'It smells like victory': Raptors enthusiast makes good on playoffs bet to eat 17-year-old cereal

The Toronto Raptors made franchise history Sunday night after defeating the Miami Heat and advancing to the conference finals, and one team enthusiast celebrated in a less-than-delicious way.

• Toronto Raptors advance to conference finals for 1st time in franchise history
• Raptors make history, #WeTheNorth stands proud

For 17 years, Raptors fan Andy Pyne has kept an unopened box ofCocoa Frosted Flakes, with Vince Carter on the cover.

On Monday, he finally opened the box in celebration of his team's win a bet he never thought he'd have to make good on.

"I said if the Raptors win a playoff round, I would eat the cereal jokingly three years ago," Pyne told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.

It's been 21 years of ineptitude and failure.- Andy Pyne

"I didn't think I was gonna get the chance to eat the cereal."

The Raptors are headed to the NBA Eastern Conference finals for the first time in the team's 21 years, and will next have to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

During an interview with CBC Radio'sSt. John's Morning Show,Pynefinallycracked open the manufacturer's sealto find out exactly what victory tasted like.

"It smells like victory. A little bit of Vince Carter in there, some hints of Charles Oakley. There's definitely some [Andrea] Bargnani in there," said Pyne.

"It's kind of like a spruce mulch. There's definitely some sugar in there."

'Years of ineptitude'

The journey as a Raptors fan has been an "emotional" one for Pyne, who has been rooting for the team since it formed in 1995.

"I've been in it since the very beginning. The team came out in '95 and we were big basketball fans,and it's been 21 years of ineptitude and failure," he said.

"It was a team that was known for a dinosaur logo and purple uniforms, so it's been a long time to get some legitimacy here."

During these playoffs, he's put together a sort of shrine to the team in his home.

"All the newspaper clippings and magazine covers of failure and bad draft picks and bad trades and elimination games, so as the playoff run has gone on,we've set up a little makeshift shrine around the fireplace."

Pyne said he plans to leave the shrine up for Tuesday night's first-ever Eastern Conference final for the Raptors.