Mayor Tara Veer and Raptors superfan Patrick Teskey at Deerassic Park for game five on Monday night. Teskey was the one with the bright idea for the Red Deer viewing party. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

we the north!

Raptors fans in Red Deer pack “Deerassic Park”

Jun 10, 2019 | 11:01 PM

In the end, it was heartbreak at the Servus Arena and across the country as the Toronto Raptors failed to close out the NBA Finals with a win on Monday night.

Deerassic Park — inspired by viewing parties across the country — was packed with boisterous fans hoping to see the Raptors win their first ever title in game five of the finals.

Toronto trailed for much of the game before clawing back to take a six-point lead with under two minutes to go. But the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors struck multiple times in the waning moments to win 106-105 and cut the series lead for the Raps to 3-2.

Deerassic Park, which drew fans young and old, may not have happened if not for a thoughtful tweet from Innisfail resident and long-time Raptors fan Patrick Teskey.

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Mayor Tara Veer soon followed up:

Veer stopped by Deerassic Park midway through the game to soak in the atmosphere and visit with Teskey.

“She said they felt like they had dropped the ball in the past on events like this, and having an event to get the community together — this is Canada’s team now after all – was important to her and it was important to me as well,” Teskey said.

He added that Veer had recalled the last stop on The Tragically Hip’s final tour, which was televised, as a moment where they could have done more.

Nonetheless, at half-time Teskey ranked his nervousness at a two out of 10 with the Raptors down six.

“It’s pretty incredible. It would be amazing (if they won). I’ve loved the team since I was in high school,” he said. “I went to games at SkyDome, and had fun watching the team back then when they were losing a significant number of games every season. Now, my kids are getting into it and my wife is getting into it. A six-point deficit at half-time is nothing for this team.”

He was almost correct as the good guys did make a late comeback to take the lead. But it wasn’t meant to be as the Warriors snuck out a one-point win to force game six.

Most of Canada is hoping the same.

The City of Red Deer has yet to announce if Deerassic Park will be open for game six and, if necessary (hopefully not), game seven.