Blue JaysLifefor
A National Obsession
Why I (and All of Canada)
Love the Blue Jays so Much
Anthony Cirillo
October 14th, 2015, the day of my 9th birthday and a day that retroactively changed my life forever. While celebrating my birthday was a focus of me and my family’s evening, it was outmatched by the excitement of the deciding Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Texas Rangers and our home team, the Toronto Blue Jays. Let’s just say I ended up receiving the best gift I could have asked for, not just because they would go on to win and advance to the next round, but also one of the most iconic moments in team history, Jose Bautista’s iconic go-ahead home run in the 7th inning, and bat flip that accompanied it. It was from that day forward that I would fall in love with the team, and quite frankly, that love never died down. Even during down periods, even during playoff disappointment, I stuck with them through thick and thin. Checking the standings would become a nightly ritual for me, hoping to see Toronto in or close to a playoff spot. Now that I’m older, I can see the much greater scope and influence the team has on the city and Canada as a whole. Every year new Jays fans are made, joining
longtime fans, even fans who have been here since the first pitch for the Jays’ first ever game back in 1977. The team itself is impressively historic when you consider they’ve only existed for 50 years, with this season being their 50th. They’ve won 2 World Series in their history, iconically back-to-back in 1992 and 1993. For reference, the Philadelphia Phillies have existed since 1883, nearly 3 times as long. And they only have 2 World Series to their name also. This equates to about a championship once every 25 years, giving me some hope that eventually in the next 25 years the World Series trophy will come home. 11 former players are residing in the hall of fame, the likes of Roberto Alomar, Roy Halladay, and Fred McGriff. Don’t get me started on the generation-defining moments. The aforementioned Jose Bau-
A massive Canadian flag adoring the national anthem on Blue Jays opening day. Arturo Pardavila, 2015
tista bat flip; the recent George Springer goahead home run; and the whole team hitting 10 home runs in a single game back in 1987, just to name a few. None even came close to Joe Carter’s walk-off home run to win the Jays’ second world title, only the second time a team has ever won a title that way. These moments, these players, all under the unified banner of Canada’s team—it’s enough to make a country that is usually seen more as a hockey market, a baseball market the moment the summer rolls around. Canada knows that having an MLB team isn’t a right, but rather a privilege. The Montreal Expos, the first MLB team to play in Canada, even predating the Jays, would face turmoil near the end of their tenure in that city and are now the Washington Nationals. Thankfully, the Jays are not and will not be in that situation most likely, not just because of their history and success, but because they have ownership that is committed to winning, are able to spend at will, and act as a decent venture for them as far as money goes. While people can be critical about other practices by Rogers communication, it’s thanks to the investment they and Edward Rogers have put in that has them where they are now, and this also relates to projects outside the team itself. A team with an entire country behind it deserves a ballpark that is worthy of that title. For the last few decades Rogers Centre was not that. Before playing there, the Blue Jays spent their first few seasons at Exhibition Stadium, which was a horrible fit for baseball and was even described
Anthony Cirillo Superfan
Banners commemorating the achievements of the Toronto Blue Jays. Devin Ford, 2007
Exhibition Stadium, 1977
by former team pres ident Paul Beeston as “not just the worst stadium in baseball, but the worst stadium in sports.” They would move into their new and, to this day, current home in 1990, known as Skydome, the world’s first fully retractable-roofed stadium. As the years went on, though, critics and fans alike began to turn against it. Its design was cookie-cutter and sym-
"Not just the worst stadium in baseball (Exhibition Stadium), it was the worst stadium in sports."
Paul Beeson, former owner of the Blue Jays
metrical, its roof technology had since been replicated and refined by other ballparks, and it was just seen as a cold, soulless slab of concrete. This would change in 2022 when a major renovation was announced that lasted between 2023 and 2024. Now the stadium has all new social spaces in the outfield and an improved lower bowl that improves sightlines and allows fans to get
closer to the game than before. The new outfield dimensions and reduced outfield, along with elevated bullpens, allow for the once soulless park to have a personality of its own in a league where the personality of a stadium is all the more important. The social
spaces also provide a new way to express the diversity of Toronto and Canada as a whole. This is a fanbase that, from coast to coast to coast, will support this team year-round. The team is a symbol of the uniting of every Canadian in a way that isn’t true for a sport like
Newspapers displayed at Rogers Centre, displaying many of the teams achievements and highlights from their 2025
hockey, where most major cities and provinces have their own teams to root for. Many cities that love the Jays have less than kind words to say about the Leafs; let me just put it that way. The Jays also do a lot of good with their Jays Care Foundation to support children and youth across Canada, particularly those facing barriers. Their 50/50 raffle and broadcast auction are great ways for fans to support the team while also putting in money to a good cause that can allow baseball to thrive and be more accessible in Canada. Games themselves are accessible to the whole country since they air on Sportsnet, a national network. One of the key reasons why they are able to spend on the field. Since Rogers owns the team and the network, they don’t need to worry about revenue generated from a third party. You can bet that the ability for people in British Columbia to watch Jays games is what helps encourage them to travel to Seattle so often and raid the stadium whenever the Jays play their annual series there. Jays fans are among some of the best-traveled fans in the league because of that reach and their connection with the team. It’s associated with cherished memories and national pride, something they should be grateful still exists within Canada today given the Expos’ fate in Montreal. We have a lot to be proud of, a newly renovated stadium to heighten the ballpark experience, a competitive team on the field, and the hope that comes with it. What does it all culminate in? A national obsession.
Fans of the formerly existing Montreal Expos taking in a Jays game. James G 2012
The Best is yet to come...
