I love purple dinosaurs

Don't you?

Alright, I confess: this entry has nothing to do with the children's character who has haunted our screen for more than twenty years. It's about a certain hapless basketball team that have stumbled on the courts for about seventeen years: the Toronto Raptors.

Primarily, I'm just left asking the question... what happened to the purple?

Before you jump on me with the ravenous fervor of the team's namesake, I will already state that, yes, I'm aware that the mascot is, and always has been, red. However, for the first eleven seasons, the Raptors' jerseys were a rather regal shade of violet.

Over the years, the design went through a few modifications, first losing the vertical pinstripes and the obtuse logo on the front of the jersey, and then, in 2006, the team switched gears entirely. The new jerseys were red and black, and the purple was gone.

I'm not necessarily against the new(ish) jerseys. On the contrary, I think they look pretty sharp. I'm just not clear as to why they made the change, especially considering that fans seemed to really dig the purple and red combo (most Raptors hats people wear are still the ones that have purple on them).

It couldn't be due to a conception that purple is a 'wussy' colour. The Lakers have certainly debunked that notion. Could it have something to do with the defection of the Vancouver Grizzlies? Once they split for Memphis, the Raptors effectively went from just being 'Toronto's team', to what could be considered 'Canada's team'.

Could the shift to a focus on red be an attempt to capitalise on the national colours? Possibly. It's all pointless speculation at the moment, though.

Will we ever see the purple make a return as an alternate jersey? Hopefully. Especially instead of those hideous camo jerseys that have been making the rounds. One of the things about the purple jerseys is that they represent a time of success and excitement for this franchise. The Vince Carter years. The first round upset of the Knicks. That kind of thing.

It's a bit like the Blue Jays' brief rebranding of 2004-2011. After trying a few other poorly received new logos, they settled on a black motif and a slick-looking Blue Jay emblem. The jerseys were pretty good, I reckon, but the best years of the Jays were in the early 90s, and people wanted that style back. This year's new garb is a true throwback to the classic design, and fans are eating it up.

...And for the record, I actually was a fan of Barney as a kid. He had a lesson for everyone.