Let's Play Ball!

I got the tickets! Aisle seats (I have to be able to extend my right leg) in the section we want; row 10 on Saturday, row 9 on Sunday. It doesn't get any better than that! All around us, the Blue Jays have reserved the seats for their own special people. That's right, when I asked for the section beside the one we got, no can do; those seats are not available for sale to the general public.

So on Friday, August 7th, we will watch the game on television at our good friend's home, just as we always do on our annual Blue Jays weekend. On Saturday, August 8th, it's off to the ballpark to mingle with the 1992/93 players (yeh, right, like I'll have a snowball's chance in hell of getting anywhere near them!) and then we will watch the game from our choice seats. And on Sunday, August 9th, we will celebrate my birthday at the ballpark, watching the game from our choice seats, but one row closer than the day before.

Back in 1994, I also spent my birthday in Toronto "with Joe Carter." A good friend from Stratford, who is also a huge Jays fan, met me there. We shared a hotel room, went to the ball game and had a wonderful visit. The Jays were wanting to "three-peat" of course. That was the year the Montreal Expos were poised to take the National League pennant -- and most likely the World Series; they were on fire! While unlikely, wouldn't it have been sweet to have had the first World Series ever to be played totally on Canadian soil, between two Canadian franchises? That weekend was the last Jays' homestand before the players went on strike, ending the season altogether. As far as I'm concerned, baseball has never been the same. Now, fifteen years later, the Jays are the only Canadian franchise, which is a disgrace to baseball but that is a whole other discussion.

I am still a dedicated fan and the boys in blue (or black or grey or whatever colour they are wearing that weekend) will all be there for my birthday party again! And, as I do for every Blue Jays weekend, I'll be wearing the "29" hat that I bought back in 1994 -- that should make it easier for Joe to spot me.