Steve Nash Goes to L.A., and Toronto Can Bottle Its Crocodile Tears

Really, what would you do? Would you take a job somewhere to satisfy a few million people you’ve never met, never lived near, never thought about, just so it would make them feel good? If you’re Steve Nash, and you’re evaluating it like you’d evaluate any job, would you really want to go to Toronto?

Did we hate Peter Jennings for being an anchor on ABC, or Michael J. Fox for acting in Hollywood, or The Biebs for owning a home in Atlanta?

Sure, Toronto is “Canada.” But, really, Nash is from Victoria. B.C. Vancouver. All that stuff. That ain’t Toronto, pal. And, yes, while Nash would have certainly given the Raps some “hometown” consideration if it was the right fit, it wasn’t.

Sure, Torontonians have been dripping wet for years about the possibility of Steve Nash retiring in their beloved city, what with its shwarmas and Little Portugal and all, but Nash owes Toronto nothing. Besides, it was the American Southwest that gave Steve his first and only shot. It wasn’t Toronto, or anywhere in the East. It was Santa Clara, Cali., and then Phoenix, and then Dallas, and then Phoenix… again.

And, now, it’s the Lakers. It fits. All is right in Steve Nash’s world.

And, really, there are questions about how Torontonians will react. They should be happy, because the best basketball player to ever come from Canada now has a shot at winning a ring, and he never would have with the Raptors.

Even with a better lineup, some teams are just losers, and the Raptors are one of them. Losing is ingrained in their psyche, in their system. 

Same goes for the Vancouver Canucks. And, the Buffalo Bills. Some teams and people just lose. They’ll never win. They can’t find a way. It’s easier to fail, and some people just don’t know how to do anything but.

Look at the above video from ESPN, with J.A. Adande. Hell, the Raptors never even figured into his monologue. Down there, Toronto wasn’t anywhere close to a contender. Because, in the world of the sane, it made no sense at all.

And yet, the city and team felt entitled to him.

Take a note from the 13-year-old you that thought he loved the first girl he danced with, and know that it’s time to move on. You’ve got a long life ahead of you, and it won’t include Steve Nash.

It was never supposed to.