Where are all Vancouver Grizzlies fans today?

[Rom Raptor]

Just out of curiosity, for me as a non Canadian Raptors fan.
Did most become Memphis Grizzlies fans or Toronto Raptors fans?
Or maybe some chose another NBA team closer to Vancouver?

[kwajo]

I was a Grizzlies fan as a kid even though I was in Atlantic Canada because I liked Vancouver and my brother lived there at the time. When they were stolen away from the city I shifted to the Raptors so I could keep supporting a Canadian team, even though my home in Canada is closer to Boston or even New York than Toronto.

That being said, I liked the Pau Gasol-led Grizzlies for a little while, but I just couldn’t get behind them because of the way they left Vancouver.

[XTC]

I live in Vancouver, so I was naturally a fan of the Grizzlies, but Vince was also my favourite players growing up, so when the Grizzlies left, the Raptors became my defacto #1 team. It honestly irks me when I see Memphis wearing the throwback Vancouver Jersey's, the team should have never left.

I also have a huge soft spot for the SuperSonics/Trailblazers. My dad was a huge basketball fan, so we would always go down to Seattle/Portland to watch some games. I still have a signed Gary Payton, and Rod Strickland jersey sitting in my closet to this day.

I was devastated when the Grizzlies left, hurt when the Sonics where relocated... For a good 10 years I was scared of losing the Raptors, but then basketball took off in Canada, and when the Raps became Canada's team it was a relief.

Shoutout to the Vancouver Grizzlies & Seattle SuperSonics. Still miss both of you!

[Morris_Shatford]

I was a big Blue Edwards guy.

[adubmac]

I took way too pride in the Raptors winning those Naismith Cups versus the Grizzlies, in those early years. I still believe the NBA is a stronger league with the Grizz in Vancouver instead of Memphis.

[S.W.A.N]

Big Country baby!!!

Vancouver should still have a nba team. We got screwed. NBA never should've let team go to Memphis. Dirty owner lied and tanked team to get it moved.

And ORCA bay screwed the pooch first by hiring incompetent people. Drafting Stevie Franchise was such a joke. Stu Jackson was bad

[Jakay]

Being a Grizzlies fan was sort of an oxymoron. You couldn't like the NBA and cheer for the Grizz because they were just that awful. You'd hope they'd one day get it together so everyone could actually cheer for them, but they couldn't they were just the definition of inept. Then they go to Memphis and get Gasol? FU Memphis. No love there.

That sums up my experience.

XTC I'm with you on the Sonics Blazers train there. King 5 games were a staple.

[Stromile12]

Mike bibby, Antonio Daniels, Shareef

Bring the grizz back

[TGM]

[quote="S.W.A.N"]Big Country baby!!!

Vancouver should still have a nba team. We got screwed. NBA never should've let team go to Memphis. Dirty owner lied and tanked team to get it moved.

And ORCA bay screwed the pooch first by hiring incompetent people. Drafting Stevie Franchise was such a joke. Stu Jackson was bad[/quote]

The problem with the Grizzlies is that the fan support was not great. This is a generalization, but there was just not the same fan base to support the Grizzlies compared to the Raptors. My experience is that there are a lot of bandwagon fans in Vancouver, they support the team and follow it when the team is winning. Like its crazy the amount of people that would start talking about the Canucks when the playoffs start when they don't even watch hockey. Its almost trendy to be sports crazy when the team is winning. Toronto on the other hand is like die hard fans. We have our share of bandwagon fans, but there is such a large fan base that watches the Toronto team even when they are garbage.

People try to blame the Steve Francis not willing to play for the team as the issue, but Toronto also had its fair share of player and management problems.

The reality is the fan base is critical for a sports franchise to survive. Look at the Utah or Detroit they have had some brutal seasons, but the team still finds a way to survive cause of the fan base.

[Elmago]

Big Country baby!!!

Vancouver should still have a nba team. We got screwed. NBA never should've let team go to Memphis. Dirty owner lied and tanked team to get it moved.

