Calgary hockey arena erupts as the Blue Jays advance to the World Series
For those of you asking if the Jays are actually Canada’s team. Witness.
Pretty much, people down here down understand.
Mariners are my first team because Calgary was the AAA Mariners affiliate in the 80’s and early 90’s. Lots of good memories at Parker Stadium.
Blue Jays out of National pride.
Still licking my wounds, but in a couple days, Go Blue Jays!
Also, that’s the loudest the Saddledome is going to be all year….
Also, that’s the loudest the Saddledome is going to be all year…
Longtime Flames fan and even I am impressed by how disappointing they are this year.
Lifelong flames fan also. Full tank ahead
I’ll still watch the games, just not going to be overly invested this year. Last year was the most “Flames” season ever, we just couldn’t overachieve enough, yet set the record for the most points while still missing the playoffs…..
Lifelong Flames fan as well. They’re so bad this year, going for #1 (draft pick)!
I figured they would take a step back. I didn’t expect to become the Baltimore Orioles.
Alberta separatists in shambles
These jokes were funnier when it wasn’t my own shithole province 😮💨
I saw several posts on Bluesky from across Canada voicing their wholehearted support for the Jays. Truly a national passion at this point.
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No judgement, but i’m curious how you ended up a Yankees fan?
Turned to the dark side like anakin in Star Wars
Darth Holyshitacat
That little kid is me. I have tears in my eyes too
I too had tears in my eyes! Granted, I was in the shower fully clothed lying in the fetal position, sobbing uncontrollably until the water ran cold but still, it’s great that we shared this moment
How can you not be romantic about baseball
Game 7, 2016 … Game 7, 1997 … been there man. Wanted to see Naylor in the WS. He could handle all the smoke.
It’s tough to be on the other side. I still have flashbacks of when we self destructed against you in 2022.
its always rough even if the teams arent your favorite teams…to know that, well its either going to be the BEST day of your life, or the WORST day of your life. lol
“Whale askuyalually he doesn’t understand because the Mariners haven’t ever been there and the Jays did 30 years ago so it’s not the same to him” - that guy on Reddit yesterday
*actual number of years is almost certainly wrong
Okay, this is a beautifully snarky voicing of how I’ve been feeling about this Mariners postseason run.
I live in Seattle and have for over 9 years. There’s no reason I should feel any animosity toward the Mariners. I love this city, I plan on staying here as long as it will have me. But many Mariners fans I’ve interacted with, both on Reddit and (more frustratingly) in real life, developed this complex where it was assumed you were rooting for their favorite team, and not rooting for them was a personal affront.
I’m a teacher. I expect kids to be confused when I tell them that I was rooting for the Blue Jays to win (this was pre-series and through the first few games, I didn’t rub anyone’s face in it today). But many adults react really similarly which rubs me the wrong way. It becomes this really personal thing where I feel like they weaponize their “cursed-ness” as a way to get people to feel pity for them.
This isn’t a general complaint. It’s a few specific people I know in my personal life, as well as some interactions I’ve had around the city, along with some moments on Reddit, that have caused me to feel like this. I really don’t like the whole “woe-is-me” schtick.
It becomes this really personal thing where I feel like they weaponize their “cursed-ness” as a way to get people to feel pity for them.
That rings very true, and I know way too many sports fans who fit the description. I say sports fans, because half of them are NFL fans (you guess the teams lol). It seems like a human failing.
Yeah, it’s a lot of fanbases. You’re just more likely to notice it when you’re not in the loop (as it is for the guy you replied to). Arizona fans love to claim we’re cursed. But, I don’t know. Every season where I get to watch my team playing meaningful games in September is a good year for me.
Statistically speaking, each team is expected to win once every 30 years. If you’ve won once in the last 30 years you can’t say you’re cursed. In my opinion you can’t start discussing curses until the number of years you’ve gone without winning the World Series is greater than the number of teams in Major League Baseball. Even then, most teams aren’t cursed, there are very real reasons they never win.
