Before I get into this, I should admit: yes, I too ignored and belittled the Grizzlies when they were here, but don't hold the Grizzlies against us!

With teams like the Sonics in serious financial trouble and looking into the possibility of relocation, something stirs deep in my soul. That is, the desire, no the need, to have some more major sports teams come to Vancouver.

I know the Grizzlies didn't do so well here the first go round, but that was a long time ago, when the Canadian dollar was comparable to the Peso and Vancouver was still a small city aspiring to greatness. This is no longer the case: the Canadian dollar is in way better shape now, so any new franchise wouldn't have that disadvantage.

Vancouver has grown up a lot since '95, when the Grizzlies first came to town. Since then, we have hosted the World Junior Hockey Championships and have the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics coming to town. Vancity is no longer a small city...it is a rapidly expanding metropolis on the West coast. We're ready for some big time teams, I promise!

Not only were economic conditions back in '95 much less ripe, terrible drafting ensured that Vancouver never had a player that got people out of their seats, or into them in the first place. The closest thing we had was Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who was never an explosive, exciting, charismatic player. Just for fun, lets take a look at who was drafted into Vancouver in the first round, and some of the players that could've been had. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but just for fun:

Year                                       Drafted 1st Rd.                                               
     Coulda Had

1995 -------------------------- Bryant "Big Country" Reeves ------------------ Michael Finley, Brent Barry
1996 -------------------------- Shareef Abdur-Rahim -------------------------- Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash
1997 -------------------------- Antonio Daniels ---------------------------------- Tracy Mcgrady
1998 -------------------------- Mike Bibby ------------------------------------------ Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki
1999 -------------------------- Steve Francis -------------------------------------- Lamar Odom, Ron Artest,
2000 -------------------------- Stromile Swift --------------------------------------not much to be honest
2001 -------------------------- Shane Battier -------------------------------------- Joe Johnson


So, while having top 5 picks almost every year for the better part of a decade, Vancouver failed to build a team capable of respectability, let alone playoff basketball. The year that stands out the most is 1996. We take a SF with bad knees over Captain Canada and the second coming of MJ?????

Oh well, I just hope that we get another crack at it soon. Come on NBA, put some symmetry back into the league and let us balance out the Raptors. You guys know you miss those hotly contested Naismith Cups!