My love affair with the Toronto Blue Jays started right at the very end of that team’s glory years. I can remember a visit with my parents to a family friend, and hiding in the basement with the rest of the kids, huddled up in front of the screen, keg refrigerator next to me. Game 6 between Toronto and Philadelphia was going down to the wire, with closer Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams on the mound for the Phillies. When the free-swinging Carter stepped to the plate with 2 outs, I feared a strike out. Instead, he hit one deep to left, and inspired the iconic call from late Jays announcer Tom Cheek: “Touch ‘em all, Joe! You’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life!” Since then, as a Jays fan, there has been little to cheer about. Since 1993, when I was 11, I haven’t celebrated a postseason appearance. There have been a few individual accolades in that time (Cy Young awards for Pat Hentgen, a roided-up Roger Clemens, and the eminently likeable Roy Halladay) but rather little else. Perhaps the losing makes the team even more lovable. In this time I’ve made but one pilgrimage to SkyDome, being half a continent away. But I should return sometime soon.

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