The Rockies have zero division titles in their entire 33 year existence and no supernatural explanations are needed to understand how that happened. That’s no curse.
Sure, statistically speaking you’re expected to win a world series every 30 years, but in reality, we all know it would take an unfeasible amount of parity for that to happen. Like, as soon as one team wins a 2nd world series, another team is going to get left off that 30 year list.
Going back to 1995, the Yankees (5), Marlins (2), Red Sox (4), Cardinals (2), Giants (3), Astros (2), and Dodgers (2). So, World Series were won as a a repeat. That’s 13 opportunities for teams who haven’t won in the last 30 years. It’s not unlikely that there aren’t teams several haven’t won in that long and, while obviously disappointing/frustrating for Mariners fans, it’s nothing really that special.
I love Jon Bois videos, and that Mariners documentary is awesome, but I do think that his final statement/conclusion of “The Mariners are the main character” seemed to change the general psyche of Mariners fans in the circles I’m part of. It’s almost as if now they believe that the Mariners are so hopelessly pathetic that they had been smited by God despite equally weird shit happening to every other franchise in baseball.
Statistically speaking, that’s a fallacy.
If it were completely random, and instead of a playing a regular season and playoffs comprised of actual baseball games, we drew names out of a hat, yes, the odds would be 1 in 30 to win.
Now if you had 30 team names in a hat, drew one each time and then put it back, could you imagine what would have to break right for each team to be pulled without a repeat name in 30 draws?
I’m not a statistician, but I believe it’s something like 1 in 770 billion. It’s in fact more likely that one team (ie Mariners), won’t win in 900ish tries than all 30 teams winning without a repeat.
Now add that certain teams are better managed, good players sign to multi-year deals and actual baseball has to played, no, statically speaking every team should not win over a 30 year period.
Add that your team is also cursed? Good effing luck bud.
You just strawmanned an entire statistcal argument that I was not making at all.
I never said that every team should win once every thirty years. Nor did I say that that every team winning once over a thirty year period is a likely outcome. That would be ridiculous.
What I said was that the statistically expected outcome for a team to win the world series is once every thirty years, which on average is literally unequivocally true since the last expansion in 1993. And I said that if your team is meeting that statistical expectation then you can’t say they’re cursed. I did not imply the inverse either, that if your team isn’t meeting that then they are cursed. In fact, I gave an example against it.
The the point I was making was that D-Backs fans can’t come up in this bitch and start complaining that they’re cursed because they haven’t won in 25 years. Curse discussions are off the table until your performance is anomalously below statistical expectation.
The goal wasn’t to build a precise statistical model of what any given team’s chances to win the world series are, it was to provide a goalpost for allowing the conversation of a curse for any team, the argument being that you really can’t attribute supernatural bad luck when statistically you can’t even pass the first hurdle in establishing your luck falls below expected value in the first place.
It would be like someone saying they have bad luck sports betting when they’re breaking even.
Yeah like I feel for the Mariners fans for them never having been to the World Series, but at the same time some act like it’s impossible for any team’s fans to be worse off than them. I remember back at the start of the 2015 season I actually didn’t like a lot of Mariners fans because they were acting like they were the most cursed franchise, while I was sitting there as a Jays fan in university and having never seen my team make the playoffs in my life, and if I had been a Mariners fan instead then I would’ve. Let me tell you how little those World Series wins matter to you when you’re a legal adult who’s never watched their team play meaningful baseball in September/make the playoffs in their entire life.
That being said I got past it all very quickly once the Jays actually made the playoffs for the first time in my life and any harsh feelings I had towards their fans faded pretty quickly
I can relate. I lived on the North Side of Chicago, 4 stops on the L from Wrigley…and man, I had much kinder feelings towards the Cubs before I had to live among their fans.
But many Mariners fans I’ve interacted with, both on Reddit and (more frustratingly) in real life, developed this complex where it was assumed you were rooting for their favorite team, and not rooting for them was a personal affront. I really don’t like the whole “woe-is-me” schtick.
