“Really, it's all about being on TV at the end of the day,” says Chris Bosh

[Double-Up]

As Chris Bosh (http://www.tsn.ca/nba/teams/players/?name=chris+bosh) prepared for his debut with his new team Tuesday night against the Celtics, the five-time all-star offered another reason as to why he left his former team, the Toronto Raptors.


Bosh told Toronto newspapers it was his desire for national exposure in the United States that helped fuel his move south.


“Really, it's all about being on TV at the end of the day,” Bosh said. “Seriously. A guy can average 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds), and nobody really cares. If you don't see it (on U.S. national TV), then it doesn't really happen.”


Bosh spent his first seven seasons with the Raptors, then left during the much-anticipated 2010 free agency period. He and Lebron James (http://www.tsn.ca/nba/teams/players/?name=lebron+james) signed to play alongside Dwyane Wade (http://www.tsn.ca/nba/teams/players/?name=dwyane+wade) with the Miami Heat.


This is not the first time that Bosh has made his feelings about Toronto known since departing for Miami.


"I didn't want to go there," Bosh told the Miami Herald in July. "It was different. All I knew was Vince Carter (http://www.tsn.ca/nba/teams/players/?name=vince+carter) was there and I never saw him play on TV. It was a whole different country, and it was just different. I'm 19 years old, I didn't know anything about culture and being away from home. All I know is the States. Toronto's a great place, a fantastic city. It's a metropolitan area, but you could tell you're somewhere different. You could feel it, you could look at it, you can smell it. Everything. All your senses tell you you're somewhere different."


Bosh makes his appearance with Heat in Toronto on Feb. 16



http://www.tsn.ca/story/?id=338867

[IronMexican]

Was this taken out of context or something? I can't really imagine he would say this.

[lefty]

Toronto is a great city
And there is media exposure, WTF is he talking about

The only reason I would move from T.O to MIA would be the weather (duh)

[Darrin]

Hey Bosh--you know another way to get on TV? Make the playoffs and show your game there.

[nkdlunch]

been hanging out with Bron too much

[Ashy Larry]

Toronto is a great city and the night life is tremendous ......

[Cane]

Toronto the city might be great but seems shitty for NBA players and stars since its not only hockeyville but the Raptors organization seems like one of the worst the NBA has ever seen. They can't keep their star players happy and they seem to always leave on bad terms. Colangelo seems like an idiot, like a mix of Khan and Dan Gilbert. Also probably sucks to deal with not only Canadian basketball fans but Canadian weather as well ;)

How many games have they gotten on national TV in the past few years anyway? Certainly doesn't help that they couldn't get to the playoffs in the shitty East as well....

[SomeCallMeTim]

Was this taken out of context or something? I can't really imagine he would say this.

Well, to be fair, the "it" he is referring to is not "the point of my career," it is "the perception of my production."

Still, he might want to be a little more careful about how he phrases things... :lol

[HarlemHeat37]

Toronto is a hockey city, obviously, but the Raptors get a tremendous amount of support when they're successful..they've been in the top 10 in attendance for most of this decade, near the top 5 for a few of the Carter years..

Bosh is a pussy..I've always disliked him, he's extremely annoying and sensitive..he complained about fan support and exposure to the US all the time when he was a Raptor..it seems like receiving attention is all he cares about..

The Raptors with Vince actually did receive a few National TV games, and they made the playoffs in 3 consecutive years, so they received TV games there too..they were arguably the most popular team in the NBA when Carter was there..

They do have terrible management though, no denying that..they really didn't treat Bosh that poorly though..

[cheguevara]

Bosch is pretty much a white woman in a black man's body

[Jose Canseco]

Toronto's a great place, a fantastic city. It's a metropolitan area, but you could tell you're somewhere different. You could feel it, you could look at it, you can smell it. Everything. All your senses tell you you're somewhere different."


Ah, that evil stench of clean, low polluted air...

[ChumpDumper]

Toronto is different compared to Dallas?

Profound.

[TheMACHINE]

OP's avatar and sig FTW!

[duncan228]

Chris Bosh clears everything up: He didn’t leave Toronto to be on T.V., it was that they sucked (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/10/29/chris-bosh-clears-everything-up-he-didn%e2%80%99t-leave-toronto-to-be-on-t-v-it-was-that-they-sucked/)
Kurt Helin

Chris Bosh, stop digging. When you’re in a hole… stop.

