Hoops Fans Thrilled To Get Up Close with Raptors

It's not every day that basketball fans in the region get a chance to see the Toronto Raptors up close and personal.

The true fanatics around the area have probably made their way to Toronto and the Air Canada Centre to watch their hoop heroes play in the NBA.

But for the average follower, most of their viewing has likely been restricted to a spot on the couch in front of a television or a big screen at a sports bar.

There the Raptors were, though, in the flesh yesterday afternoon at Carleton University as they closed out a portion of their training camp with an intrasquad game at the Ravens' Nest.

Tickets to the game sold out in 25 minutes as fans of all ages turned out to get a magnified glimpse of the Raptors and 1,864 spectators crammed the university gymnasium.

They got their money's worth as the Canada's only NBA team put on quite a show.

"It was amazing, I had never seen a professional basketball team before," said 13-year-old Charles-Albert Lefebvre Asselin of Ottawa.

"The atmosphere in the building was like something I had never felt before. I really enjoyed the warmup and the way the players were trying to impress the crowd with their dunks. Jamario Moon and Chris Bosh were unbelievable."

Alexander McDonald and his twin sister Laura had seen the Raptors in action before, but couldn't pass up the chance to see their favourite basketball players this close to home.

"I've been to the ACC a couple of times but, because we live in Ottawa, it's impossible to go there all the time," Alexander said. "This was the first time I saw the players this close. It was incredible. I couldn't believe how tall they were. It was fun watching them watching them fooling around, dunking shots and trying different things."

Ryan Pownall and Matt Kelly, two buddies from Orléans, have been Raptors fans for years, but had never seen them in person.

Yesterday's live matinée performance gave the 16-year-olds something to remember.

"We've never been this close to the Raptors before," Matt said. "We were in the first row on the floor when they were introduced. We touched them as they walked by us and even said a couple of words to Andrea Bargnani. It was awesome."