It just wasn’t in the cards for the Toronto Blue Jays this year.
But taking the World Series to Game 7 against the Los Angles Dodgers is something that brought Canada together.
The Blue Jays hadn’t won a World Series since 1993.
Today’s Northumberland took a trip up to Toronto for the last game of the World Series.
Not to take in the action first hand at the Rogers Centre, but to see what the environment was like on the outside of the stadium.
The Rogers Centre holds nearly 40,000 people and the Scotiabank Arena showing the game holds nearly 20,000 people.
Needless to say every bar in the area of the game was full to capacity with people everywhere scrambling to watch the game waiting for the game to end.
The chilly weather wasn’t a factor for anyone as the patios were packed.
When the signal was lost from the game, people took to their smart phones until it returned.
Ripley’s Aquarium is one of the top tourist attractions in the city, but on Saturday night it was nearly empty.
Everyone who couldn’t afford a ticket came down to take part in what was hoped to be celebrations.
Speaking to one person outside the Marriott hotel at the Rogers Centre, the man said he spent $13,000 for two double-beds to overlook the game.
It was for his family, but mainly for his children to have a memory of a World Series Game 7.
Of note, the man and his family were from Toronto.
As the game went on, more and more people arrived at the party from Union Station wearing their Blue Jays attire.
“Go Jays Go” echoed everywhere on the streets.
Outside the Rogers Centre crowds swelled and so did the enthusiasm.
One person may have taken his joke a bit too far – or he didn’t read his audience very well.
Wearing a LA Dodgers jersey and carrying around a LA Dodgers flag brought a loud chorus of boos among other choice words.
It didn’t seem to bother the person as he waded through the crowd of Blue Jays fans.
At one point someone grabbed the flag, but the “fan” managed to get it back and carried on through the mass of blue.
Climbing a set of stairs, the Dodgers flagged got pulled down again.
Whether it was intentional or not, the banner carrier also got clocked by one person.
At that time, the person decided to reveal his true nature.
He ripped off the Dodgers jersey revealing a Blue Jays jersey.
The crowd laughed and cheered, but he quickly grabbed his Dodger’s jersey, so it’s not entirely sure which team he was rooting for.
At times the crowds seemed to push towards the entrance of Gate 5, but police did their best making sure the doors were available for people to exit after the game.
A number of people fell to the ground after a barrier fell over, but there were no injuries.
A few people that seemed to be hell-bent on creating tension at one point starting yelling “f the pigs” but that lasted less than a minute as no one wanted part of that type of behaviour.
With the game ending in a loss, dejected fans walked away from the Rogers Centre.
Police including Toronto, OPP and Durham Police were on standby but it appeared the thousands of people were just intent on getting home safely after the extra innings.
At Union Station GO staff were doing the best that could, but with thousands of people waiting for trains after midnight, it was frustrating for some.
All-in-all it wasn’t the way fans wanted the evening to end.
They will be criticism, but when it all ends and the dust settles, the Blue Jays took it to Game 7 of a World Series Championship.
Thanks for a great year!
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
