One Player's Influence on a Nation

First and foremost, Canada has been and will always be a country that prides itself with hockey. It has a huge history of greats, stories of glory and humiliating defeat. I guess that's what building a culture is all about; a collective experiencing high and low moments together.

For as far as I can remember, hockey has always been Canada's sport. Officially it's Canada's winter sport. Lacrosse is its national summer sport.

I grew up in the 80's and can remember there were a few sports that shined in Canada despite its deep rooted love for hockey. The Olympics were always a game changer.

Canadians will always remember the joy that Ben Johnson brought to the nation when he won Gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the 100 meter dash. Then sulked when he lost it because he tested positive for steroids.

For a brief moment everyone wanted to be a sprinter because of Ben Johnson.

Not too long after that we see Joe Carter hit that walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Cup for the Toronto Blue Jays. I remember in school playing way more baseball because of Joe Carter and the Blue Jays. Joe Carter's home run was such an iconic moment that many Canadian kids wanted to follow in his footsteps.

Sprinting got its second moment of glory when Donovan Bailey won the gold medal in the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta. Not only did he win the gold medal for the 100 meters, but he made a new world record at the time. He then continued and helped the Canadian men win gold in the 4 x 100 relay at that very same Olympic games.

Canadian interest in track and field was once again rejuvenated because of Donovan Bailey's success and he ushered in a new generation of Canadian runners.

Then not long after that in the early 2000's, a man by the name of Vince Carter came to the Toronto Raptors.

The Raptors had just entered the NBA in 1995 along with the Vancouver Grizzlies. I guess it was to garner basketball interest in Canada. Basketball gained a little bit of a buzz with the Raptors but the Grizzlies fizzled out really quickly.

That all changed when Vince Carter came to the Raptors. He put life back into that franchise and everyone was in awe of his skills and presence. I would say that Vince Carter influenced many young Canadians while he played for the Raptors. There's even a documentary about it called The Carter Effect. That documentary goes on to explain how influential he really was for not only Toronto but Canadian Basketball.

I don't even think Steve Nash made as much of a splash to Canadian basketball as Vince Carter.

Years pass by and Canadians fall back to hockey. There is the odd occasion where there's someone that will pique their interest like George St. Pierre for mixed martial arts. Nothing has been that crazy. Well, there was that Blue Jays 2015 American League Division Series with Jose Bautista's 3 run homer bat throw. People went nuts for that.

Recently, Raptors fever has reached an all time high again like back in the days of Vince Carter. The Raptors have had stars like Chris Bosh, DeMar DeRozen, and Kyle Lowry for so many years but have never captured that same magic. They've all been great players had have done great things for the club but Raptors hype has never been this hype in a long time.

All of this is thanks to Kawhi Leonard. This guy has only played a season with the Raptors and is super soft spoken. So it's hard to believe such a person would be making ripples across the country.

If you think about it, it's kind of the right place at the right time. None of the Canadian teams have made it past the first round of the Stanley Cup. Kawhi Leonard has the demeanor of a good old hockey player. He just plays the game as well as he can and will shy away from the limelight.

After his game 7 miracle shot that sent the Sixers home, Canada has been going nuts over the Raptors. I was strolling through the neighborhoods and I see kids playing basketball on the road. Not too long ago this was unheard of. Occasionally you'd see a kid dribbling a basketball on the road to the basketball court at the local community center but taking up the street to play basketball? These streets used to be where kids played ball hockey.

I hope that we continue to get stars that can heighten our interests in other sports. Perhaps soccer will be a new sport Canadians will follow with Alphonso Davies leading the way. Who knows? It's just good to see that Canada is diversifying their sport interests. I now recognize how much one player can influence a nation.