Although I have almost no athletic ability (for those who would say I have no atheltic ability at all, I refer you to my play on the 1993 and 1994 Thomson Dodgers baseball team in the Toronto legal circuit, to say nothing of my four-for-six day with a homer in Little League when I was 10 - take that!), I have been a sports fan since I was six years old, lying on the chesterfield with the flu while watching Ken Dryden carry the Montreal Canadiens to an improbable Stanley Cup victory. I was, and am, first and foremost a fan of the Canadiens, a loyalty no doubt cemented in some small way by the fact that my father seemed to hate them (although I later realized it was more about hating the thing you love too much). Later, I developed an unhealthy attachment to the Montreal Expos baseball team, a love destined for heartbreak, in '81, in '94 and especially in '04. As I settled in Toronto I became a fan of the BlueJays, with much more satisfying results. And then, there are the San Francisco 49ers, who shall rise again.

But my main sporting passion of the last few years has been the Toronto Raptors. I won't recount the many small wounds to my psyche from this romance, only to say that the rapturous moments have been far outnumbered by the broken dates, unmade phone calls and slaps to the face that such a love entails. Today finds me in good spirits about this relationship, because, after nine straight losses to start the season, the Raptors finally won yesterday. Although I have great hope for the future of this team, I am far too practical to expect much better in the near future, but it is nice once in awhile for the old girl to put on her nice clothes and some makeup in a bid for respectability.