Three days later and the heartbreak remains.
In tragedy, our brains try to make sense of what happened. How did that ball with an exit velocity of 105 mph get lodged under the wall and kill a play in which the Jays could have tied it up in Game 6? In a previous life, was closer Jeff Hoffman a surgeon who accidentally cut a carotid artery every fifth operation?
The World Series started with an 11-4 LOL. It ended with a 5-4 WTF.
But I am not here to commiserate. I am not here to wonder if the LCBO can refund a bottle of Veuve Clicquot I nearly uncorked in the third inning on Saturday after Bo Bichette uncorked a 442-foot, three-run moonbeam to centre.
I thought it was over. I really did.
Alas, the Baseball Gods are more mercurial than the Real Housewives. So I am simply here to tip my baby blue cap to the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays and thank them for the magical mystery tour this season. And to ask the city for a parade.
I can already hear the snickers: Parades are for the team that wins it all. There are no participation ribbons when it comes to mass celebrations in pro sports.
But does Los Angeles really need another parade? They’re already waving Brink’s trucks into the Sunset Gate A entrance at Dodger Stadium to bankroll next year’s title. Can the champs risk a parade if there is now a good chance masked ICE thugs will storm the floats and violently deport Shohei Ohtani?
Toronto deserves the parade this year. We were the better team this year.
I was in London this summer. Between the sightseeing schedule and time difference, it was tough to follow baseball across the pond. But whenever I checked scores back at the hotel, it was the same story: Jays won. Again.
This plucky team may have got winded at the finish line. But all season long, it never sputtered when it came to enchanting us with resilience and unexpected firepower. The Jays had more comeback wins than any team. Their post-season stats dwarf the Dodgers. Their chemistry and love for one another transcended sport. This team felt cosmic and inevitable in these dark days.
The alchemy turned journeymen into superstars and superstars into demigods. The came together in the spring and stayed together until the shattering end.
Was Saturday night a kick to the groin? Yes. On my death bed, I will still see Will Smith homering in the 11th. This is why a parade is needed.
It will be a palate cleanser to rid us of the bad taste from this weekend. We should celebrate a season that was much more than the two final losses. We should shut down Yonge while turning Sankofa Square into Jays Central for a day.
Get Jamie Campbell to emcee. Make Joe Siddall the grand marshal.
Ask Dan Shulman to do the traffic play-by-play.
We could have midway games and activity booths for the kids. That was the most gutting part on Saturday night — seeing youngsters in the Rogers Centre weeping and hugging their parents in disbelief. But you know what? This special team just electrified a new generation of ball fans. The kids deserve a celebration.
Or to quote from a petition on Change.org calling for a parade: “This team has woven itself into the fabric of our city, bringing together people of all walks of life, transcending barriers of language, culture and age. This isn’t merely about wins and losses, it’s about what the team stands for: dedication, teamwork and unyielding loyalty.”
According to Rogers, nearly half of all Canadians tuned in to Game 7. Bananas. If invading American tanks and fighter jets crossed our border, I’m not sure a third of Canadians would tune into cable news for the bombing updates.
So put these magnificent players on a riser. Let them bask in our appreciation.
Olivia Chow, you ignored my pleas to postpone Halloween. Don’t ignore this one. If not a full-blown parade, à la Santa Claus, do something to honour this team, something to give fans one last chance to revel in a season for the ages.
Besides, do you know how much money we could raise for city coffers by charging five bucks a throw and putting Jeff Hoffman in a dunk tank outside the Eaton Centre?
Who knows what the Jays roster will be in 2026. The starting rotation will surely change. I strongly urge Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins to rob Fort Knox. Do anything to ensure Bichette stays in Toronto. But it’s possible Bo played his last game as a Jay on Saturday, a prospect as heartbreaking as the final score.
This wasn’t the way we expected the post-season to end.
A parade is a tribute to all that came before.
