Congratulations, you savvy navigator of the world wide web. You’ve found us!

Welcome to Raptors Republic, the newest Raptor fan site. Also, the most comprehensive, most dedicated, and best smelling.

If you believe one thing I say (and anyone who’s read my posts probably doesn’t) it’s this: Raptors Republic is going to rock, and that’s because the new blogger braintrust of AltRaps, Arsenalist, Dinosty, and RaptorsTalk have to joined forces to offer EVERYTHING you could ever want as a Raptors fan…other than a first round victory. We’re working on that one, but we need your help Andrea!

Our goal at RR is to become the epicenter for Raptor-based dialogue. How to do that? Simply put, we’re going to have more original content than any Raptors site out there (including the official .com) We’ve got everything you’d expect from an A-grade NBA blog – thoughtful articles, pre/post game analysis, daily links, goofy asides, and video/picture posts. But if Raptors Republic was a meal, that would just be the delicious appetizer. So you better be hungry.

What else can you do here? Well, let’s say you were arguing with a friend about how many points – I dunno, let’s say Dell Curry – scored as a Raptor. All you’d need to do is visit our History Page, where we have compiled the statistics for every player to don the uni, from the days of pinstripe purple to the current black and red. Or maybe you’re one of those obscure stat-o-holics (get help) who needs to know how the 2002 Raptors fared on Monday while on the road when Joey Crawford was officiating. You can find the answer to that and any other Raptor stat question by playing with the Stat-O-Meter 3000, a tool exclusive to Raptors Republic and the most expensive Raptor stat technology on the market. Check it out but prepare to have your mind blown (and nothing else, perverts).

If you’re tired of watching Raptors games in the isolated musty confines of your parent’s basement, join us for Raptor Fan Fridays at Filthy McNastys (details on our events page) where you can come eat, cheer, and enjoy a pint with fellow Raptor faithfuls, and maybe go home with tickets to the next game.  You can also decorate your desktop using our ever-growing wallpaper page, participate in RR liveblogs, watch video highlights, chime in on our weekly polls, even receive marital advice. We’re aiming BIG, folks. We want to bring all you fans together in one space to enrich your Raptor fan experience. Why? Because you’re worth it.  Even YOU.

So we’re hoping you’ll join the Republic with us – be the first generation of participants and help us grow this joint (or just window shop to start, your call).

And for those who aren’t sold yet and are wondering: Other than great knowledge and info, what’s in it for me? Well, here’s a quick list of what you can expect from Raptors Republic:

It will…provide the most comprehensive, up to date, hilarious, tragic, delicious Raptors content on the web.

It won’t…improve your sex life. (But it should do good things for ours.)

It will…be tops on your RSS feeds. Oh it will.

It won’t…stop Mommy and Daddy from fighting, unless they’re arguing about whether the ’97-’98 Raps had a winning record with when outrebounded by 6-10 (they did not).

It will…make any university class beginning with “Intro to…” 75% more interesting.

It won’t…give you fashion or grooming advice. You’re on your own here, unibrow.

It will…occasionally team up with other kick-ass NBA related blogsites to do some next-level stuff.

It won’t…teach you to put the toilet seat down.  Your girlfriend/mother/woman-of-the-night’s midnight scream should do the trick.

It will…settle all Raptors-related bar bets. And thus make you look way smarter than you actually are.

Sold? Great! We look forward to having you here. We’re now “official” and “live” and all that, so check back daily (or more!) for your Raptors fix.

There’s a lot of hope out there for the 2008-2009 season. Loud, proud, and all together now: LETS GO RAPTORS!