National Basketball Association

Raptors mascot out for year

Published Oct. 10, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

This cannot be a good sign for the Toronto Raptors.

Before a regular-season game has been played, the Raptors have learned that their mascot — creatively named “The Raptor” — will miss the entire season after blowing out his Achilles. Coach Dwane Casey‘s daughter was devastated, and we’re sure little Raptors fans everywhere will be disappointed not to see the dunking, dancing dinosaur during timeouts and halftime this year.

“There have been nights — oh God, so many nights — when the only reason to stick around past the third quarter was to see the Inflatable Raptor ‘eat’ security guards on the sideline,” Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star writes. “We’re not sure what he’s paid. We’re sure it’s not enough.”

This is shocking news. As far as we know, The Raptor has gone almost two decades without missing significant time. And if trying to defend against rookie Allen Iverson‘s killer crossover in 1996 didn’t blow out his Achilles, we figured nothing could.

If you’re interested, Iverson vs. The Raptor appears below: