Living in Los Angeles at the time, I decided to become a Toronto Blue Jays fan when they came into the league in 1977. I followed them religiously in the newspaper and saw them as much as possible when they would come to Anaheim to play the Angels. I don't recall ever seeing them win there. I must have been a jinx.
I flew to Toronto to see the last three games of the 1985 season when they won their first AL East title, shown in the video above. I was sitting in the left field bleachers, not far from where George Bell caught that fly ball to end the game. Everyone went nuts, myself included. It was fabulous.
Back at that time, the Jays were still playing at Exhibition Stadium, which was built for the Toronto Argonauts. The design allowed freezing Lake Ontario winds to whip through the stadium from one end to the other. It had the reputation of being the worst ballpark in the major leagues. The Friday night game before this one was bitterly cold and, if I recall correctly, was temporarily disrupted by a squall of freezing rain.
It didn't matter. When the Jays won, it could have been 10 below and we'd still have loved it.
And that one is for you, ligneus. Not sure if you were living in Toronto at the time. I've been there twice and I think it's a gorgeous city. I'd still rather live in Dixie than anywhere else, but Toronto is beautiful.
Thanks KT. I think I'd swap Toronto for Dixie in a flap of a dicky bird's wing. Too cold here! And then in the summer sometimes it's too hot and humid or as we say,we get nine months winter and three months bad weather. Otherwise it's not a bad place.
ReplyDeleteA Dixielander Blue Jays fan, who'da thunk it? Of course the all time great moment in the history of the franchise is Joe Carter's World Series home run in the ninth of the seventh game to win the series.
https://youtu.be/-F5HwiGm7lg
You are spot on! I still remember watching that on TV in slack-jawed amazement.
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned from being a Jays fan was that you could be a fan of any team, anywhere. As the Internet progressed, it go easier and easier. So now I'm a San Diegan who wishes he lived in the Deep South who roots for Newcastle United.
I love it.