With Cito Gaston managing his last game for the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, I made sure I was in the stadium to take part in all the festivities. I've been to a number of Blue Jays games and have sat in almost every section at the Skydome (err...Rogers Centre). My favourite place to watch a game is from the outfield seats right behind the bullpens. While you're a little far away from the infield action, these seats give you a sneak peak into who's going to pitch next and it's the best place to catch a home-run ball. Also, the fans sitting in these sections are far more animated and really get into the game. It's often the place were the ever popular wave will get started and the best spot in the stadium to hear people heckling opposing players. On this particular evening, a few of the fans in section 139 made the evening even more memorable.
Before the game between the Jays and Yankees, Toronto's final home game of the season, Cito Gaston was honoured for is numerous contributions to the Blue Jays organization. It was a fitting tribute for the best manager in Blue Jays history. As with any celebration, the booze started flowing early. The Jays started things off in style with a lead-off home run by Travis Snider and while the ball wasn't hit to our section, we knew it was only a matter of time before we saw some action. The Blue Jays roared out to a 7-0 lead after 5 innings and the hated Alex Rodriguez came to the plate to start the 6th inning. The count was 0-1 when A-Rod strokes a long ball into the first row of section 139, a couple rows ahead of where I was sitting. This was an evening to celebrate Cito and a Yankees home run wasn't welcome in our house. The fans around our section started chanting, "throw it back, throw it back". When a couple hundred people are yelling at you, it's hard to keep the souvenir you've just caught...so our friend in row 1 throws the ball back onto the field of play while A-Rod is rounding the bases. Section 139 erupts in applause and dude in the first row is getting high fives like it's his job. This is when our story gets interesting. The Yankees would go on to score 2 more run in the inning but I'll be honest, I don't think anyone in our section saw, or cared, about the game at that point.
A few short minutes after the homer was sent back, a Rogers Centre staff member comes down to speak with our buddy in the first row. While I'm sure throwing objects onto the field of play is prohibited, the gesture of throwing the ball back when an opposing team hits a homer isn't uncommon. The young lady from the Rogers Centre, who's glasses seemed a little too big for her face, starts getting jeered. The fans in the surrounding sections didn't want to see our friend in the first row get kicked out for his gesture, which was supported by the guys in the Blue Jays bullpen. Chants of "let him stay, let him stay" begin to gain momentum and the young Rogers Centre staff becomes obviously flustered and leaves without our friend. The section cheers and high fives ensue. A few moments later, a more senior staff member comes down to speak with our friend while a few police officers observe from the top of the stairs. The fans in section 139 are not happy that the issue is still being discussed and that police officers have been called. More chants in support of the ball thrower are started, the usher trying to discipline our pal is heavily taunted and a few people, who have obviously enjoyed a couple wobbly pops, turn back to jeer the police officer...not a good idea. One particular "smart kid", who has been trying to be funny all night and likely spilt more beer than he actually consumed, stands up to call-out the officer. This kid, wearing a beige flat cap and ears that would make Dumbo proud, thinks he's got the support of the section as he encourages the officers to go home and "enjoy another donut". The officer, obviously not impressed with our little paper boy and the headlines he's shouting, stands his ground while the Rogers Centre staff finishes speaking with our friend in the first row. The bullpen comes to the aid of our baseball throwing hero and it appears he's only given a stern warning while Dumbo's little brother starts to realize he may have gone too far.
With the Yankees portion of the 6th inning coming to a close, yet another Rogers Centre staff makes an appearance in section 139...this time with 3 police officers. Our friend in the flat cap is now turning to the fans in our section and asking for their support should it be his turn to be disciplined. This kid hasn't really done anything to earn the same support our baseball thrower received. As the staff member reaches his row, Flat Cap kid stands up and raises his arms like a hero. While he's reluctant at first, our "section jester in training" finally takes one last swig of beer before being escorted from section 139 by 2 of Toronto finest. A few high fives are shared before he disappears from sight and the fans in our section return to watching the Jays win the last home game under manager Cito Gaston.
Having been to a number of sporting events and having seen a wide range of fan behaviours, I won't say I'm surprised at what transpired during the Blue Jays game that evening. The herd mentality can be a powerful motivator and people will do some pretty crazy things under this influence. I think the Rogers Centre staff should have understood the circumstances and the tradition of throwing a visiting teams home run ball back onto the field of play. A single visit to our friend in the first row to remind him of the stadiums rules would have been sufficient. To my buddy in the flat cap with the big ears and trouble getting beer from his glass to his mouth, I hope they didn't fine you too much and next time you decide to taunt a police officer, make sure people are laughing with you...not at you.
Awesome
ReplyDeleteUncle Graham