By Denis Gibbons
April 9th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
The boys of summer were getting ready to play their season opener in a ballpark they had not played in for close to two years.
The crowd in the stadium was expected to top 50,000 people.
And the fans were pumped.
Anything less than a win, a big win was going to be seen as a bummer.
I interviewed nine Burlingtonians at the GO station to get their take on the game they were going to watch.
Interesting bit of information – a lot of the people I interviewed were from the Niagara region – I thought they would have boarded the GO train at Aldershot.
Nolan and Elliott Jackson
Nolan Jackson, 16, (left) and brother Elliott, 12, had tickets for Opening Day of 2021, but couldn’t make it because the Blue Jays had to open in Florida during the pandemic. They didn’t miss this one, though.
Nolan, a middle infielder with the Oakville-based Ontario Royals, said the Jays have a lot of young talent like Bo Bichette and Chapman. “But pitching could be their weakness,” he said. “They need to strengthen their bullpen.”
Barb Parsons
Attending her 10th Opening Day game, Barb Parsons said Toronto’s chances are very good this year, barring injuries. “They have a lot of talent and good chemistry,” she said. Although it was her 10th opener, it was her first Blue Jays game in 12 years. That was before her husband passed away.
Jo Savelli
A public health nurse in Hamilton, Burlington’s Jo Savelli set an excellent example by wearing her Blue Jays mask as she waited for the GO train. As a 14-year-old, Savelli watched the team’s major league debut in the snow on TV in 1977.
Later that year she was a member of a Burlington team that won the Provincial Women’s Softball Association championship in its age group. What did she pay for her ticket? “$145, but I’m right behind home plate, five rows up. And it pays for all the vacations I’m not taking!” she said.
Ian and Liam MacRae
Eleven-year-old Liam McRae, a second basemen with the Burlington Bulls minor peewee team, attended his first Opening Day with his father Ian, who has his own construction company Your Life Outside.
The father-son duo have been to spring training games in Dunedin, Florida, but were looking forward to seeing a healthy George Springer leading off for the Blue Jays. What impresses the Central elementary school student about Springer? “He’s really good at his position and he smiles a lot!”
Tyler Maskell
A last-minute ticket worth $140 landed Tyler Maskell, 26, in a seat a field level near home plate. On his first Opening Day ever, Maskell was anxious for his first peek at the Blue Jays newly acquired third baseman Matt Chapman.
“He should put us over the top,” said Maskell, who also was lucky enough to be a spectator at the Blue Jays first game back in Toronto last July when they took the field at Rogers Centre for the first time in 670 days storming out of a tunnel, smoke shooting into the air behind them as the home crowd roared. They ran as a team towards the infield, their path lined on each side by 100 healthcare workers waving Blue Jays flags.
The Jesus Family
It was the second Opening Day visit for Burlington’s Trish Jesus, who made the trip with her husband Josh and sons Jeffrey, 10, and Darryl, 7. The family created these colorful signs at home.
“We’re in the nosebleeds,” Trish said. But that afforded the boys a perfect view of their favorite player George Springer in centre field. Josh, who has taken in three or four openers, said the best was the year the family had free tickets in a private box. “That’s when Bautista and Encarnacion were playing,” he said.
John Droughan
A condo superintendent, 33-year-old John Droughan -paid $60 for 200 Level seats in the outfield on his first Opening Day. “It’s exciting,” Droughan said. “With Vladdy and Bo, it’s going to be an electric offence. As long as our pitching holds up, we’ll have a good year. Droughan’s fondest memory was attending a playoff game against Texas during the Blue Jays long playoff run in 2015, which ended with Toronto losing to the Kansas City Royals in Game 6 of the American League championship series.
Dayna Naim
A student at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Dayna Nairn has a huge affection for Bo Bichette and she’s not afraid to show it, as the photo indicates. “He’s my age and he’s a shortstop like I was when I played,” Nairn said.
Nairn bought a ticket online for her initial Opening Day. “The Jays spent a lot of money during the off-season, I think their chances are very good.”
Doug McKillop and his daughter Ashleigh
Doug McKillop’s father Lionel was in the stands at Exhibition Stadium in April of 1977 when the Blue Jays made their major league debut in the snow. He still has the ticket stub. Friday he took in his 15th Opening Day with daughter Ashleigh, who has been to seven or eight herself.
“There’s no excuse why they can’t get to the World Series,” Doug said. “They just have to stay healthy.
The first three innings were not good for the Jay – from that point on they took control of the game and ended up winning the season opener against the Texas Rangers 10-8. The fans on the GO trains going home were happy campers.
Every seat in the ball park had a team cap on the seat. Keep sake for sure.
That game was well worth watching and for a while a real nail-biter. Go Jays