Lot of talk the last little while about Chris Bosh bailing out on The Raptors next season. I've looked at players who want out of Toronto as similar to a couple breaking up. In the case of Bosh he loves it here, the fans love him but it's just not working out. He's not giving us a winner and management isn't providing him with the tools to do that. Time to pack your clothes?
That was the same situation with Roy Halladay. A guy who never complained, who loved the city but in his heart he knew that the Blue Jays couldn't give him the one thing he wanted. He wanted to play on a contender and by the time the Jays could serve that up for him his career would be just about over.
That wasn't a messy breakup. It broke our heats to see him go but we knew it was for the best. It's the old adage...."if you love them...let them go". Easy to say, hard to do. But you know damn well it's for the best. No bitterness about Halladay leaving. I wish him well and thank him for what he gave baseball fans in Toronto. Too bad relationships can't end up so civilized.
'Course you do have messy break ups. The Jays' Robbie Alomar and The Rappies' Vince Carter come to mind. Both of them wined. Both of them quit. Not just on their teammates but on the fans. That's like having an affair before you announce that what every you had with your partner, you don't have anymore.
Then there's the...throw him out of the house...break up. Which is what happened with Mats Sundin. He wanted to stay, The Learfs wanted him gone. He wouldn't leave so basically they changed the locks on him when his contract was done and told him not to come home.
I think Bosh will fall into the Halladay category. We know what he wants and needs. We also know we can't...or atleast The Raptors can't...give it to him. I don't blame him if he doesn't come back to the Raptors next season. A good guy...a good player...he never quit he never bitched he put all he could into a relationship that just didn't work out.
No hard feelings. Thanks for trying. He'll always have a place in our hearts...but not in our home...well probably not...not anymore.
The reason I have soured a bit on Pro Sports as I got older was I finally ralized how much of a business it is, and no matter what players say, it IS all about the money...Well ok, maybe not in the CFL or Lacrosse. But I do not blame the players for taking the best deal they can get, and I don't blame the teams for not offering long term players a money deal if they do not deserve it.
I think with Bosh, he is a good player on a bad team. Not a great player on a good team, but in his mind he is, so good luck to him landing a max money deal. Speaking of breakups, is anyone buying what Brian Colangelo is selling these days?