But many Mariners fans I’ve interacted with, both on Reddit and (more frustratingly) in real life, developed this complex where it was assumed you were rooting for their favorite team, and not rooting for them was a personal affront.
I really don’t like the whole “woe-is-me” schtick.
This is part of why I hate the Mariners. I’m tired of their fans feeling like they’re entitled to support and I’m tired of the woe is me schtick. And it’s even more annoying on Reddit where everyone feels the need to glaze them for some reason. Nah, I’m glad they lost. I’m sure someone will bring up the fact I’m an Angels fan but really I don’t care. I know my team sucks, but that doesn’t mean I have to suddenly root for the Mariners to not suck
You appear to be a San Francisco giants fan.
It would be weird for someone who doesn’t root for a rival to not softly support the team that represents the city they’ve lived in for near a decade.
Indifference i could see but support for the opponent when you have no allegiance that supersedes support for the hometown team reads as antagonism for that hometown team.
Honestly being indignantly contrarian is pretty on brand for the PNW though. So I guess it works out pretty cleanly when you take all you’ve said in on the whole.
I mean, this is exactly my point. This kind of unnecessary defensiveness is a bit of a turn off. I have rooted for the Mariners pretty hard during my time up here. I went to a game the day I arrived, and saw Adam Lind hit a walk-off home run against the White Sox. I saw Griffey’s jersey retirement ceremony. I cheered them on as they made the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. I have a Randy Johnson jersey that I wear frequently enough. I can handle people assuming I would be a Mariners fan. But I’m frustrated when my friends and acquaintances and random people at bars or on Reddit make assumptions and insult me.
To take a few quotes on an /r/hockey thread about the Kraken (of whom I’m a fan) and the Golden Knights game:
Only a 9er fan would have such garbage justification for their garbage opinions 😆
This is pretty solid shit-talk. I love this.
Just pure selfishness from OP…Kind of narcissistic behavior now that I think about it.
Selfishness and narcissism? Because I’m not rooting for your favorite team? Talk about main character energy. Yeah, I love baseball. I love going to games, and it sucks that I don’t make enough money to attend games as frequently as I want. When I first moved to the city and needed food stamps, I had a much easier time affording tickets. So yeah, I like it when tickets are more affordable.
But that’s all nearly moot because, as I’ve mentioned, I love the vibes in the city when the Mariners/Kraken (not the Seahawks) are good. It’s not really that important to me until it becomes this whole big personal attack.
Despite my fandom, I wasn’t being defensive. I was trying to clear up any confusion.
I’m also a delocated sports fan. I live in Chicago but root for Seattle teams as that’s where I grew up. When Chicago teams are doing well I root for them because a lot of people I know root for them and I want to maybe get a touch of that vicarious joy. When they are playing Seattle I hope they lose.
People are confused when you actively root against a local team because your justification for doing so is relatively rare and objectively internalized (as it has no effect on the giants).
Acting like it’s everyone else that’s breaking trend and not yourself is a very PNW thing to do. (Maybe this is the comment that read as defensive? I was just taking a friendly jab at the general Seattle culture).
Ultimately, do whatever you want. But I still find your behavior odd and presumably I’m not alone since you encounter so much confusion.
Edit
Honestly I probably would have assumed that you were a niner fan and your distaste for the mariners was residual hate for the Seahawks now that I think about it. I would not have assumed you disliked the mariners due to some abstract aversion to their fan culture.
Aw man, this is why I love sports. Sucks I’m down because the M’s are out, but that kid gets to experience the best feeling.
I’ve always felt Canada is severely underrated as a baseball country. The Jays (and once upon a time the Expos) have always been beloved. Canada has 22 active MLB players, which would equate to around 200 if their population was equivalent to the US, the first reported baseball game was played in Canada in 1838, Canada basically won the first baseball world cup (Great Britain is the official winner, but their squad was mostly Canadians), just a rich and continuous history all-around.
Babe Ruth’s first professional home run was hit in Toronto. There’s a plaque for it on the Toronto Islands at Hanlan’s Point.
https://www.readtheplaque.com/plaque/babe-ruth-at-hanlan-s-point#gsc.tab=0
Wasn’t Jackie Robinson’s first hit while he was in a Montreal Royals uniform too?
