TORONTO – Late Friday night, a few dozen Toronto Blue Jays fans huddled outside Rogers Centre, listening to SportsNet commentator Buck Martinez on the speakers. As they peered through the glass doors, they waited for a slice of history.
It was the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 6, with two runners on base. A home run would win the World Series for the Blue Jays, just like in 1993.
“Here’s our Joe Carter moment,” one fan said to the group. “Here’s our Joe Carter moment right here.”
The Joe Carter moment never came. Instead, Blue Jays fans spent two days on the doorstep of a World Series title they didn’t get to walk through.
On Friday, a big defensive play by Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Kiké Hernández and an agonizing baserunning mistake by Toronto’s Addison Barger ended the game, setting up a winner-takes-all Game 7 on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours later, fans packed bars and restaurants throughout the city. Rogers Centre was sold out; watch parties at Scotiabank Arena and Nathan Phillips Square were at capacity too. Fans without seats watched from home, or from outside the stadium in downtown Toronto. Across the country, Canadians tuned in. At the Edmonton Oilers game at Rogers Place, the World Series game was broadcast live on the scoreboard.
One family drove from London, Ont., a city over 100 miles south of Toronto, to spend the day around the stadium and “hopefully” take part in a late night celebration. Reina Persaud was at Game 3 of the 1992 World Series with her own mother, who died more than a decade ago, and wanted to experience another with her family.
“We’re here for her,” Persaud said from the family’s spot outside one of the Rogers Centre gates with a view of a television screen, close enough to the speakers that they could hear the game broadcast. The family — Persaud, her husband, Michael, and their two daughters — brought snacks and talked about their favorite players, George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Gold Glover Daulton Varsho. Persaud’s eldest daughter, Cadence, said she loves how international the team is.
“We are a diverse country, and we have a diverse team,” she said.
The Blue Jays, the lone MLB franchise in Canada, have been billed as “Canada’s team.” Amid political tension between Canada and the United States — the result of an ongoing trade war and U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for Canada to become the “51st state” — the stakes seemed higher for some fans.
“We need this win,” Cadence said.
Hundreds more fans flocked to the area around the ballpark when it seemed like — with a 4-2 lead in the sixth and seventh innings — the Blue Jays might actually win. Huge crowds gathered around each gate; the biggest formed where Rogers Centre and the base of the CN Tower converge. There, fans cheered, sang ‘O Canada’ and chanted for Guerrero Jr.
There were grumbles when the Dodgers tied the game in the top of the ninth, but the crowds stayed lively and in some spots got rowdy. One bold Blue Jays fan ripped a flag away from a Dodgers fan to a chorus of cheers. Barricades were toppled over, beers were shotgunned, and some people even stormed the gates into the ballpark after a handful of fans left before the series was decided.
The city was ready to explode. But then catcher Will Smith hit a solo home run to give the Dodgers their first lead of the night.
“We have to get back to Hamilton,” said one group as the crowd started to thin out.
The fans who stuck around erupted after a Guerrero Jr. double in the bottom of the 11th. But then, with a double play by the Dodgers to end the inning — and Toronto’s season with a 5-4 Game 7 loss — the night ended in heartbreak.
A fan reacts after Toronto’s loss to the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series. (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
The area around the ballpark cleared quickly, with little fanfare. Many people inside Rogers Centre left their seats promptly, uninterested in watching the Dodgers celebrate on Toronto’s home field after winning a second consecutive title. Blue Jays players were devastated, and the fans with them.
“I’ve been crying for an hour,” said third baseman Ernie Clement after the game. “I thought I was done with the tears. I just love these guys so much. It was so fun coming to work every day.”
One fan had tears in his eyes watching the confetti fly on the field during the trophy celebration. Many fans — kids, adults, seniors — hugged outside the building.
“It’s disappointing obviously,” said Rich Gallant, who traveled from Ottawa to attend the game. “It looked like they’re going to win. And it felt like they deserved to win after outdueling the Dodgers the entire series.”
That’s the thing about the 2025 Blue Jays: They resonated with people across the country and made even long-suffering Toronto sports fans believe that maybe this time could be different.
“They just seemed to have this camaraderie and team spirit,” said Gallant.
And even though the result wasn’t actually different this time, some fans seemed to accept the loss, focusing more on the thrilling ride – from finishing last in the AL East, to going the distance in the World Series against a superteam.
“There’s no way we should have made it this far,” said 25-year-old fan Chris Tabak. “We had great team chemistry, but the Dodgers spent the money to win. What are you going to do?
“They made it as far as they could have. They gave them as much of a fight as they could have.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney shared in the collective heartbreak, saying in a post on X that the team had made all of Canada proud: “An inspiration to us all pointing to an ever brighter future for all of us in the years ahead,” he wrote.
Absolutely 💔 result.
Congratulations to the @BlueJays for a tremendous season and for battling right to the end. You’ve made all of 🇨🇦 proud with how hard you fought, the risks you took, and the teamwork you lived throughout. An inspiration to us all pointing to an ever…
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) November 2, 2025
The future should be bright in Toronto with Guerrero Jr. locked up for the next 14 years and the continued promise of Trey Yesavage. Bo Bichette’s future is a question, though he reiterated his desire to stay (again) on Saturday night after the loss.
“They have a team right now on which they can build moving forward,” said Gallant. “So why couldn’t they get back next year?”