The Jays Won… (3 to go)

I caught the first couple of innings last night as I sat at the counter at my local Denny’s restaurant. I am not a TV gal and so I don’t have cable. I had a beer and some bad for me pub food as I watched the silent screen. The Jays were down by 1 as I paid my bill and headed for the car. My Grandson had a hockey game across the city and I had to go watch his game. As I got into the car I checked the AM radio station that airs local sports and sure enough, they had the feed for game one. The Jays were down by two by the time I got to the rink. I was a little early but I decided to head inside. The Jays could win or lose without me. Ten year old Louie needed his biggest fan and her piercing whistle.

I like to stand in the corners away from other fans while my daughter sat in the stands. She was keeping tabs on the game as we watch the U11 teams battle it out on the ice. We couldn’t see the play, only the onscreen scoreboard showing stats. You know. Runners. Who is at bat. The count. Who is pitching. Between periods I went to sit beside her and the score was tied. The next break in play in the hockey game had her almost giddy with joy. The Jays were ahead. As we watched the screen on her phone we were excited to see Springer at bat with what looked like bases loaded. The screen changed again but the score hadn’t changed. Bases still loaded but one away. Is Springer out? Who is out? Who was at bat. We tried to come to grips with what was happening as the score changed. We looked at each other. Was that a grand slam? We had 5. Now its nine. Oh my gosh he hit a grand slam. Who hit it? We couldn’t have been more excited than if we had been watching the game in the stands ourselves. As for my Grandsons game, it was pretty rough. Lots of penalties and they lost which usually has Louie quite sad. But he came out of the dressing room with a huge smile on his face. I guess the coaches must have told the boys about the Blue Jays.

It’s interesting you know. Watching kids play ball. Playing ourselves. We had three kids playing various levels at a time when my hubby and I also played. Those were some pretty busy springs. Watching baseball is a past time I love. I used to leave my oldest to babysit some nights when my hubby played in the over 30 men’s slow pitch leaque. They were late games under the lights. Only one other wife came and we would chat as we ate spits and watched our old guys. When the Cannons played in Calgary we would watch the odd game. As we aged we would ride our motorbikes to Seattle when the Jays played. Stay for a few days and watch all the games. Not many Americans came to those as the Canadians treated it like a home game. Vancouver and the lower mainland emptied out as they went south to watch The Jays. I remember one game where the Jumbo tron showed a man walking with a beer and popcorn who was wearing a Saskatchewan Roughriders jersey. (Canadian Football team) The entire stadium started to boo. I am sure any Americans in the stands were confused. It was fun.

When it comes to playoffs of any kind, you see a surge in excitement. The fan base grows as the teams get closer and closer to being number one. There are those who are die hards. Season tickets for years. There are fans who love one sport. Those who love any sport. There are those who jump on the band wagon. There are those who only do play-offs for the selfie moments. There are people like my daughter and her husband. He is at his sons game on the bench as a coach. She is in the stands with her other kids cheering on her boy. Sneaking peaks at the Jays game. As I drove through downtown Calgary yesterday I saw dozens of Blue Jays Jerseys and tee shirts. The country is behind their team. It isn’t just about baseball. For many it is about just being proud of being Canadian. The last 9 months have seen national pride surge. You know what I am talking about. But then there is the truest of all fans. Guys like my hubby.

Over 20 years ago at my last consulting job, I worked closely with a young gal who was a Crude Oil Marketer. It was her first gig in that type of position. The Calgary Flames were in the playoffs and the city was bursting with excitement. Corporate tickets were given out and were sought after by everyone. Working in Marketing, my hubby often received free tickets year round and playoff tickets were no exception. He often turned them down as he hated the crowds and parking as well as the crush of vehicles leaving the arena. This young gal had just scored her first two tickets to a playoff game and she was so thrilled. Now she wasn’t a hockey fan at all. But she was caught up in the excitement and her boyfriend was a huge Flames fan. She thought he would be so pleased. But he told her he didn’t want to go. She couldn’t understand it. But I knew why. He was just like my hubby.

I asked her a few questions. When he is at home watching a a game, does he have a special chair? Snacks at the ready? A beer fridge close by? Is he alone? Yelling at the TV? Yes, yes and yes were her answers. Well my dear, your boyfriend is a die hard. According to the Cambridge dictionary, a die hard is someone who refuses to change. They are opposed to change or new ideas. They support a person or idea to the end. Basically, this guy was like my hubby. He loved the team. But more importantly he loved the game and loved watching his team. Like my husband he doesn’t want to sit with other people at a game. He wants his snacks close by, his bathroom with no line ups. He wants to wear his jersey with just his underwear because somehow it helps his team win. He has a TV room where he watches the game alone. He doesn’t want to miss a single play. Which he will remember for years to some. He makes his own calls and then watches replays closely when the call goes against his team. Most of all, he doesn’t want you sitting next to him asking questions or getting up and down out of your seat to go get snacks. He wants to watch the game. My advice to her was, go to the game with a friend, enjoy, tell him all about it when you get home and then marry this guy. He is a die hard. If he is with you, he will stick with you through thick and thin. He doesn’t live life for the show. Trust me I know. I married the same guy.

My drive home from my grandsons game had me listening to the remainder of the Jays game. As I parked outside the house, I turned off the car and sat in the dark listening. I don’t care what the lead is in a game. Like Yogi said, it ain’t over t’il it’s over! I walked into that dark house missing that old guy. My die hard fan. Things would have been different if he was still here. He wouldn’t have finished listening to game on the radio. He would have raced into the house to watch the end. Because we still would have had cable. And he would have missed most of the Jays game because he wouldn’t have missed his Grandsons game. He had priorities.