Lol, Jackie Robinson, famously, got many hits before he signed with the Dodgers.
“Near this site, in Maple Leaf Park on September 5, 1914, the now legendary baseball player Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a professional. It was to be the only home run he ever hit in the minor leagues. As a 19-year-old rookie, playing for the Providence Grays in the International League, he connected with a pitch from Ellis Johnson of the Toronto Maple Leafs, sending the ball over the fence in right field and scoring three runs.
Pitching for the Grays, Ruth allowed only one hit, earning the title “southside phenom” from the Toronto Daily Star. The final score was Providence Grays 9, Toronto Maple Leafs 0. Babe Ruth quickly moved up to the major leagues, and played his way to a phenomenal career.
The Toronto team went on to win a total of eleven pennants before folding in 1967”
This is why it was so bafflingly stupid when Harold Reynolds said we couldn’t catch because we didn’t grow up playing baseball during the 2015 (or 2016) playoffs.
Common terrible take from Reynolds.
strange place to ask but there was a commercial about Canadian kids playing baseball and they were all using hockey equipment (as in, that’s the only way the could understand baseball).
Anyone got a link? Might have been a promo for the Jays other world series?
I have memories of sometimes having to use a baseball glove when playing in net in road hockey.
Always for me, because even if kids didn’t play organized baseball they still enjoyed the sport and had a glove (and bat) kicking around somewhere.
Oh we used to do that all the time, because nobody wanted to use a good trapper for road hockey.
Which is nuts because youth baseball is huge in Canada. Tonnes of kids play baseball. Especially in Ontario and BC, but everywhere really.
I believe it was a promo for the 92 series that CBS did. I couldn’t find a link.
They also do have a solid baseball climate:
-The Vancouver Canadians are wildly successful as Canada’s only MiLB team
-In independent baseball, the Winnipeg Goldeyes have been a flagship franchise of two different leagues for 30+ years
-the Frontier League has three Canadian franchises (Ottawa, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec). Quebec is wildly successful with four straight league titles and a lot of sellouts
-The Intercounty Baseball League is an underrated summer amateur league in Ontario that is one of the few true semi-pro leagues left
-Okotoks (Calgary) is one of the top-drawing college summer teams in North America. Edmonton isn’t far behind
Canada loves their baseball a lot more than many might think
Imagine my surprise at logging in tonight and seeing the WINNIPEG GOLDEYES mentioned in this sub reddit. Take my upvote, friend/buddy/guy!
Hey, I run r/AAbaseball, it’s my duty!
The Goldeyes are great, love going to their games.
Love going to the Ottawa titans games!! So glad we have a team again and I can get my baseball fix
Assuming the numbers are legit (or are at least fudged similarly each year), it seems like the Titans are getting their footing as well. It’s been tough to make anything stick there since the Lynx left, but hopefully they can do it!
I’m definitely rooting for them, since I actually know someone who works there
RIP Lynx
A kid from my home town, RedDeer Alberta, just got drafted out of highschool in the third round. Youth baseball has exploded around here, not only in terms of participation but also in how serious kids are taking it, it’s no longer just the offseason sport for hockey kids.
Also RIP to the Calgary Cannons and Edmonton Trappers, one of my first memories of baseball was watching a trappers game in downtown Edmonton right before they lost their affiliate. Beautiful ball park and location. Glad it still gets used but it was so cool seeing a real MiLB team in Edmonton.
There’s also a college league in Alberta and BC where lots of players have been drafted out of.
The intercounty league isn’t amateur, but semi-pro. And it’s turning full pro next year. And it’s been in continuous operation 106 years. Pretty cool.
Yeah guys get paid gas money, basically. I guess that makes it semi-pro, whereas amateurs would pay to play. People like Fernando Rodney and Dalton Pompey might make a few bucks from it. It’s turning fully professional? What’s that mean, what are wages going to be like?