And ORCA bay screwed the pooch first by hiring incompetent people. Drafting Stevie Franchise was such a joke. Stu Jackson was bad

The problem with the Grizzlies is that the fan support was not great. This is a generalization, but there was just not the same fan base to support the Grizzlies compared to the Raptors. My experience is that there are a lot of bandwagon fans in Vancouver, they support the team and follow it when the team is winning. Like its crazy the amount of people that would start talking about the Canucks when the playoffs start when they don't even watch hockey. Its almost trendy to be sports crazy when the team is winning. Toronto on the other hand is like die hard fans. We have our share of bandwagon fans, but there is such a large fan base that watches the Toronto team even when they are garbage.

People try to blame the Steve Francis not willing to play for the team as the issue, but Toronto also had its fair share of player and management problems.

The reality is the fan base is critical for a sports franchise to survive. Look at the Utah or Detroit they have had some brutal seasons, but the team still finds a way to survive cause of the fan base.

I hate this revisionist history that I see people spouting. The year the Grizzlies won 8 games they average 16,700 fans a night. Attendance literally went DOWN when they moved to Memphis. There was plenty of fan support in Vancouver, and it continues to grow especially with the young asian and south asian population here where basketball is very popular. We got screwed over by an owner who just wanted to move the team, thats why it was moved, it had nothing to do with fan support.

[Jakay]

^100% agreed Elmago.

There were fans. There was just no buzz, because there was literally nothing to generate buzz. Dickerson was the closest they got to an exciting player. Their BEST season was 22-60. They had a 0.22 win % over the entire history of the franchise. They weer just such hot trash.

Captained by Stu Jackson, who went on to league office. He was as inept as it got.

Vancouver wanted an NBA team, but the general sentiment when the Grizzlies left was good riddance. It was never a real product.

[kwajo]

Big Country baby!!!

Vancouver should still have a nba team. We got screwed. NBA never should've let team go to Memphis. Dirty owner lied and tanked team to get it moved.

And ORCA bay screwed the pooch first by hiring incompetent people. Drafting Stevie Franchise was such a joke. Stu Jackson was bad

The problem with the Grizzlies is that the fan support was not great. This is a generalization, but there was just not the same fan base to support the Grizzlies compared to the Raptors. My experience is that there are a lot of bandwagon fans in Vancouver, they support the team and follow it when the team is winning. Like its crazy the amount of people that would start talking about the Canucks when the playoffs start when they don't even watch hockey. Its almost trendy to be sports crazy when the team is winning. Toronto on the other hand is like die hard fans. We have our share of bandwagon fans, but there is such a large fan base that watches the Toronto team even when they are garbage.

People try to blame the Steve Francis not willing to play for the team as the issue, but Toronto also had its fair share of player and management problems.

The reality is the fan base is critical for a sports franchise to survive. Look at the Utah or Detroit they have had some brutal seasons, but the team still finds a way to survive cause of the fan base.

I hate this revisionist history that I see people spouting. The year the Grizzlies won 8 games they average 16,700 fans a night. Attendance literally went DOWN when they moved to Memphis. There was plenty of fan support in Vancouver, and it continues to grow especially with the young asian and south asian population here where basketball is very popular. We got screwed over by an owner who just wanted to move the team, thats why it was moved, it had nothing to do with fan support.

All true, plus the metro area's population is 33% larger now than when they moved the team, so the potential of the team to continue to show strong attendance numbers would only grow.

[WaltFrazier]

This young lady's documentaries cover the issues

https://thegrizzlietruth.com/

[Tacoma]

Big Country baby!!!

Vancouver should still have a nba team. We got screwed. NBA never should've let team go to Memphis. Dirty owner lied and tanked team to get it moved.

And ORCA bay screwed the pooch first by hiring incompetent people. Drafting Stevie Franchise was such a joke. Stu Jackson was bad

The problem with the Grizzlies is that the fan support was not great. This is a generalization, but there was just not the same fan base to support the Grizzlies compared to the Raptors. My experience is that there are a lot of bandwagon fans in Vancouver, they support the team and follow it when the team is winning. Like its crazy the amount of people that would start talking about the Canucks when the playoffs start when they don't even watch hockey. Its almost trendy to be sports crazy when the team is winning. Toronto on the other hand is like die hard fans. We have our share of bandwagon fans, but there is such a large fan base that watches the Toronto team even when they are garbage.

