Hundreds of basketball fans in Halifax witnessed history Thursday night and into Friday morning, as the Toronto Raptors won their first NBA championship of their 24-year history.
The Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors 114-110 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
The game was a back-and-forth thriller, coming down to the very last seconds. The crowd went into a deafening frenzy as Kawhi Leonard made both free throws to officially put the game out of reach.
WATCH: Fans in cities across Canada celebrated after the Toronto Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors on Thursday to clinch their first NBA title.
READ MORE: Fans erupt across Canada as Raptors capture first-ever NBA Title with 114-110 win over Warriors
“Everyone doubted us,” yelled Raptors superfan Michael Daniel after the victory. “They always turned their back on us, didn’t believe. We had to go to Golden State and rip that trophy out of their hands.”
“It’s coming home.”
A giant dance party broke out after the game, followed by a collective rendition of O Canada. After that, the celebration flooded into the streets.
“We’re so happy,” yelled one fan, who was on his friend’s shoulders. “Twenty-four years we’ve been waiting. We deserve this.”
Halifax basketball fans came out in droves to Rogers Square for all six games of the finals. The event was started by Gab Levert, Kurt Benson and Gabe Roy of Tidal League, a new sport and entertainment agency in the city.
The group says they went into the planning of the event with high expectations, but never imagined it would grow at the rate it did.
“I think I’d be lying if I said that I thought it would overflow almost up to Pizza Corner,” said Levert. “We knew that we would have a full crowd every game, but I think that it has exceeded our expectations and everyone else’s in Halifax.”
And with the increase in numbers came logistical adjustments, including increased security, bathrooms, and making sure they had all the permits and licences so the event could run smoothly.
But for the trio, it was all about going with the flow.
“It’s so hard to plan, especially when you’re planning something in three days,” says Roy. “But it feels like at this point we’ve kind of got it down to a science.
It didn’t take long for the line to wrap around both sides of the new Halifax Convention Centre in the hours leading up to tip off.
Ethan Craig, Don MacGillivray, Samantha Steele and Chris Gregory were the first four in line for the event. They showed up outside Rogers Square at 6:30 p.m.
“It’s pretty intoxicating. Just the crowd gets everybody so amped up and you’re just so excited,” said Steele. “Even when they don’t make a basket, you’re still feeling super excited.”
WATCH: Toronto Raptors close out first NBA title with Game 6 win
For the event organizers, the historic victory was simply icing on the cake of a celebration that will go down has one of the best in the city’s history.
“We haven’t slept well in two-and-a-half weeks, and it was all for this moment,” yelled Levert.
“We wouldn’t trade it for the world,” cheered Benson.
“Canada is champion.”
Comments