Wasn’t expecting a mention of the Capitales de Québec all of a sudden but here we are! Take my upvote
Okotoks games are a lot of fun and the stadium is gorgeous, but I wish Calgary could hold down a team of our own. We’re a city of 1.6 million people, we should be able to get a few thousand in a ballpark over the summer. A-Rod played here, for God’s sake, we have a history with the sport.
When I visited Canada (B.C. and Alberta) for a couple months one summer I was surprised at how much of a presence baseball seemed to have. I found it playing on TV at bars, on ferries, even at a McDonald’s, and not just Jays games either. Honestly felt like there was more of a baseball vibe than here in the states.
Before integration, black players were playing in Canada going back to the late 1800s all the way up to the well known story of Jackie Robinson and the Montreal Royals being his last stop before breaking the color barrier. Canadian baseball history is longer than much of the western United States’ own baseball history. It’s really a shame it’s not more recognized.
Canadian baseball history is longer than eastern United States baseball history too.
The oldest continuously operating baseball ground is in London, Ontario, Canada since 1877
I hope this will lead to more Minor League teams in Canada & perhaps the return of the Expos
To put this perspective, Toronto is universally loathed by all of Canada outside of Southern Ontario in everything (sports, media, politics, etc.) except for one thing: the Blue Jays.
The Raptors are there too bro…Canada was pretty hype when they won the chip in 2019.
I stand corrected. Toronto is universally loathed except for two things.
Kenny vs Spenny
Three things
Kenny, sure, but no one anywhere likes Spenny.
I was in Toronto when that happened! I got to watch the Dbacks beat up on the Blue Jays, but not a single Blue Jays fan cared because their Raptors were about to win. We stayed in the heart of the city too, so we got to hear all the cheering and watch people flooding the streets. Quite the experience.
I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like. I live in a shitty town in Canada and people were on the streets for the Raptors win. It was really exciting.
Why is it loathed?
Right or Wrong there is a perception that Toronto is the “center of the universe” and they act like it. I’m from Saskatchewan and I never really bought into it myself.
Canadian New York City. Got it
That’s exactly correct.
Bingo. And it’s only gotten worse over time.
Before the mid-90s much of the economic business community was split between Toronto and Montreal so it was more of an East vs West thing instead of everyone vs Toronto.
But all the fears over Quebec possibly splitting from Canada drove the business community to relocate to Toronto and Montreal never really recovered.
It also doesn’t help that Toronto and its people have an overall pretty chill vibe — but it’s also very easy for the rest of the country to interpret that vibe as uncaring or dismissive.
Also just because of the way our politics are here in Canada the Greater Toronto Area (not necessarily Toronto proper though) essentially decides every Federal election. To put that in an American perspective imagine your most important “swing states” were Brooklyn, Long Island, and New Jersey (and they just all referred to themselves as the Greater New York Area).
Not really
Well that’s a perception……I think once people visit Toronto, they realise it’s a pretty chill city. I don’t even know how somebody here is supposed to act like they’re the “centre of the universe”? Never understood it myself.
It’s not really about how people act as individuals. Toronto, by virtue of being the largest city, tends to completely dominate a lot of discourse and suck up a huge amount of attention in everything - sports, media, politics, culture. And because everyone outside of Toronto gets kind of sick of hearing about it, it leads to some (mostly good-natured) resentment. We don’t actually hate the city of Toronto but it’s fun to cheer against you.
A lot of people do genuinely hate Toronto though lol, it’s weird. Like you said though majority of people it’s just some light hearted jabs
I’ve met a few people who viscerally hate their city despite never having been there. It’s wild.
People get angry that Toronto gets a ton of attention in Canada while ignoring that it has like over 10% of the population and something like a quarter of Canadas GDP.
Yeah, I get that Toronto seemingly gets a disproportionate amount of attention here but people forget that the Greater Toronto Area has a population of 6.8 million in a country of about 42 mil. That’s 16% of the country’s population in one metropolitan area. Montreal’s next at 4.3 mil but that’s just over 10% by comparison.
