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A disappointed Arthur Gallant reacts in Calgary after the Toronto Blue Jays Sunday loss. Gallant says the Jays held their own despite falling short.LEAH HENNEL/The Globe and Mail
As fans streamed out of Rogers Centre, there were tears, there were children crying and there were occasional outbursts of anger.
Thousands more, who had gathered outside the stadium in anticipation of a night-long party, also dispersed immediately after learning of the Blue Jays’ defeat.
And across the country, bars and pubs packed with Jays fans fell silent.
The underdogs had made it all the way to extra innings of the seventh game, on the second day of November. For nearly a month, Canadians from one ocean to the other had shared hopes, wore team apparel to work, scrambled for tickets.
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But once again, a late-game Dodgers home run had crushed the dreams of Canadian baseball fans.
The chest-squeezing anxiety of the final moments of the game was over. What remained was sadness and disappointment, but also hope for future seasons.
Outside Rogers Centre, Paul Kwon, who had spent much of the game leading cheers and chants for the home team, was on the verge of crying. “I’m in literal pain right now,” he said. “I just feel pain, that’s all I can say right now.” Instead of celebrating he was picking up discarded beer cans outside the venue, disgusted by the filth fans had left behind.
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Another fan sat on concrete steps, head in hands. “I flew out from Calgary for this,” said Sid Helischauer, clad in vintage Jays gear, including replica World Series rings around his neck. “We were one out away.”
Born in Toronto, he’s been a fan since day one of the franchise. Work took him to Calgary in 1985. It was supposed to be an eight-month assignment, but he’s still there. “The Jays are my connection to home. I’ll be here for them again next year,” he said.
At Malone’s Taphouse in Vancouver, raucous fans chanted and banged on tables – until Will Smith’s game-winning homer in the 11th inning. Then it was quiet.
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Tensions were high at the Shark Club Sport Bar in Vancouver, as the score remained tied at 4–4 during the ninth inning.Isabella Falsetti/The Globe and Mail
“The last time we won the World Series, I was graduating from high school. Now I’m 50. This was our year to do it again. I’m absolutely devastated, absolutely heartbroken,” said Steve Coleman, wiping a tear from his cheek.
“It was so close,” said Norah Urbach, a 20-year-old student serving tables at Ottawa’s Nelson Pub. Her shift had ended but she hadn’t left. While the game was tied, she had been bouncing on her feet, running her hands nervously through her red hair, saying she could hardly breathe.
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Norah Urbach poses during Game 7.The Globe and Mail
“Now I am going to cry,” she said. Her eyes already glistened.
At Calgary’s Trolley 5 Brewpub, the TV channels changed to hockey and people quickly paid their tabs. It wasn’t the outcome anyone wanted. One fan tried to get the crowd to chant in support of the Blue Jays. No one joined in.
In one corner of the bar, Arthur Gallant shared hugs with others. He was disappointed but hopeful for next year. “People were saying it was David versus Goliath but it was David versus David,” he said. “The Jays held their own.”
Watching with Colleen Nelson at Malone’s Taphouse, long-time fan Dan Townrow said the Jays are the only Toronto team he supports.
“I’m a diehard Canucks fan, diehard Whitecaps fan, and I’m not a big Toronto fan – but when it comes to baseball, it’s Canada’s team.”
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Colleen Nelson and Dan Townrow in Vancouver. Townrow isn’t a huge Toronto fan, but he makes an exception for the Jays.Andrea Woo/The Globe and Mail
In Ottawa, Chris Bell, who was at his best friend’s family party, said he had seen firsthand how the Jays united the country, muting regional differences. He watched Game 1 in an Edmonton Bar, surrounded by patrons in Blue Jays colours.
“Regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum,” he said, “and what you do for your life, everyone can come together.”
Plus, as a devoted Senators fan, “I can get behind the Jays and my disdain for the Leafs doesn’t get in the way.”
In Nova Scotia, Lunenburg’s mayor, Jamie Myra, has supported the Jays since their first season in 1977. He was eight, wearing team swag sent by Ontario relatives, enduring the merciless mocking of friends who were Red Sox fans. But he stuck by the Jays even during those rough, early years.
This Series, he said, felt even more momentous: a hard-scrabble, underestimated, hard-working team from Canada holding their own against the richer, glitzier Americans.
Back in Ottawa, the crowd at the Nelson Pub was trudging out the door, heading home. Ms. Urbach took a breath, then said: “Next year.”
With reports from Patrick White in Toronto, Erin Anderssen in Ottawa, Alanna Smith in Calgary and Andrea Woo in Vancouver.
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Jays fans watch the final innings in Toronto on Sunday.Brett Gundlock/Getty Images
