I remember being in Cosco when I was around 5 and finding the original tv piolt with a figure. You could get any of the turtels but I picked Raph. Not because of him, I hadn't seen the show yet, but because he was red and it was my favorite color. I'd have to say though as a child Mikey was my fav in the show.
As I got older and rewatched the 80s toon and the new 03 I started to relate a lot more to Raph. And in the new movie when Splinter is talking to him it sounded real similer to a talk my father gave me.