Vancouver’s third at 2.7 mil so it falls way off. Now if you include the entire Golden Horsehoe area we’re at 9.8 mil or over 23% of the country’s entire population so it makes sense that it gets catered to more. But I also get why everyone outside of it would be annoyed by it.
Then stop cheering for the Jays, which are a Toronto institution, if it bothers you.
The Jays aren’t just a Toronto team, they’re Canada’s team ;)
They absolutely are a Toronto team though. That’s why they’re called the Toronto Blue Jays. Hope this helps. Feel free to keep contributing to Toronto dominating the discourse by supporting our team though!
To be clear I don’t hate the city of Toronto, it’s a great city and obviously I don’t have a problem with it since I’m cheering for the Jays lol. Like I said it’s mostly good-natured - it’s natural to root against the big guys which is what Toronto is to the rest of Canada.
Chill man
Yea one time I was traveling in Colorado and saw a group of guys wearing Edmonton hats. I asked if they were from there, and happily cheered them for being fellow Canadians. They asked where I was from. I said Toronto, then one guy said “that’s too bad” and they all laughed. I asked “why”? They just mumbled and walked away. Pretty sure they have never even been.
That might have been a Leafs thing.
I think that perception is mostly driven by the media, tbh. Many Canadian shows, films, and even books are set in Toronto, and the Canadian English-language sports media seems to talk about the Leafs non-stop at the expense of other Canadian teams (especially on TSN).
Given that tendency, I can see why Canadians outside of Toronto would get annoyed with the city. Although as one of those Canadians, I will say that that perception tends to be overblown.
This is exactly it, I also think it’s a generational thing, my parents loathe Toronto.
It all stems from the 80s for them, when their team the Oilers were the best team in the world and yet hockey night in Canada would play the godawful leafs every week instead, which mattered a lot more in a time with limited broadcasts. And this was just kind of the norm in Canadian media in general at the time, Ontario first and then maybe we’ll cover the prairies if we have time.
I get why they hate Toronto, but I also don’t really have a reason to hate Toronto in my generation, except for the fact that leafs fans are not exactly my favorite.
That being said, they don’t hate people from Toronto or even the city really, it’s mostly just a sports thing.
Also worth noting the political divide between the east and the prairies doesn’t exactly help for alot of people either.
I’m from the GTA and moved away in my 20s and spent the next 20 years living all over Canada. The perception that Torontonians think they’re the “centre of the universe” exists only in the minds of the people who think that. I have found that Torontonians are quite the opposite.
For one, they’re more likely to have traveled to other parts of Canada. I know loads of people who been to PEI and BC and everything in between. When I moved out west I was shocked to find out that not many people out this way bother with the rest of Canada.
If you want to meet people who think they’re the centre of the universe go to Vancouver.
Vancouver is also where a lot of Ontarians who think they’re too good for Ontario end up.
The perception comes from the time before sports networks. At that time, CBC Hockey Night in Canada was the only hockey on TV and if the Leafs were playing, they were the game that was televised. This led to a lot of resentment by the western cities that never got to see their teams unless they played the Leaf or the Leafs weren’t playing.
Have you ever been to Toronto? The “centre of the universe” thing comes from the rest of Canada. Believe me, I grew up in Toronto, and that attitude just isn’t there. Personally, there are many, many things that I dislike about my hometown.
All countries tend to hate their largest city. Except Singapore. And Vatican City.
Insecurity and jealousy from the rest of Canada. It’s beyond tiresome.
Ya I think it’s this attitude lol
Yep, nailed it. Lmao. So obnoxious
What attitude? The knee-jerk hatred of Toronto from much of the rest of Canada?
Haha your city stinks like shit
That being said, LETS GO BLUE JAYS
And there it is
Yeah super jealous of TO. You guys live in your own little world
I recommend watching the film ‘Let’s all hate Toronto’ from a Winnipeg filmmaker, it’s hilarious and gives a perspective of what the rest of the country thinks.
But who cares what they think they aren’t Toronto. /s
Toronto is Canada’s New York&Boston combined. They think their shit don’t stink and everything revolves around them.
