Conal MacMillan was at Tuesday’s massive Toronto Blue Jays 10-2 win in Seattle and he certainly wasn’t the only Canadian in attendance. For all three games of the series, Blue Jays fans seemed to outnumber Seattle Mariners fans.
“The atmosphere right now in the ballpark is so exciting,” MacMillan said, speaking to Global News on Skype from his seat at Safeco Field on Wednesday. “There’s thousands of Blue Jays fans here.
“When I went to Toronto, it was sold out. The crowds here – it’s all Blue Jays fans – so it’s similar to what the Rogers Centre was. It might a little bit louder here even. The fans here don’t get to see the team very much I guess, so they’ve been quite raucous the last couple of games.
“It’s not even just the ballpark; it’s spilled into all of Seattle,” he said. “It’s lots of fun.”
Even the commentators couldn’t ignore the massive turnout of Jays fans at Seattle’s stadium, even describing it as “a hometown crowd.”
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“They are loud,” Blue Jays play-by-play announcer Pat Tabler said. “They are rocking this ball park.”
“It sounds like the Rogers Centre,” Tabler said during Wednesday’s game.
MacMillan is from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. but he said Canadians from coast to coast made the trip down to cheer on their team.
“Certainly, talking to the fans here in the ballpark, they’re from everywhere: Vancouver, someone drove in from Prince George, Smoky Lake – it’s just been a wonderful experience meeting all these fans from this awesome country.”
Other Canadians in attendance attracting attention include Bruce and Val from Yukon. A photo of the couple holding a sign that read: “Yukon loves the Jays” was posted on Twitter and an MLA recognized them.
MacMillan has been to six Blue Jays games this year as the team attempts to repeat – and possibly surpass – its stunning success in 2015.
“I’ve been a lifelong Blue Jays fan and they haven’t been a strong team for most of my life,” he explained. “Of course, they won the World Series twice about 20 years ago. Since, they haven’t been a great team, but now that they’re a great team, it’s been just wonderful to be able to see them win.”
Toronto’s team – rather, Canada’s team – is in the hunt for the American League East title, whether they earn top spot outright, or have to fight for it in a wild-card game. Before the results of Wednesday’s afternoon game were in, the Jays sat second in the AL East, four games back from the Boston Red Sox.
Tuesday’s game was particularly special for Canadian fans. For the first time ever, two Canadian teammates reached 20 homeruns in the same season. Russel Martin and Michael Saunders each homered in Tuesday night’s game, with Martin reaching the 20-homerun mark.
Twenty was a golden number for starting pitcher J.A. Happ as well. The 33-year-old reached 20 wins of the season, becoming only the sixth Blue Jays pitcher ever to hit that mark.
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The team’s success on the field seems to be tempting more fans to make the journey to away games, especially if it’s a short, direct flight from your hometown.
When MacMillan and his wife Meghan flew out of the Edmonton International Airport on Monday, it was a sea of blue.
“We went to the international lounge and it was half filled with Jays fans. You could see they were all wearing their gear. It was quite the sight to see,” he said.
“To see at least five flights into Seattle and all those fans in the lounge, it was awesome.”
And their hosts haven’t been too bitter, either.
“Mariners fans have been really great actually,” MacMillan said. “I was in Cleveland earlier this year too for two games and there seems to be a camaraderie among baseball fans. Despite the fact that we’re cheering for opposite teams, we can still talk about the game and enjoy it with each other.”
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