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Thursday’s Hot Clicks: Crazy Raptors Fans Packed Jurassic Park Before Dawn for Game 1

Some people showed up as early as 4 a.m.!

Dan Gartland

Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images

Raptors fans are ready

The Raptors open their first ever NBA Finals tonight at home and fans in Toronto could not be more excited. 

All throughout the playoffs, Raps fans have gathered to watch the games in an outdoor viewing arena right outside the arena known as “Jurassic Park.” As the team made it deeper and deeper into the postseason, Jurassic Park became the place to be in Toronto. Drake even showed up to watch a road game there. The Jurassic Park concept has been so popular that the Raptors’ owners gave approval to other cities in Ontario to open their own outdoor viewing areas. 

The Finals will be even more electric in Jurassic Park and fans are making sure they secure their spot in the crowd by showing up in the early morning hours and spending all day waiting for the 9 p.m. tip. 

One woman even showed up before 4 a.m., meaning she’ll spend about 20 hours in Jurassic Park if she stays until the end of the game. 

These fans came from all the way from Australia to witness Jurassic Park in person.

The scene also attracted Raptors legend Chris Bosh. 

Toronto’s Jurassic Park doesn’t actually open until 3 p.m., so all those fans will have to wait in line until then. Despite the long wait, you can bet they’ll be amped up and ready to go when Kawhi and the team take the floor. 

Willy Adames with the monster bat flip

Rays shortstop Willy Adames won the game for Tampa Bay with an 11th-inning walk-off against the Blue Jays and celebrated with one of the biggest bat flips you’ll ever see in MLB. 

What makes it even better is that it wasn’t even on a homer. It was a fly ball to the outfield that would have been caught if Toronto wasn’t playing a five-man infield with the bases loaded. 

He got the unhappy ending

Add another item to the list of bizarre baseball injuries. 

Astros star Carlos Correa is expected to miss 4-6 weeks of action after breaking a rib. How? He was getting a massage. 

What kind of professional masseuse is rough enough to crack a 215-pound man’s rib?

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Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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