Face of Nation : Move over, Dart Guy, there’s a new “guy” in town — “Plant Guy.”
The city’s latest sports meme was born when Global News reporter Mark Carcasole spoke with a man who was wearing a Raptors jersey and carrying a large plant during the celebration in downtown Toronto following the Raptors’ playoff victory.
The rise of Plant Guy evokes the viral sensation that was Dart Guy, a diehard Leafs fan with blue and white face paint and an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, who came to fame after a playoff game against the Washington Capitals in 2017.
Pictures of Dart Guy, who was later identified as Jason Maskalow, started appearing on social media following the game. They were used for Twitter avatars and photoshopped into pictures of Coach’s Corner and the five-dollar bill.
Toronto police social media officer Scott Mills said he hadn’t heard any complaints about Plant Guy, and that, technically, there isn’t anything wrong with wielding a plant in public. “He’s welcome to carry it around if he wants to, so long as he doesn’t do anything illegal with it,” Mills said.
But it appeared Plant Guy may have abandoned his plan of making it a gift to Leonard, as a plant remarkably similar to the one he was carrying was spotted lying next to a garbage can on Yonge St. the following day.
Leonard hasn’t posted on his official social media accounts since 2015, and had not publicly acknowledged the offering as of Saturday afternoon.
Jacob Lorinc is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @jacoblorinc
