Ottawa
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n \u2018#WANTITALL\u2019 is an unlikely hashtag for a country that stakes its brand on being humble and nice. But for this World Series, Canadians are embracing it and belting it out far and wide as the slogan for their beloved Blue Jays<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n The 2025 World Series<\/a> between Canada\u2019s only MLB team, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the storied Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> has seized the entire country and jolted it with a sense of joy rarely felt in Canada \u2013 except, of course, for the heights of international hockey drama.\n <\/p>\n \n From the streets of Whitehorse, Yukon, in Canada\u2019s north to St. John\u2019s, Newfoundland, more than 5,000 miles to the east, Canadians have galvanized around an unlikely band of heroes, many of them American \u2013 a bit of a cross-border love story at a time of unprecedented tensions between the US and its northern neighbor.\n <\/p>\n \n In the words of the Blue Jays\u2019 American manager John Schneider: \u201cIt\u2019s cool to play for a country.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n And no matter the outcome<\/a> now, many Canadians say the Blue Jays and their fans have already won something.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI just think it\u2019s their will to win and to represent Canada,\u201d said Jays fan Shirley Pitre, 93, from Ottawa, who adds that watching the team in the playoffs has been a welcome distraction from the country\u2019s problems.\n <\/p>\n \n She and her husband, Marcel, also 93, haven\u2019t missed a minute of the action they told CNN Sports<\/a>, even staying up until 3 a.m. ET for an epic Game 3<\/a> that went 18 innings.\n <\/p>\n \n The series now heads back to Toronto with the Blue Jays leading three games to two, just one victory away from winning the Commissioner\u2019s Trophy at home<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n For many Canadians, it has been a reminder of what\u2019s possible even with a team that finished last in its division just last season.\n <\/p>\n \n The Blue Jays\u2019 improbable journey has moved in tandem with the fortunes of Toronto\u2019s rookie American pitcher, Trey Yesavage.\n <\/p>\n \n Everyone from his manager to his parents have reminded the world that the 22-year-old was playing at the lowest level of the minors to start the season and that he only made Toronto\u2019s roster in September. And yet, he has dazzled fans with his pitches and poise ever since.\n <\/p>\n \n The fans\u2019 embrace of Yesavage has been next-level, proving this is not a cross-border grudge match but a true \u201cworld\u201d series, with Americans, including Yesavage, leading the way in connecting with Canadian fans.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe knew he was in good hands with all of our Canadian family,\u201d said Yesavage\u2019s father, Dave, as he gestured his appreciation to the Jays\u2019 fans surrounding him during a mid-game interview on the Canadian broadcast of Game 1.\n <\/p>\n \n The Blue Jays went on to stun the Dodgers that night, taking the first game 11-4 and quieting early speculation that they would be swept in four games by the defending champs.\n <\/p>\n \n To add to the already iconic status of the 2025 Blue Jays\u2019 run, the team has been led by the only Canadian on the team, who also just happens to be its star franchise player, Vladimir Guerrero Jr<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n Guerrero Jr. was born in Montreal when his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., played for the then-named Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals).\n <\/p>\n