Raptors versus Bulls 25th Anniversary
25 years ago today I was at the SkyDome in Toronto with my dad, brother and my brother’s friend. It was my first time watching the Raptors in their inaugural season, and my first time ever seeing Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls were 60-8 coming into this game, the Raptors were 17-49. I was a huge Bulls fan, and definitely not a Raptors fan.
Young Joel was crushed when Michael Jordan’s potential game winner splashed through just after the buzzer. The lowly expansion Raptors had beaten the Bulls and I could not believe it. Now 25 years later I can appreciate the game for the momentous game that it was. It was only 1 of 10 times the Bulls lost that season, and it remained one of the Raptors’ greatest victories for years and years, until they finally won the championship in 2019. This game will always be special to me, and I wanted to commemorate it with an illustration. As difficult as it was to draw Michael and Scottie with their heads down, I’m glad I was there.
I have signed prints available of this illustration in my shop.