by Matthew Iaboni
--raptors.com
June 28, 2006

June 28 will go down as one of the biggest nights in the history of the Raptors franchise and the fans of the team felt that excitement at the Season Seat Holder Draft Party held at Air Canada Centre.

Fans got to hang out with the NBA's greatest mascot and the Dance Pak. (Ron Turenne/MLSE)

“There is a good buzz in the city, the draft part was great,” said Imaran Merali a season ticket holder for four years. “We got to meet the Raptors personalities like Chuck (Swirsky) and Leo (Rautins) and also Joey Graham and Charlie (Villanueva) and Mo Pete.”

Areas around Air Canada Centre in Toronto Wednesday were Raptorized as the team looked to spread some of the excitement that comes along with making the first overall selection in the draft. Union Station that had the floor, walls, pillars and doors all adorned with Raptors colours, while the Raptors Ford Fusion graced Front St..

General manager Bryan Colangelo addressed the crowd before making the first selection and his every word was cheered by the more than 4,000 fans in attendance.

As the draft drew closer fans milled around the lower bowl of the arena in anticipation of the first pick. They were treated to food and drinks along with a silent auction.

When commissioner David Stern announced that the Raptors had selected Andrea Bargnani from Italy, the crowd let out a rousing cheer.

“He seems like a good pick, he can shoot from the outside and hopefully he can put on some weight,” said season ticket holder Mailk Alidina. “You sort of had an idea about what was going to happen and I have full confidence in Bryan and his scouts to draft the right player.”

Charlie, Mo and Joey spent some time with the fans at the draft party. (Ron Turenne/MLSE)

Every fan in attendance was thrilled with what has happened with the Raptors in the recent months.

“The signing of Bryan brought a lot of credibility to the organization,” Alidina said. “With Chris (Bosh) saying that he wants to sign it is obviously an amazing thing and it bodes well for the franchise.”

It just wasn’t the fans who were excited about the drafting of Bargnani. Morris Peterson who was on hand along with Joey Graham and Charlie Villanueva thinks that Bargnani will do well in Toronto.

“Toronto as a city has some international flavour, But, I think Bryan is just trying to find some good players for the future.”

Despite being picked first, Bargnani will not have to come in and start right away. Raptors fans realize that it will be a good thing for the Raptors down the road.

“He’s still very young and he can develop,” Merali said. “With Rasho (Nesterovic), he’s not coming into a situation where he will have to start right away. He can come off the bench and develop slowly.”

And judging by the reaction from the crowd after the selection was made, he’ll have plenty of support from fans and teammates alike.