A few hours ahead of his jersey retirement ceremony, an emotional Vince Carter held court with the media Saturday at Scotiabank Arena.
Carter was moved to tears several times during the 35 minute question and answer session which had family members such as his mother and three children seated up front.
Carter’s No. 15 will become the first jersey retired by the Raptors later Saturday at halftime of the game against the Sacramento Kings.
Carter knows that his ugly exit in 2004 still angers some fans, but said, “I understand that’s possibly where the frustration came from, because that guy that we’re starting to like is now moving on. But I always told, especially close friends, like you can have your frustrations, but understand the whole story before you articulate your anger, particularly if you don’t really know what was really going on (behind the scenes with a franchise that was crumbling under mismanagement),” Carter said.
“I was that guy that wanted to fly around arenas and dunk on people, which is why people fell in love, which is why I understand why people were sad and had their feelings,” Carter said as dozens of fans peered through the glass of the arena near Legend’s Row to watch his media conference. “I think that’s where the love came from and that’s where the frustration came from (when I) moved on.
“I think all of these emotions and feelings of now, knowing now, again, putting a bow on the entire experience, not just six years, 22 years of back and forth. ‘Hehe, haha, VC, sucks’ to congratulations. It’s all in one,” Carter said.
Carter recalled his early days in Toronto, from what he thought was a poor pre-draft workout that actually wowed Glen Grunwald, Butch Carter and the rest of the then-Toronto brass, to the origins of his choosing No. 15 in high school in Florida. He picked the Game 5 win over the New York Knicks to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time as his top highlight as a Raptor and detailed how he always maintained ties to the city of Toronto, including his new assignment working on some Sportsnet Raptors broadcasts alongside close friend Alvin Williams and Matt Devlin, and to Canada and how proud he is of his impact on inspiring so many to play basketball in this country.
Carter said the moment “means everything. And the legacy is still growing. And I think once again, this is the icing on the cake. This is the bow to bring it all to full circle … I feel like my emotions speak louder than words. It tells a story. And you know, it’s just appreciation for where we were, where we were getting to, and where we are now, and now you wrap that up with a bow, you know what I’m saying. So nothing else that needs to be said if you can’t really understand that, I mean, walking around with deaf ears and blind eyes.”
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