On Monday night, after 32 years, the wait finally ended. And the party got started. Immediately.
Flooding out of Rogers Centre just before midnight, a sea of baseball fans took over Front Street in downtown Toronto to dance, chant and high five anyone in sight after the Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners to advance to the World Series for the first time since 1993.
“We’re back, baby!” said Leo Bursui, who watched the game at a bar downtown.
He was wearing his parents’ old sweatshirt from their university days, he said, commemorating the Blue Jays’ 1992 World Series title. He said he came downtown Monday to make his own Blue Jays memories.
“I just needed to be part of the electricity,” he said, saying he teared up when Jays star George Springer vaulted Toronto into the lead late in the game with the three-run homer that ultimately won it. “It was insane. Like, that’s the moment.”
It was the Blue Jays’ second time playing an ALCS Game 7 in franchise history — and their first time winning one. With the American League pennant now under their belt, the Jays will square off against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with Game 1 set for Friday night at Rogers Centre.
But on Monday the World Series could wait, as Jays fans revelled in a Game 7 victory.
“I am on cloud nine right now. I am the happiest girl in the world,” said Sonya Fervaha, of Vaughan, Ont., who was in the jovial Rogers Centre crowd when the Jays recorded their final out.
“These boys deserve this because they have grinded all season long.”
The Blue Jays started the season with few believing they would even make the playoffs. But they bounced back from early season struggles to win their division, then started the post-season by making short work of the New York Yankees before winning a thrilling back and forth series against Seattle that was decided in the final innings of the final game.
The Jays are now champions of the American League. It’s a new feeling for a whole generation of fans.
“I think I was three years old the last time they went to the Series, my dad carrying me on his shoulders down these halls,” said Raja Oosiar of Scarborough after leaving the stadium. “So seeing it as a grown-ass man is pretty special. Reminds me of the [2019] Raptors.”
Oosiar said the Jays should put up a good fight against the Dodgers because “they have a lot of skill and character.”
While it didn’t take long for the party to hit Toronto’s streets, nearly every fan remained in their seat at Rogers Centre after the final out, cheering non-stop as Jays players donned their American League champion hats and shirts on the field.
When they finally left, vehicles on Front Street came to a standstill. But Ezer Tahir, who was cheering out of the sunroof of a gridlocked car, said for once, he didn’t mind the city’s notorious traffic.
“I’m so alright with it. Blue Jays make it to the World Series, baby!” he said. “Let’s get it!”
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