Too Much Northern Exposure
By Kevin Horn
The Blue Jays bandwagon seems to be breaking down already. All around Ontario, fans were cheering for the Jays, sportscasters were leading off broadcasts with them, and Canadians were excited about the Jays for the first time in a while. But it seemed to be empty hope. "Well sure, the Jays are playing well now, but they can’t stay that way forever." the Blue Jays have seemingly become the Rudy of Toronto sports teams. The Raptors are a franchise in disarray, the Leafs aren’t around right now, and The Toronto Argos of the CFL (which you’ve never heard of) were the champs last year. Every year the Blue Jays give us JUST enough hope to hurt us. But most fans here have no hope, and have doubted the team since the 1994 strike.
I have reduced the feelings of most fans here about the Jays into a simple equation: You meet a nice, friendly, attractive girl. However, before you ask her out, your friends convince you that you have no chance, she would never go out with you, etc. You proceed to ask her out, in a hard-hearted and porous attempt, rather than BLAMING the girl for being a snob and not dating you. This is how I see most Blue Jays fans, putting in weak attempts to cheer for the team while expecting failure. Now mind you, last season was disheartening, but no team ever wins without fan support. The attendance at Blue Jays games is not up substantially, so chances are the fans have already resorted into the "Blue Jays suck" routine we usually see at the start of the May.
One more problem with the Blue Jays fans. I read another article at Yankeessuck.com this week about the Red Sox nation in Baltimore. This is a HUGE problem in Toronto (even more so now that the Sox bandwagon is full— it's true, it's true). This week, the Blue Jays had three HUGE series against their AL East rivals, Boston, NY, and Baltimore. Since at least 50% of those crowds were cheering against them (although it was not the only reason) the Jays dropped ALL of those games. THREE sweeps in a row!!!! But, the Jays are still ahead of the Yankees in the division, which shows you how buried they really were.
As far as a prediction for what this division will look like in a month, I’d be interested in finding out which team can get their average ERA below 4.50. I think Baltimore has the best ERA in this division right now, and that is NOT a good thing.
Just Wondering... How do two benches empty in two days and no punches are thrown? I mean, baseball brawls are probably the funniest to watch. Most of these guys aren’t tough, they don’t get hit, baseball is a "finesse" sport. Which is why you get guys like Pedro dumping Zimmer, or nobody ever fighting a catcher, because apart from maybe a few power hitters, nobody is beating up a catcher.
...and A Reminder...
Everybody remember to start filling out your All-Star ballots! In APRIL?? Doesn’t that just guarantee the hugest popularity contest in sports history? This is FAR too early for All-Star balloting…but at least on the plus side there aren’t any Yankees getting in!
