It was weird a year ago, that’s to be sure.
Something was in the air, literally and figuratively, and the Raptors — like everyone — sensed it.
There had already been minor changes to their lives, like a focus on hand hygiene, and “social distancing” was about to explode into the vernacular. The media were no longer in the locker rooms. Fans might no longer be in stands.
Something was coming.
But as Raptor Norm Powell hosted his annual charity bowling event under the oddest of circumstances on that fateful Wednesday, March 11, 2020 — “it was literally the fans watching us bowl instead of us bowling with them, which was kind of weird and kind of sucked” — even he had no idea what was about to unfold.