People try to blame the Steve Francis not willing to play for the team as the issue, but Toronto also had its fair share of player and management problems.

The reality is the fan base is critical for a sports franchise to survive. Look at the Utah or Detroit they have had some brutal seasons, but the team still finds a way to survive cause of the fan base.

I hate this revisionist history that I see people spouting. The year the Grizzlies won 8 games they average 16,700 fans a night. Attendance literally went DOWN when they moved to Memphis. There was plenty of fan support in Vancouver, and it continues to grow especially with the young asian and south asian population here where basketball is very popular. We got screwed over by an owner who just wanted to move the team, thats why it was moved, it had nothing to do with fan support.

Agree. Vancouver filmmaker Kat Jayme did a documentary called "The Grizzlie Truth" a few years back and here's her in an interview where she said fans were the scapegoats. She reasoned considering they were one of the worst team or the worst team at the time, considering the inept owners and threats of the team moving from early on, there was good attendance & the fans were more than fine. The real culprit were the "unfortunate circumstances," in particular inept Front Office management that put together pathetic teams that averaged <17 wins per year.

Watch on YouTube

[slicedbread2]

The real death knell was Fedex.

A lot of people don't realize it, but without the support of the founder of that company, Memphis doesn't get an NBA team. Players not being willing to come there was a huge problem and to add insult to injury, corporate support was nonexistent compared to Toronto. Corporations made it known that instead of giving for example $1M to the Canucks and Grizzlies each, they'd split the $1M check between the two.

Ownership was an absolute joke with severe instability. People can harp all they want about Steve Francis saying no to them, but can you blame him? When Stu Jackson chose to draft him anyways despite being told not to and then trading him for a paltry sum that really stung. Drafting 3 pgs in a row in Antonio Daniels, Mike Bibby and Francis was such a dumbfounding move.

The NBA really did a horrible job with crippling the Grizzlies and Raptors with those restrictions though to play devil's advocate, the other owners of the league were angry at the instant success of the Magic with Shaq and Penny resulting in the new Canadian teams suffering the hammer.

I think Vancouver could get an expansion franchise, but Vegas will get priority over them sadly so who knows when they'll be back if ever.

[bballsparkin]

The problem with the Grizzlies is that the fan support was not great. This is a generalization, but there was just not the same fan base to support the Grizzlies compared to the Raptors. My experience is that there are a lot of bandwagon fans in Vancouver, they support the team and follow it when the team is winning. Like its crazy the amount of people that would start talking about the Canucks when the playoffs start when they don't even watch hockey. Its almost trendy to be sports crazy when the team is winning. Toronto on the other hand is like die hard fans. We have our share of bandwagon fans, but there is such a large fan base that watches the Toronto team even when they are garbage.

People try to blame the Steve Francis not willing to play for the team as the issue, but Toronto also had its fair share of player and management problems.

The reality is the fan base is critical for a sports franchise to survive. Look at the Utah or Detroit they have had some brutal seasons, but the team still finds a way to survive cause of the fan base.

So much wrong in this post. Fan support? Did you watch the Grizzlies? They were beyond horrible. Yet fans showed up and supported them. They never even won 25 games in a season!

I'm fairly confident you've posted this nonsense before. Yes, lets compare a team with 1/3 the population in the greater area (that's probably too high btw), to the Leafs. A team that I once read a Toronto reporter writing, "would sell out even if the Leafs gave out candy apples with razor blades inside them". I assure you Canuck fandom is strong. There's bandwagoners everywhere.


When the Grizzlies left I would never support a team with an owner like that. I took some solace when I read that Tennessee at one time did have Grizzlies. It wasn't until they got Marc and Zach that I started liking them. The Grizzlies were so bad the sting from ripping the band aids off didn't sting long enough to hold an eternal grudge.

