TORONTO, ONT., CANADA- -
I titled this entry as such because it took one very-delayed flight, plus one CTA train plus a shuttle bus, plus
another CTA train
plus a taxi to get home. After arriving at 1 am on a Sunday, I felt like I had indeed survived another Cubs road weekend. But, as for Toronto...
It wouldn't be Toronto without the iconic CN Tower (which I kept wanting to call the CNN Tower, don't know why). Chicago and Toronto are very similiar cities and that's a reason why I would highly recommend it to Americans who want to go outside the US, but might be nervous about 'traveling.' Same language (add an occasional French spelling or pronunciation), drive on the right side of the street, similar food (plum sauce for dipping chicken fingers instead of bar-b-que), but it's all good.
Formely called the Sky Dome, the Rogers Centre was the first retractable dome in professional baseball. It was state-of-the-art at its time, but I have to say that now it's kinda stuck between the old world of baseball (lines drawn the old-fashioned way) and the new wave of old-fashioned-looking-but-really-modern baseball meccas (PNC Park, Petco, Camden Yards, etc). Still, a nice place, made nicer when the dome is open.
What did I tell you about Toronto and Chicago being similar? Even the (formerly Blue) Jays have an old-school band outside their ballpark just like we have at Wrigley. These boys really 'got DOWN!'
Cubs starting pitcher Ryan Dempster is from Gibson, British Columbia (on the west coast of Canada), but you'd think he grew up on the front steps of the Rogers Centre the way Toronto threw open its doors for him. Every time I turned around, he was being interviewed, even going so far as to do his Harry Caray impersonation for the local sports station. I asked him if he was planning to keep the beard (PLEASE DON'T!!) and he said 'only for the road trip. I need an edge.' Did I mention that ballplayers are a bit superstitious?
Kosuke Fukodome is normally very reserved, so I had to capture what was practically a tantrum when he struck out during Saturday's game.
Sorry about the old guy's hair in the picture.
Couldn't walk through downtown Toronto and not get a shot of the Canadian flag. It's fitting that there's a crane right next to it as practically all of Toronto is under construction. They are building TONS of condominium highrises all over town. Strangely enough for such a green city, Toronto doesn't seem to be planning any parks or other green spaces between the buildings.
Bad reporter that I am, I did not find out the name of the artist who produced this little gem outside the Rogers Centre. Here I was thinking it was just a ballpark, but apparently there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.
Sunday started out with a perfectly blue, sunny sky but by the third inning, clouds had started to roll in and quickly enough that the powers-that-be decided to close the dome in case of inclement weather. We're talking daytime turns to night. The resulting shadows caused the umpires to delay the game as the Jays pitcher was in bright sunlight while our batter was in shade (not a fair situation for the batter). Gotta say, the dome could've closed without anyone noticing because it didn't make a sound!
In grade school and also, I believe, in high school, both baseball teams line up to congratulate each other on a good game. Only the winning team does it now. I think we're missing out on a great opportunity to promote sportsmanlike conduct.
Oh, did I mention that my boys (oops, sorry, the Cubs) do this flying body bump thing with the three outfielders after a victory? It was pretty funny when they had to pull over Fukodome (who had just arrived from Japan) and teach him this earlier in the season. I guess the players don't celebrate like this where he's from.
The Jays have a mascot called Ace and a group of dancing, tumbling youngsters that are called the Junior Jays. They dance on top of the dugout before the game. Hey, it's better than cheerleaders!
Don't say it!!! Ryan Theriot isn't too thrilled with the umpire's call. It happens.
In the spirit of the environmentally friendly city of Toronto, a Cubs fan does his best to recycle. What was formerly a Sammy Sosa jersey is now (at least by name if not number) an ode to our rookie catcher, Geovany Soto.
