This was Toronto on Wednesday night.
My good friend Adam Wylde of KiSS 92.5 (and the Steve Dangle Podcast) went to Yonge & Dundas Square in the heart of downtown Toronto to capture the mob scene after the Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers in Game 5. There were so many fun videos that came out of this game. The champagne showers, Kawasaki on the mic, and watching the bat flip on loop. This video though, this video is special, It’s rare. It’s Toronto sports fans… happy. As they should be, at this moment.
And, like many Leafs fans used to defeat, I know how close we all were to experiencing yet another typical Toronto sports let down.
When Russell Martin’s throwing gaffe allowed the Rangers to go up 3-2, I may have uttered the words “Of course.” It had nothing to do with Russell Martin. It had nothing to do with baseball or the Blue Jays. It had everything to do with the defence mechanisms I have built into my psyche as a cranky Toronto sports fan.
And I couldn’t help but think, “Is this worse than the Leafs choking on a 4-1 lead in Game 7?”
You can rip on me for bringing it up but you have to admit most of you thought about it. After wandering around the offices at Front & John and talking to Sophia Jurksztowicz, Kailey Sibley, Amanda Da Ponte, and Emily Sadler, it’s unanimous: Yes, the Jays losing totally would have been worse.
How? How could the Jays losing 3-2 possibly be worse the Leafs becoming the first team in NHL history to choke on a three-goal lead in the third period of a Game 7?
The wackiness and sheer unlikelihood of Martin’s error to make it 3-2 makes it worse. As Amanda put it, “At least the Bruins won fair and square.” Sure, defensive gaffes lead to goals in Game 7 but Shin-Soo Choo didn’t even do anything! Yes, Rougned Odor was smart enough to run across home plate when nobody really seemed to know what was going on but none of that would be possible without Martin’s error. I’ve been to dozens of Blue Jays game in my life and seen countless games on television, and I’ve never seen a catcher accidentally plunk it off a bat on a simple throw back to the mound. And that was about to end the Blue Jays’ season? I couldn’t have stomached it.
Also… did it have to be Russell Martin? The fact that it happened at all sucked. Did it really have to be the Canadian? Kailey pointed out that Martin seems to be one of the nicest, most chill guys on the entire team. I think there’s a comparison to be made to James Reimer. He’s in all the iconic photos of the Bruins winning 5-4 in overtime and if Reimer didn’t pursue a career as an NHL goalie he probably could have become the new host of Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood. For the record, I’d totally watch Mister Reimer’s Neighbourhood.
Sophia brought up a great question: If they Leafs collapsed in 2013 (they did) and the Blue Jays had lost 3-2 (they didn’t) and it happened in 2013 as well (it very didn’t), who would Toronto sports fans be most heartbroken over? As the world’s biggest Leafs fan, I’m kind of thinking it’s still the Blue Jays. Sure, the Leafs fans had a nine-year playoff drought but you know what’s longer than nine years? Twenty years. Then again, 1993 is a lot more recent than 1967.
Emily might have had the saddest point: The fans. The Leafs lost Game 7 on the road in Boston. Yes, there were something like 20,000 fans packed into Maple Leaf Square to watch the game but almost all of them shuffled home without a peep.
When the Rangers made it 3-2 against the Blue Jays? It was in front of nearly 50,000 frothing fans in at the Rogers Centre. On top of that, it was on a wonky call from the umpire that nobody seemed to even know the rule for. Even worse, it didn’t happen at the end of the game. It was still the top of the seventh inning when fans began raining down garbage and beer cans.
There’s something incredibly sobering about losing in a single moment with an overtime goal against or a walk-off home run. This? This had the potential to be three innings-worth of beer spraying babies, and that would be the impression the baseball world would be left with of Blue Jays fans. Today? “Look how passionate they are!” and “I’m so happy for them!”
Not to mention the 2013 Leafs were a ragtag bunch of underdogs and the Blue Jays are one of the World Series favourites. And the fact that you’re a lot closer to a championship in the ALDS than you are in the Eastern Conference Quarter-Final. What a mess, what a mess.
If you want to hear somebody who thinks the Leafs’ collapse was worse, the man they call The Zubes had a fantastic take on the most recent episode of Sportsfeld.
Here’s the best part of this little comparison: It isn’t real.
Josh Donaldson blooped in Kevin Pillar, Jose Bautista sent the ball and his bat into orbit, and Blue Jays fans now await the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS.
Enjoy it, Toronto. Enjoy it, Canada. The ride isn’t over yet.
