“I have 40 Blue Jays group chats”: How Torontonians feel about heading to the World Series

The Toronto Blue Jays are headed to the World Series for the first time in 32 years. After a nail-biting nine innings and a glorious, game-saving homer by George Springer, Canada’s team pulled off a stunning 4–3 win over the Seattle Mariners in game seven. The city is electric, and Torontonians are partying like it’s 1992. We spoke with euphoric Jays fans outside the Rogers Centre about the historic moment. In the words of Vladdy: “Four more to go.”

Joseph Puopolo, 46, CEO

Tell me how you’re feeling. Pretty freaking awesome. I was here the first time the Jays made it to the World Series back in ’92. My dad took me, and I’ll never forget that moment. Now we’re back.

Highlight of the game? My nerves were getting frayed. Everyone started chirping the pitcher. We got a walk. We got another hit. Next thing you know, Springer hit a dinger and we were home. Is he your MVP tonight? It’s gotta be Springer, but Hoffman shut it down for the last three.

Did you ever lose hope? I’m a Toronto sports fan. We know all about losing hope, but not tonight. We made it happen and we got it done.

Related: The best outfits worn by Blue Jays fans at game six, ranked

Melissa Hore, 46, post-production specialist, and Irfan Premji, 41, producer

What does this moment feel like?

Irfan: It’s the most exciting. You feel the energy of the crowd. You get swept up in it. It’s bringing the whole city together. I love seeing all the Jays hats and flags around the city. It’s been a lot of fun.

Who was the MVP for you tonight?

Melissa: Springer for sure.

Irfan: Right? Who else?

What was the most stressful part of the series for you?

Melissa: Tonight, game seven, the top of the ninth. Those pitches—it was so stressful. I wasn’t even breathing.

Irfan: It was the hardest three outs of my life.

How do you plan to celebrate?

Irfan: We’re going to run around here! I want to go find the “Let’s Go Blue Jays” drummer guy. It’s his last year, he’s retiring, so give him as much money as you can. We want to party with him. It’s going to go all night, I think.

John Hsu, 66, retired

What was the most never-racking part of the series? Game six, when John Schneider took Brendon Little into the game, with six outs to go, and then losing the game afterward.

Any party plans? Not yet. I’ll wait until the World Series. They have a good chance. I mean, it’s not going to be easy, but they have a good chance.

How long have you been a fan? I’m a 40-year season ticket holder.

Any good-luck charms? I’ve been wearing the same playoff outfit since the ALDS. So hopefully that will keep working. I need to wash it soon, though.

Chris Bajrak, 31, information security consultant, and Jamie Jang, 26, public relations specialist

Are you in shock?

Chris: It’s incredible. I never would have dreamed this in a million years. You pray for these times and days, but you never actually really know what it will feel like when it actually happens.

Jamie: That was definitely the best game I’ve ever seen in person. It was a really cool moment.

How were your nerves?

Chris: I was praying. Things weren’t going in the right direction for the team, but you know what they’re about and the core of what they’ve been built for. I was just praying every inning that there would be any sort of rally, to just get a run or two and see how they can fight—and they did.

Jamie: If I’m being honest, I didn’t think that we were going to win. With how the game started, I felt like the momentum was not in our favour.

Any chance you’ll make it to a World Series game?

Chris: I want to try to go out to at least one game. It will be very challenging to get tickets, but just to be able to have one memory, no matter how the series turns out, would be very important to me.

Related: Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman partied a little too hard after the team’s monumental win

Jimmy Denison, 37, “executive-level fan”

Most glorious moment of the game? Springer’s dinger. I said in the fifth, “It’s going to be a three-run dinger in the sixth or seventh.” And what happened? Georgie came through. With the knee and everything! Let’s go!

Were you ever nervous? No stress. I knew we had it the whole time. You can ask my group chats—there’s 40 of them. I sent a text after game two: “It’s fine, guys. It’s fine. A little adversity, but we’re going to do it. It’s fine. Let’s go, six, seven. It’s going to be more epic, as the kids say.”

Do you have any good luck charms? I don’t usually, but a woman gave me this handmade Jays bracelet when we were doing tequila shots at a game earlier this season. I’ve been wearing it ever since, and here we are. I’m not usually big on superstition, but it worked. I’m never taking it off.

Chris Cugliari, 41, electrical engineer, and Justine Cugliari, 40, nurse

Best game ever?

Justine: Fantastic. Oh my god. I did not expect this. I’m so happy.

Chris: I was a little worried, but when Springer was up, you could feel the crowd’s energy. You just knew. Everyone was on their feet—you knew it was coming.

Were you stressing?

Justine: Every minute. I’m superstitious. You never say something good is going to happen, but they did it. I’m so proud of the team.

Chris: We’re polar opposites. I’m always trying out the power of positive thinking. We’re always clashing.

Are you guys lifelong fans or bandwagoners?

Chris: Well, I just parted ways with my aunt. She came to the game too. I was at her house when I was eight years old for the ’92 and ’93 World Series—we watched every single game.

Kasia Proce, 24, graduate student

This crowd feels euphoric. I’m stoked, man. Like, Jays in seven? I didn’t think we were going to do it because my boys have been teasing me, but I’m so happy.

Most memorable moment? George Springer, of course—bottom of the eighth, seeing him get that three-run homer. He’s my boy. I’m so, so happy.

Did you ever have doubts? There were times when I doubted them just a little bit, but tonight I came in with high hopes, high expectations, and they surpassed them.

Kelly Dawdy, 39, sport manager for Golf Canada

You’re buzzing. Oh my god, I’m pumped. This is the highlight of my life. I’m a huge Jays fan, and I think you can tell around here that we’re all super excited. This team earned it! Bring on Friday.

Credit to Springer? For today, MVP’s got to be Springer—and Schneider for managing the game so effectively, honestly—but yes, Springer.

It wasn’t an easy series. Oh my god, game five was pretty tough to swallow. But we kept the momentum going. They brought it back to Toronto, and here we are.

Kaitlyn Maschi, 32, nurse, and Jeff Skinner, 37, salesperson

Most memorable moment?

Jeff: Springer home run!

Kaitlyn: Home run for sure.

Jeff: It changed the whole game.

Kaitlyn: We were up in the 500s, and everybody was high-fiving each other.

Jeff: It was electric.

Did you ever lose hope?

Jeff: No, no, no. This is the team of destiny. Thirty-two years, baby!

How much would you shell out for World Series tickets?

Jeff: Oh man, I don’t know. Five hundred bucks?

Kaitlyn: Yeah, probably $500. That would be reasonable.

Gavin Noronha, 29, airport worker

Have you ever been this excited? I’m pumped. It’s crazy. I was born in ‘96, and I’ve never felt this way before. I’ve been a fan of the Jays, the Leafs, the Raptors, Toronto anything. I feel like it’s 2019 all over again, you know? That big clutch home run by Springer, down 3–1, it was insane. And Jeff Hoffman closing the game. How about we just win the World Series right now?

Nisha Manji, 37, staffing specialist, and Omar Nour, 35, project manager

The moment you’ll never forget?

Omar: Of course, it was the Springer dinger—magical. That’s what we needed. We’re only going to the World Series because of Springer.

Other than Springer, who’s your MVP for the series?

Omar: Vladdy. He’s from Toronto from the heart. He did it for the city. And we couldn’t be prouder. We had that great Bautista era, but now we’re in the Vladdy era. And we’re in the World Series!

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.