Getting to be owner of the team for a weekend is a \u201cfull circle\u201d moment for Gary Takhar \u2013 a Brampton baseball fan also known as \u201cThe Blue Jays Baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born on the morning that the Toronto Blue Jays won their first of two back-to-back World Series Championships on Oct. 24, 1992, Takhar has been a lifelong fan. He was born at 3 a.m. at Etobicoke General, where his mom also worked as a nurse.<\/p>\n
He says the nurses and hospital staff were wearing Blue Jays jerseys, and that his big family \u2013 originally from the U.K. \u2013 embraced baseball and the Blue Jays after his birth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other nurses actually pushed for my mother to name me Jay,\u201d Takhar told INsauga.com with a chuckle.<\/p>\n
And even though his parents decided to go with the non-baseball-related name of Gary, Takhar\u2019s love for the Blue Jays has only grown over the decades.<\/p>\n
Takhar was affectionately nicknamed the \u201cBlue Jays Baby,\u201d and he\u2019s been to dozens of games in person and watched countless more on TV. And baseball-related births seem to run in the family, as Takhar and his wife welcomed their first child last year just a few days before the Blue Jays\u2019 World Series run.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made it home 20 minutes before the game started and we watched that first game together,\u201d he told INsauga.com, calling their baseball-connected births a \u201cfull circle moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
She even became the family\u2019s World Series good luck charm, as the team would score a run every time his daughter woke up during the games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe even had friends calling asking, \u2018Is she awake? We need a run,\u201d he said, adding that his wife has become a \u201csecond-hand baseball fan\u201d over the years.<\/p>\n
The family\u2019s passion for the team helped land him the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be the team\u2019s latest Game Day Owner.<\/p>\n
Takhar entered the Rogers Game Day Owner contest after seeing a spot during a Toronto game and has been awarded an \u201call-access ownership experience\u201d at the Rogers Centre, including behind-the-scenes access to the clubhouse, field, and dugout.<\/p>\n
He even gets to pitch \u201csome ideas for the franchise\u201d to the executives, and says he has been \u201cbrainstorming\u201d with fellow fans about his recommendations for the Blue Jays organization.<\/p>\n
His Game Day Owner experience is on Saturday when the Jays take on the New York Yankees, and he\u2019s already had some VIP access to the field, clubhouse and dugout.<\/p>\n
The Rogers Game Day Owner contest is accepting applications for six exclusive experiences this season, and runs until September 12. For more information, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n All photos were provided by Rogers.<\/p>\n