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1. The year is 1994, Toronto has been awarded an NBA franchise, and The Star and CFRB 1010 are running a name the team contest… 
2. In April, after about a month, this list of names was posted, from which ten were randomly selected for voting.
3. Spielberg’s Jurassic Park had been released the previous summer, and dinosaurs were a thing.
On that theme, I always thought this proposed name was funny.
#TorontoSaurusRex
On that theme, I always thought this proposed name was funny.
#TorontoSaurusRex
4. Also, yikes!
5. Here are the ten names that were short-listed:
Beavers
Bobcats
Dragons
Grizzlies
Hogs
Raptors
Scorpions
T-Rex
Tarantulas
Terriers
Beavers
Bobcats
Dragons
Grizzlies
Hogs
Raptors
Scorpions
T-Rex
Tarantulas
Terriers
6. Full disclosure: I once had a Yorkie, and I loved that dog, but I’m glad I’m not currently cheering for the Terriers…
7. Rumour had it that the NBA marketing officials preferred Dragons, but we know how things turned out...
8. The Star’s Garth Woolsey had the right take:
“The thing about a team name is that people have to grow into it. It has to become their own; it has to gain a look and a feel, a history, an image, an attitude; they have to become fans.”
“The thing about a team name is that people have to grow into it. It has to become their own; it has to gain a look and a feel, a history, an image, an attitude; they have to become fans.”
9. …and here we are, 25 years later, watching that process continue; a team name becoming indelibly linked with players, events, and the personal & shared experiences of fandom. A richer history, by the day.
Enjoy the next few weeks!
#LetsGoRaptors
Enjoy the next few weeks!
#LetsGoRaptors
(my favourite thing about this thread has been people’s reactions to the names that weren’t chosen)
...and there also clearly remains much ❤️ for John Candy.
