Toronto Maple Leafs fans cheer for the Blue Jays as Monday’s ALCS game is displayed on the video board at Scotiabank Arena after an NHL game.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
As much as an Original Six matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings would ordinarily be destination sports viewing during the National Hockey League season, with the Blue Jays in the playoffs and one round shy of a World Series appearance, it very much took second billing Monday.
‘My Dad is to [sic] cheap to buy Blue Jays tickets,’ read one young fan’s handmade sign during the game.
For those without the disposable income to meet the demands of the secondary ticket market, the Maple Leafs had a more affordable alternative.
And so, mere seconds after the conclusion of the Red Wings’ 3-2 victory over the Maple Leafs on Thanksgiving Monday, the big four-sided Jumbotron hanging above centre ice at Scotiabank Arena switched over to the action unfolding down the street at Rogers Centre.
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The mood in the building – already slightly sour after the Leafs wasted a third-period comeback – got even flatter after the Seattle Mariners jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, with a few fans filtering out, but things stabilized somewhat when parity returned.
“It’s definitely different to watch it over here, but the experience is clearly just as good,” said Mario Laurelli, 41, from Brampton. “There’s a lot of fans here watching the game, [just as] they did in Game 1 as well. They’re here again, watching Game 2.
“They’re showing their support for a team that’s in the playoffs. And I think the roles [would] be reversed if the Leafs were in the playoffs.”
Laurelli, who was scouring the secondary ticket market for a bargain on Monday – having gone to Game 2 of the American League Division Series – considers himself a fan of all Toronto sports teams and is in a buoyant mood right now.
“I think more people have their eyes on the Blue Jays only because they’re in the playoffs, whereas the Leafs season just started,” he said. “So there’s a lot of hockey going on right now, but to have both games on the same day, right back to back, the atmosphere, the electricity, was honestly, it’s just awesome. And I, as a Toronto fan, I love it.”
Katie Minello, 42, a Detroit Red Wings fan from Windsor, would have preferred if she was watching the Tigers playing the Blue Jays on the Jumbotron – they were eliminated by the Seattle Mariners last Friday – but she stuck around for the game nonetheless. She was also happy to see that the concessions stands remained opened, allowing fans to grab a beer and a hot dog while watching the ball game.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans cheer for the Toronto Blue Jays as the ALCS game against the Seattle Mariners is displayed on the video board at Scotiabank Arena Monday.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
“This is great baseball,” she said. “And I’m happy for the Jays.”
She didn’t really have much choice. While she was proudly wearing her Red Wings hoodie, her partner Mike Pearce was decked out in a Maple Leafs sweater and a Blue Jays hat.
“We’re a house divided,” the 50-year-old London native and lifelong Jays fan joked.
While he was confident about the Blue Jays’ World Series chances, he was also realistic about the task at hand.
“I think Seattle’s a good team,” Pearce said. “It’ll be a tough series.”
With the baseball game getting out of hand in the late innings, the couple of thousand fans that had stuck around immediately after the Leafs game ended had dwindled down to just a few pockets of what – one can only assume – were the absolute hard-core supporters.
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Tanner Kimber, 25, who was wearing an Easton Cowan London Knights jersey – he went to school in London – very much considers himself a Leafs fan first. While he was too young to see the World Series-winning Blue Jays teams, it was the 2015-16 vintage Jays that really got him on the bandwagon.
Having watched the Leafs suffer a last-minute loss, he said that getting the opportunity to switch focus to baseball helps soften the blow somewhat.
“One hundred per cent,” he said. “You can’t get too mad about that.”
Having seen the Jays reach the ALCS in back-to-back years, as well as the Toronto Raptors winning the NBA championship and the Toronto FC winning the MLS Cup, he says he’s not overly surprised at the Jays’ success this year.
“When it’s not the Leafs, it’s not too surprising,” he said. “It’ll be surprising when the Leafs get in that situation.”
However, he’s still backing the Leafs to win a championship before the Blue Jays.
“I gotta go with the Leafs right now,” he said. “I got a season-long bet on them to win the Stanley Cup this year. So yeah, that’s my team always.”