To the sound of car horns and chants, thousands of Blue Jays fans poured into the streets of Toronto on Monday night celebrating the team’s first World Series berth in more than 30 years.
In a nail-biter Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, Toronto defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-3, sending the Blue Jays back to the World Series for the first time since 1993.
“I am on cloud nine right now. I am the happiest girl in the world,” said Sonya Fervaha, of Vaughan, Ont., who was in the jovial Rogers Centre crowd when the Jays recorded their final out. “These boys deserve this because they have grinded all season long.
"And this is the way it's supposed to be."
It was the Blue Jays’ second time playing an ALCS Game 7 in franchise history — and their first time winning one. With the American League pennant under their belt, the Jays will square off against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with Game 1 set for Friday night at Rogers Centre.
Fervaha added she's confident Toronto can win it all.
“I think they're gonna play their game just as they're supposed to play their game, and they're not going to change," said Fervaha. "And that is what's going to make them winners because that is what's gotten them here."
Raja Oosiar of Scarborough, Ont., was thrilled leaving the ballpark Monday night, saying "the boys came up big. They were down, but never out. And all the fans kept going and it was a good team effort all around.
" … I think I was three-years-old the last time they (Jays) went to the Series, my dad carrying me on his shoulders down these halls. So seeing it as a grown-ass man is pretty special … Reminds me of the Raptors."
Oosiar said the Jays should put up a good fight against the Dodgers because "they have a lot of skill and character."
The buzz of the win didn’t die with the final out of the game. Nearly every fan remained in their seat, cheering non-stop as Jays donned their American League champion hats and shirts on the field.
Outside Rogers Centre, fans high-fived one another, chanting “Let’s go Blue Jays!” as they marched down the city streets with big smiles.
Like the team, the fans now Want It All.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cassidy McMackon