Vancouver had the fan base. Lots of young people who love basketball. It was such bad basketball I'm not sure the damage can be undone. Give Seattle their team back first.

[S.W.A.N]

The problem with the Grizzlies is that the fan support was not great. This is a generalization, but there was just not the same fan base to support the Grizzlies compared to the Raptors. My experience is that there are a lot of bandwagon fans in Vancouver, they support the team and follow it when the team is winning. Like its crazy the amount of people that would start talking about the Canucks when the playoffs start when they don't even watch hockey. Its almost trendy to be sports crazy when the team is winning. Toronto on the other hand is like die hard fans. We have our share of bandwagon fans, but there is such a large fan base that watches the Toronto team even when they are garbage.

People try to blame the Steve Francis not willing to play for the team as the issue, but Toronto also had its fair share of player and management problems.

The reality is the fan base is critical for a sports franchise to survive. Look at the Utah or Detroit they have had some brutal seasons, but the team still finds a way to survive cause of the fan base.

So much wrong in this post. Fan support? Did you watch the Grizzlies? They were beyond horrible. Yet fans showed up and supported them. They never even won 25 games in a season!

I'm fairly confident you've posted this nonsense before. Yes, lets compare a team with 1/3 the population in the greater area (that's probably too high btw), to the Leafs. A team that I once read a Toronto reporter writing, "would sell out even if the Leafs gave out candy apples with razor blades inside them". I assure you Canuck fandom is strong. There's bandwagoners everywhere.


When the Grizzlies left I would never support a team with an owner like that. I took some solace when I read that Tennessee at one time did have Grizzlies. It wasn't until they got Marc and Zach that I started liking them. The Grizzlies were so bad the sting from ripping the band aids off didn't sting long enough to hold an eternal grudge.

Vancouver had the fan base. Lots of young people who love basketball. It was such bad basketball I'm not sure the damage can be undone. Give Seattle their team back first.

Yup the narrative that fan support was a problem is a myth.

Corporate money was definitely an issue, but poor owners, badly run team, and nba rules were the real factors.

[DreamTeam09]

when the Raps & Maples leafs moved to the ACC if you were a season ticket holder for the leafs you were automatically one for the Raps, that must've aided in some corporate help if not a lot. Was the same said for the grizzlies? I admit it the organization made stupid move after stupid move, although I did like Big country and Dickerson, never should've drafted Francis tho, they should've went with Odom #4 or Andre Miller #8 or Wally Szczerbiak #6 or RIP #7

Raptors had 5th that yr took Johnathan Bender & traded him for A. Davis Marion went #9

I remember being hype because Bender was coming out of Highschool
We also had #12 and took Aleksandar Radojević out of Boston community college, skipping on Maggette #13 and Artest #16 to pair with Vince and a freshly departed Tmac

[sule]

when the Raps & Maples leafs moved to the ACC if you were a season ticket holder for the leafs you were automatically one for the Raps, that must've aided in some corporate help if not a lot. Was the same said for the grizzlies? I admit it the organization made stupid move after stupid move, although I did like Big country and Dickerson, never should've drafted Francis tho, they should've went with Odom #4 or Andre Miller #8 or Wally Szczerbiak #6 or RIP #7

Raptors had 5th that yr took Johnathan Bender & traded him for A. Davis Marion went #9

I remember being hype because Bender was coming out of Highschool
We also had #12 and took Aleksandar Radojević out of Boston community college, skipping on Maggette #13 and Artest #16 to pair with Vince and a freshly departed Tmac

I remember in middle school and high school, there were $2 tickets to the Raptors games. Kids got tickets in the bleachers to watch Raptors games at an age when they were highly influenced in what sports they played, and when the Leafs ticket prices were continuing to rise.

They sucked in a lot lifelong fans during that time.

All that was needed afterward was a bit of a playoff buzz and the Raptors took off (among other reasons).

Grizzlies were never given that chance. Like the Raptors, they were handcuffed in their first 5 years from ever drafting a possible star. Grizzlies lasted 6 seasons. The efforts to move the Grizzlies started before the league handcuffs came off.

They never had a chance.