The Raptors are back in Toronto, nature is healing

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It's been 600 days since the Raptors last played a regular-season game in Toronto.

We could run through the laundry list of ways the world changed in that time, but you either already know it all, don't want to hear it again or, most likely, both.

Still, some cross-sport perspective: in those 600 days, Tom Brady left the New England Patriots, signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and promptly won a Super Bowl in his new digs. Imagine telling your naive February 2020 self that.

The long-awaited homecoming happens tonight, when the Raptors host the Washington Wizards at Scotiabank Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Raptors' last true home game occurred on Feb. 28, 2020, against the Charlotte Hornets, a 99-96 loss from which just three players who suited up remain with Toronto. The team then embarked on a five-game road trip that concluded with a victory over Rudy Gobert's Utah Jazz. Again, you know the rest.

In the immediate aftermath of the sports world's shutdown, scheduling suddenly became every fan's obsession. As it turns out, the NBA and NHL titles would not be awarded until October, Tokyo 2020 was pushed to 2021 and MLB held its breath through a quick 60-game season.

It all meant the following NBA and NHL seasons were also affected, as both leagues cut back on games and rushed through new campaigns almost immediately after the previous ones ended.

In the time between Raptors regular-season games in Toronto, the Tampa Bay Lightning won not one, but two Stanley Cups. Tampa, of course, also hosted the Raptors for the duration of the 2020-21 NBA season.

But now we're back to your regularly scheduled programming. It's Fall, which means the NFL and CFL seasons are in full swing, there's renewed hope with the start of NBA and NHL campaigns, a new WNBA champion was crowned and the World Series is around the corner.

And not only that. With B.C.'s announcement yesterday that it would lift indoor capacity limits in time for the Canucks' home opener next Tuesday, all 124 major men's North American sports teams can now play at home in front of sold-out crowds.

It wasn't worth complaining at the time, but we can admit now that sports just weren't the same without atmosphere. Baseball needs the buzzing of nervous fans, hockey missed the roar of the crowd after a big save and it has been too long since a well-articulated 'REF YOU SUCK' chant.

Which isn't to say everything is back to normal. Perhaps the biggest NBA storyline right now is Kyrie Irving's refusal to take the vaccine. Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon missed the first two games of the season after testing positive for COVID-19. Fans are required to show proof of vaccination to enter tonight's Raptors game. As of today, only Chinese spectators will be allowed to attend events at the Beijing Olympics.

It's all somewhat precarious. But 600 days after the Raptors lost to the Hornets, just playing in Toronto in front of a home crowd feels like a victory in itself.