Ryan and Neil McLaughlin made it a hat-trick of World Series memories together on Friday night.
Patiently waiting in line to collect programs for Game 1 of the World Series, Neil has been rooting for the Toronto Blue Jays since 1985. He remembers watching the team at Exhibition Stadium and baseballs getting lost in the snow that enveloped the entire playing field.
Ryan, his son, was eight-years-old watching the Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves in six games. He fondly remembers watching at home as reliever Mike Timlin fielded a bunt attempt and flipped the ball over to Joe Carter at first base for the final out of Game 6.
“We had a party the day before,” Neil said before Ryan chimed in. “We had a packed house with family and friends, it was an awesome experience. Unforgettable.”
They didn’t attend any of the games in person back then but didn’t want to miss out on this chance, a chance that ultimately let them bear witness to the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history as the Blue Jays defeated the L.A. Dodgers 11-4 in Game 1.
It’s been 32 years since the last one so I thought I’d better come to this one,” 75-year-old. Another 32 years from now, I’m gonna be too old to even know where I am.
Neil McLaughlin, Blue Jays fan’This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing’: Joanna and Julianne, university students
Joanna and Julianne who are friends and university students came together from different schools and countries to root for the Toronto Blue Jays.
While the McLaughlin family are veteran Blue Jays fans, Joanna and Julianne are university students who didn’t want to miss out on their first chance to cheer on their Blue Jays. It wasn’t an easy commitment to make, though, as the two study abroad in Munich and Colorado.
“My dad went to the World Series games in the ’90s and he always told me about it and then I grew up going to the games,” Joanna said. “Students could get cheaper tickets to the weeknight games so we went and would get the giveaways.”
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Julianne became a fan by association a couple years ago when she started going to games with Joanna. She became obsessed with the stats and analytics of the game and watching the Blue Jays in Boulder, Colorado helped her feel less homesick.
After George Springer blasted his three-run home run that gave the Blue Jays a 4-3 comeback win in Game 7 of the ALCS, Joanna and Julianne’s minds went straight to finding a flight back home for the Fall Classic and got tickets to Game 1 through Joanna’s mom who’s a season ticket holder.
“Insane!!!” Joanna and Julianne both exclaimed when asked about their first World Series experience. “We’ve been shaking. This is like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. We’ve been wanting this for so long, it was one hundred percent worth it.”
‘It’s good for the city’: Jays fan Dmitri looks back 1992
Baseball fans leave the Rogers Centre following the Toronto Blue Jays World Series game 1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Toronto on Friday, October 24, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn
Some die-hard Blue Jays fans couldn’t make it to the game because they had already made an earlier sporting commitment. Dmitri remembers going to the original St. Louis Bar & Grill that opened in 1992 and driving up and down Yonge St. as a 27-year-old when the Blue Jays won it all. He was dressed in Blue Jays gear from head to toe on this night but was heading to a basketball game.
The Toronto Raptors played their home opener on Friday night as well, game time shifting from an original slot of 7:30 p.m. ET to 6:30 p.m. ET to better accommodate the Blue Jays game that had first pitch scheduled for 8:10 p.m.
“There’s a lot of hype, it’s good for the city, it’s good for the team, it’s good for everyone here,” Dmitri said. “We need this, we need stuff like this, maybe a little bit more often but we need it.”
‘People were on the streets banging pots and pans’: Kelsey remembers the World Series celebrations
Kelsey from Ajax was rocking both Raptors and Blue Jays gear as she made her way to Scotiabank Arena with her friend Vee, who was excited to watch the Raptors live for the first time. Kelsey won tickets to the Raptors home opener through the team’s exclusive fan access. She was 11 when the Blue Jays won the World Series for the first time and loves to see the buzz in the city for sporting success.
“I lived in Northwest Ontario back then and even there everybody was so excited about it,” Kelsey said. “People were out in the streets banging pots and pans so this just feels like we might get it again and the Raptors didn’t win that long ago, either.”
After the Raptors lost 122-116 to the Milwaukee Bucks, Scotiabank Arena invited Dmitri, Kelsey, and everyone in attendance to extend their stay and watch the Blue Jays game on the Jumbotron.
While many left for alternate plans or just to get home, the ones who stayed enjoyed the rare experience of basketball fans coming together to cheer on the Blue Jays in the World Series. It’s a special time in Toronto and Canada that brings out the absolute best in its sports fans.
The streets in downtown Toronto were packed long into the night, “Let’s Go Blue Jays” being chanted wholeheartedly. Some fans waited well past midnight to catch a glimpse of their heroes as they exited the Rogers Centre.
It’s something the Blue Jays have noticed and don’t take lightly.
“It’s hard to see the entire impact because we’re almost sheltered here,” Game 1 starter Trey Yesavage said.
I know we represent this entire country and we’re this country’s team so we wanna go out there and do everything we can to make this country proud of us.
Trey Yesavage, Pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays
Do you have memories of the 92-93 Toronto Blue Jays World Series wins? Share your stories with us!