Hahahaha I promise you, wherever you are in Canada, we don’t think about you at all.
There’s that elitism we all know and love
What do you want to hear? That Torontonians all stand around wringing our hands about why the rest of the country doesn’t like us? It’s pointless. Whatever animosity or hurt feelings the rest of the country is harboring, that’s their burden. It’s not elitism, it’s literally just living life unbothered.
Man I love the Blue Jays, but this thread has reminded me how much I hate Torontonians. God you guys (some of you) suck ass
It’s ironic. When it comes to government spending dollars, you love to take, but no dish. When it comes to trading insults, all you can do is dish, no take!
No dish? Lol buddy I’m from Alberta. Remove your head from your ass
Same reason why people in France hate Paris or more generally, there’s some level of resentment against primate cities. The city just wields so much influence in every aspect of the country that people outside the city feel ignored and left behind. And that feeling is especially amplified in a country as vast as Canada, because so many people are living literally thousands of kilometers away from Toronto, yet Toronto is still dominating their headlines or whatever.
Toronto is NYC of Canada.
Popular band announces North American tour. Number of US cities listed: 50 Number of Canadian cities listed: 1 - Toronto. Some might have 2 and do Vancouver too.
My first instincts would be to get mad at the band….
Also because most big Canadian cities have their own nhl team.
Even uniting Quebec, rip expos hopefully they come back
Oh dude, nobody loathes Toronto more than small town Ontario.
Those people who hate Toronto and have no problem supporting the Jays and Raptors are pathetic honestly.
As a Calgarian I hope this is a safe space for me to say something controversial: Toronto is basically fine.
I nearly puked when I saw Vancouverites lining up to get Raptors collab merch in some Vancouver restaurant a few weeks back.
Must be worse when the Leafs force the Canucks to start at 4pm
You could play the Jays game at a Calgary/Edmonton NHL game and guaranteed the fans would be high fiving and hugging. Jays just unites rivals as much as our international hockey does.
They gave even those poor Flames fans something to cheer about!
Hey, at that exact moment the flames were winning. Did they end up winning? Absolutely fucking not, but that’s not the point
Im dying over here.. haha
Its a master plan ok. We want McKenna!
Well the jorts won and Jonathan Toews scored his first goal as a Jet (his hometown) my pro-adjacency is when Toews was a 10 year old, he was in the same league as me so basically I scored a goal for the Jets which is kinda sick.
I thought Toronto was a small market team /s
People in the US often think that because Toronto isn’t usually on American sports news, but in terms of markets….Toronto just overtook Chicago…it’s the third largest market by population in the Big Four leagues after New York and Los Angeles.
Put some RESPEK on the 6IX.
Toronto is the largest market with only one team. NYC, LA, and Chicago all have two teams.
Toronto could absolutely have two NHL teams, but MLSE’s influence won’t allow for it.
Honestly it’s Buffalo that would kibosh another NHL team in the region before MLSE. Back when the Blackberry guy was trying to bring a team to Hamilton the Leafs weren’t thrilled but they seemed to be willing to abstain, and it was Buffalo throwing a fit.
a city having more than one team is dumb as hell anyways
I just realized this morning that I need the Toronto Loons vs the Toronto Blue Jays like I need oxygen. The 6eries
LA is huge market. But I thought the country of Canada would overtake it.
Canada has a population of 41.6 million, California has a population of 39.7 million. So Canada’s market is bigger than all of California, which has five teams to Canada’s one.
But the Cali GDP is a behemoth
Yeah, that’s what silicon valley / California tech sector will do for you. That’s most of the difference between the two.
GDP is overrated…it’s not a good indicator at all of ground realities.
Well, we’re not doing so hot on some of those other economic indicators right now either haha
How about straight up MLB revenue?
The Dodgers & NYY’s estimated revenue is almost double the Jays. (~700 million vs ~375 million).
Jays are a big market club (I can’t help but think of them as a small market club still) but those guys are brand name monsters. Dodgers are only growing too.
