PHOTOS BY ROBYN DOOLITTLE/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Gary Cerriku, Edgar Lena, Adam Harrie, and Bryan Jani – all 15 – staked their place in line out front of the Air Canada Centre at 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning amid unseasonably cold weather. The gates were set to open at 1:30 p.m., two hours before game time.
"My mom was like 'are you crazy,' when I was leaving the house this morning. But Game 7 is going down and we weren't sure how early everyone was going to get here. We wanted to be right up front," said Harrie. "It's been tough with the hail."
No one was worried about the outcome.
"The Raptors are going to win," said Lena. "It's going to be about rebound control. Our bench players have to step up. We have to be able to depend on the whole team, not just our all-stars."
Kory Bedwell, 29, decided to take his mom Sheila, 51, to the game.
He just moved to Toronto from Vancouver.
"I haven't been to a Raptors game since Vince Carter played here," said Bedwell. "It's Game 7. I bit the bullet and bought tickets. They're going to win, because they're at home and they have the fans."
The difference maker will be the Raptors' centre, Bismack Biyombo, he said. "He has the intensity and gets everyone hyped up."
Katun Gordon, 15, Kyle Djordjevic, 15, Alias Ouzzine, 15, Jacob Morehouse, 16, and Jackson Willis, 15, took the GO Train in from Burlington to watch the game from Jurassic Park.
"This was the place to be today," said Gordon.
As for the game: "The Raptors are going win in a close one. DeRozan and Lowry are going to play well together and it's a home game."
After an hour and a half of waiting outside the arena, Luke Porcellato, 21, Ryan De Vega, 22 and Thaddeus Bassett, 22, had pizza delivered to the line.
The trio drove in from Kitchener for the game.
"They're winning. Hasn't even crossed my mind that they won't. I'm more worried about LeBron," said Ouzzine. (The winner of this round will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference final.)
Gord Coyle, 30, holding the shield, came dressed as "Raptain North." (He made quick friends in line with Annes Hathouti, 19)
"We got to 'avenge' the last game. It's going to be a hard-fought battle but I think we can do it," Coyle said. He made the trip from Mississauga.
Why did Warren Cheung, 32, and Danny Young, 30, come to the game dressed as Sesame Street characters?
"Because everyone loves Elmo, the Cookie Monster and the Raptors," said Young.
The pair walked the line amping up fans, who were already sporadically chanting "Beat the Heat" with two and a half hours to go until tip off.
Kyle Lowry looking forward to Game 7 against Miami Heat
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