Don’t worry about what the people in Toronto think of you. Worry about where to be in the offense and how you’re going to defend Dwight Howard.

This all started back on Tuesday Bosh was interviewed by a Toronto Star columnist (http://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/nba/article/881386--feschuk-bosh-revels-in-the-heat-of-the-spotlight?bn=1) before the Heat’s opening night in Boston and said this quote:


“Really, it’s all about being on TV at the end of the day,” the five-time all-star said Tuesday. “Seriously. A guy can average 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds), and nobody really cares. If you don’t see it (on U.S. national TV), then it doesn’t really happen.”

Not good. We know you felt underappreciated in Toronto. You’ve beat that drum pretty hard. Just don’t go on Toronto radio station 590 The Fan with Doug Farraway (http://www.fan590.com/media.jsp?content=20101029_092815_4892) Friday and try to clear everything up… oh, too late. The National Post transcribes it for us (http://sports.nationalpost.com/2010/10/29/bosh-says-lack-of-television-exposure-was-not-reason-for-departure/).


“Yeah, I said that,” Bosh told Farraway, “but it wasn’t in the context of why I made my decision [to leave Toronto for Miami in the off-season].”

Bosh said that he made the comment in a conversation about why one player is perceived to be better than another, and went on to say he did not even invoke the importance of being on national television in the United States, specifically…

Bosh went on to say that the main reason he left Toronto was to win basketball games and chase a championship.

We knew why Bosh left, because he and LeBron James have beat that drum about winning loudly, too. But in Toronto some will read it this way: it wasn’t televised games, he just left Toronto because they sucked. Oh, that’s much better.

Why did the Raptors suck and fall apart at the end of last season, why did Bosh struggle? The primary reason was his lingering ankle injury, certainly. But he talked again about the distraction of everyone asking if he was leaving:


“It was a distraction after all-star break, because that’s all that people wanted to talk about that,” Bosh told Farraway.

Bosh, that is a distraction of your own creation. So to be clear: You left Toronto to win games and a title, but part of the reason that didn’t happen in Toronto was the distraction of you leaving.

Bosh told the Palm Beach Post (http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/heatzone/) that he went on the radio to try and keep his good name.


“You can work a lifetime to to build up a good name, and it could be taken away in a matter of seconds,” Bosh said after Friday’s shootaround. “If I’m misquoted, or someone puts a quote in the wrong context, I want to get it straight. Your name is all it has… In no way am I going to associate the Bosh name with things that were said.”

Bosh, stop trying to explain why you left. Stop trying to make the people of Toronto still like you. Stop digging. You had played out your contract and earned the right to leave. You wanted to win. That’s fine. Own that. Stop worrying about what people think — in your much larger spotlight now that will drive you crazy.

Just play and try to figure out how to blend in with your new teammates. Hope all this wasn’t too much of a distraction.

[SomeCallMeTim]

Chris Bosh clears everything up: He didn’t leave Toronto to be on T.V., it was that they sucked (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/10/29/chris-bosh-clears-everything-up-he-didn%e2%80%99t-leave-toronto-to-be-on-t-v-it-was-that-they-sucked/)
Kurt Helin

“You can work a lifetime to to build up a good name, and it could be taken away in a matter of seconds,” Bosh said after Friday’s shootaround. “If I’m misquoted, or someone puts a quote in the wrong context, I want to get it straight. Your name is all it has… In no way am I going to associate the Bosh name with things that were said."

:lol

There's speaking in 3rd-person... then there's speaking in 3rd-person about yourself as "the Bosh name."

That's some good stuff there.

[Trill Clinton]

A guy can also average 20 and 10 when you're the best player on a sorry ass team:sleep

[Killakobe81]

Funny thing is he left Toronto for more exposure only to play in the HUGE shdow of Wade and Lebron real smart. If he wanted to win, gain exposure and make a mark Houston would of ben the much better choice. But at least he will get a title.

[DMX7]

Bosh and LeBroom are perfect for each other.

[Basketballgirl25]

I always knew Bosh wanted to be on tv more, if the Heat fail maybe he should quit the NBA and just get a job on a tv show it would work for him better bet you would be a great host for any tv show