CHEER WE GO AGAIN
Jays fans, including one couple who made trip from Vancouver, flock to Rogers Centre for the home opener
Many made the trek to Toronto for the Blue Jays home opener, but one couple really went the distance — more than 4,300 km, to be exact.
“We came just for the game,” said Danna Cerjance, 26, who flew to Toronto Sunday morning from Vancouver to see the Jays play the Tampa Bay Rays Monday night.
Her boyfriend, Mike Casement, 36, is a diehard fan who got tickets in February.
“I was born in Toronto and lived all over Canada, but remained a Jays fan,” he said.
For five home openers in a row, Casement made it back to Toronto to watch with his brother, but the tradition dropped off about eight years ago.
Casement promised Cerjance they’d make the trip together some day. “It took six years,” Cerjance said laughing.
She’s originally from Seattle, so it took “a little bit of convincing” to convert her from a being a Mariner’s devotee. “Now that I’m a fan, I’ll be a fan forever,” Cerjance said. “I love the Jays.”
The couple’s team lost 2-1 Monday, but they will get to see the Jays play again this season — they bought tickets for the Jays’ series in Seattle in late July. As Canada’s only MLB team, Casement wants the Jays to show the West Coast a little bit of love next season.
“I’m hoping the Jays do something like they do in Montreal — come to Vancouver for a couple of exhibition games,” he said.
The roof was closed Monday to keep out the rain, but the grey day was brightened by the sea of blue and white Jays gear worn by many at the game.
Among the hordes of Jose Bautista jerseys, there were a few retro looks.
Tyler King paid homage to the Jays’ glory days by donning a Roberto Alomar jersey. Although King was just a toddler when Alomar helped the Jays win the World Series in1992 and 1993, he knows his baseball history. He’s a writer for the Canadian Baseball Network.
“I have both World Series on DVD,” the 25-year-old said. “I can appreciate what Alomar did for the Blue Jays and what he continues to do.”
And being a Jays fan runs in King’s blood.
“My grandmother was the greatest Jays fan I’ve ever known,” King said.
His grandmother died last year, but King has been keeping the enthusiasm alive along with his brother by making it a tradition to come to every home opener.
Joanne Bailey has been a Jays fan since she skipped out on work to attend the home opener in 1977. About 10 years ago, the 60-year-old decided she wasn’t going to miss any more of the most important games.
“I always buy tickets to the first game of the year and last game of the year,” said Bailey.
Securing tickets for this game was challenging. Bailey had to find tickets on StubHub after the game sold out minutes after going on sale in February.
Although there was the common call of “Tickets!” from scalpers outside the Rogers Centre, the high demand for seats led to the more unusual sight of a man with twentydollar bills in his hand chasing a woman and yelling: “I need those tickets!”
Kenneth Lukas was lucky enough to score a pair of VIP tickets at the last minute from his boss.
“I’m a student who just graduated, so this is a nice little treat for me,” he said. Lukas said he grew up cheering for the Jays and brought a friend who’s not a Jays fan to the game, hoping to convert him.
Fans like Lukas showed up early, heeding the franchise’s plea to plan for new security measures mandated by the MLB that include walking through a metal detector. The rain also helped coax people inside, derailing predictions of chaos.
But not everything went perfectly. Awomen’s bathroom on the 500 level oozed a mysterious liquid halfway through the night, but fans seem unfazed.
They were there for the game.