Partly that is the weak Canadian dollar really hurting the Jays when trying to compete on spending (revenue is close to 550 million CAD). I do agree that if the dollar goes from 1.40 to more like 1.10 in the next few years, the Jays are suddenly going to jump up the team revenue rankings.
LA and Yankees benefit from being really popular international brands as well. Tons of fans for both everywhere, including in Canada. LA also nearly has a monopoly these days on the Japanese market which I’m sure helps their numbers too.
We’re slowly gettin there! People love the way our stuff looks haha
I can confirm that my in-laws in Japan are at least one Japanese family that will be rooting for the Jays over the Dodgers. They love Shohei (as do we), but my wife and I have been shipping them a supply of Jays merch every year for Christmas and they adore Vladdy. He’s actually pretty popular in Japan due to his performances in the Home Run Derby and his friendship with Ohtani.
Doesn’t help when American articles are like “Here is a map to the closest 29 MLB stadiums.”
Gee, I wonder what team is missing.
cringe. this rationlale takes me back to obnoxious leafs fans who justify why their failure of a team gets more coverage compared to other canadian nhl teams
That kid’s about the same age I was in ‘93. Whatever comes next, I hope he remembers this run fondly.
“I’m not crying, you’re crying!”
Not many things us Canadians can agree on especially in sports. The Jays are loved coast to coast (by most).
Coast to coast to coast* I’m sure they’re cheering up in NU and the NT.
This is so fucking cool
Win 4 more, Jays. LFG
Well that’s just wholesome af.
I held it together until I saw the kid. Bless.
From here in Montréal.
Go get that trophy, Toronto.
Please kick the shit out of LA
Here’s the final oot John
Genuinely how do Americans hear “oot”!?
It’s much closer to “oat” than anything
As a Jays, Seahawks, and Flames fan who watched all three games on delay yesterday, I’m glad I watched the baseball first because the other two broadcasts spoiled the results.
I was at the game! Such a surreal atmosphere. We were row two and despite having awesome seats, many of us were staring at our phones on our laps for the first two periods. It was awesome having the crowd erupt during an intermission and seeing some folks absolutely clueless as to what was going on until they brought up the news on the jumbotron
Ha that’s cool
That child brought tears to my eyes too.
God that was such a bad pitch to swing at.
And he swings at those pitches a lot. Hoffman knew what he was doing.
Send this kid to the World Series!!!
It’s fitting for this flames season that we are more relevant on r/baseball than hockey. Also that kid is only crying bc he knows his team now has to play the one that bounced the brewers in 4.
I honestly kind of hate when this happens. It’s 2025, not ‘95, I’m going to watch that game as soon as I get home.
Canadians from the west coast for sure were rooting for Seattle. We grew up watching Griffey/Edgar/Buhner and then Ichiro
Lol umm….naaa
Ugh no. There’s the odd real baseball nerd who will like the mariners just to be a contrarian but that’s about it.
Even among us baseball nerds who grew up here, the Mariners fans are the exception to the rule.
Let me guess, despite growing up watching Seattle, you became a life long fan of the Dodgers in 2020, right?
And what about the hordes of west coast Jays fans who take over Seattle’s park when the Jays are in town?
Nah…can’t get behind this.
City pride takes over and I just couldn’t support it.
I get…the Blue Jays are “Canada’s team”….but still no.
The fuck are you even on about
Calgary fans supporting a Toronto team?
That’s like me supporting a New York team.
Not happening.
You also have 30 other teams to cheer for.
We have one.
Unless we want to cheer for an American team but most of us, especially nowadays would rather not.
And yet there’s a literal fucking video showing Calgary fans cheering for the Jays.
You need to stop.
Except it’s not like that at all since there’s only one Canadian team. The Jays are Canada’s team, it’s been that way for years.
Yeah why aren’t those fans supporting Calgary’s MLB team instead? Are they stupid?
This is not my Canada. My Canada would be rooting for Toronto to lose regardless.
Not everyone has an inferiority complex
Your Canada sounds kinda sucky.