto, so I don’t know the popularity of the NBA’s Raptors. The Maple Leafs, I believe, are number 1 in the fan’s hearts in Toronto, but what about the Raptors, the Blue Jays or even the CFL’s Argonauts?       Last year, the Raptors drew an average of 16,785 in all games (home and road) which was good for 28th, out of 30, in the league. On a side note, the Raptors out-averaged a new team (the OKC Thunder) and the Pacers.

According to ESPN.com, this season (yes, I know it’s early) the Raptors are in 12th place, attendance-wise averaging 17,798. The Hawks are averaging 17,377 in all games this year, good for 16th place.

So I guess the Raptors have their fans and that’s good because the fans were probably asking “Why?” after the Hawks 30 point win Wednesday night.

Coming into this game, the Hawks had lost three out of four including a national TV game vs. the Magic on Thanksgiving night.

Now, the NBA season is a long one and good teams are going to lose every once in a while, but the way the Hawks started the year, losing three out of four is a slump or even a funk. A funk that the Hawks needed to get out of.

A few minutes after tip-off, it looked like the Raptors (7-13, 8 games behind the division-leading Celtics) were going to give the Hawks a game. After all, they were shooting (and making) 3’s like there was no tomorrow. In fact, after the first period the score was a respectable 33-26 in favor of Atlanta.

I think the blowout started in the second period. That’s when Zaza battled for a loose ball and threw it to his teammates as he tumbled into the crowd. That is also when the Hawks scored 42 points in the quarter.

Thus, the blowout was on and the Hawks cruised to their 30 point win. It was great to see the Hawk bench players get in the game, even those we haven’t seen in a while.

So, I still don’t know how Toronto fans perceive the Raptors, but I know, for at least a night, they love them in Atlanta.