Rogers Centre Travel Log

The very first article I ever posted for this website was about a trip to Lambeau Field. While I don’t aim for this to be a travel blog. The article did do well so I thought I might give it a try again. Begging the question— where should I go?

Lambeau was stepped in history and good ole American midwest culture. Where I could I find the exact the opposite? I decided to say a prayer and put hope in my enhanced drivers license (no passport) and head across the border. To a matchup with postseason implications. Pitting the wild card chasing Toronto Blue Jays and the first place Baltimore Orioles.

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. Despite what the title says. I’m going to refer to our little ballpark for the duration of the article by what I feel is the proper name— Sky Dome. Partly out of stubbornness. It’s what is was called when I was a kid. Also because it is an apt description of the immense facility.

The second disclaimer. I’ll spoil things a little here. I’m going to seem a little harsh at times on our Canadian friends. On my way to the stadium I stopped at a little place called the Hockey Hall of Fame. My son took a picture with the Stanley Cup. Trust me I get it. Baseball is not the national pastime in Canada. That being I said. I was surprised by the uniqueness of watching a baseball game in Toronto.

Instead of categories we’ll just go with… The Good, the Bad, and the “smugly”. It will make sense by the end.

The Good

The Sky Dome of my youth was billed as one of the eight wonders of the world. It preceded the Camden Yards retro stadium trend. It was supposed to be part Stadium, part Disney. It had everything. Themed restaurants. An actual hotel in the outfield. A roof that opened and closed. Trust me this was revolutionary in the early 90’s. I really wanted to see it as a kid. I was curious as an adult to see how it had aged.

For the most part really well. The first thing you grasp is the sheer size. It is a gigantic facility. Everything about it is big. The scoreboard stretched almost across the entire middle part of the outfield. I have never been to a baseball game in a dome. Maybe that skewed things a bit. I found myself just gazing at the enormity of the place on multiple occasions.

The roof was closed (that will be important later) That made things very loud. Which in certain ways was kind of nice. There were multiple home runs in the game. In most of my outdoor experiences. A home run builds in excitement. Rising and waiting to see if the batter got enough of it. With the two Blue Jay home runs. You knew the second you heard the loud crack of the bat. They weren’t overly deep. That was just how good the acoustics were.

I had a really good seat (thank you currency exchange rates) However I can’t imagine there was a bad seat. There were good site lines all around the stadium. The place was packed for a Tuesday night game. It was dollar hot dog night. So no qualms about concessions. It was also one of the cleanest ballparks I’ve ever been in.

So what is there to complain about? Let me look around for my “ugly American tourist” hat before starting the next section.

The Bad

I’ll cut right to it. The atmosphere was definitely. How should I say it—peculiar. As we entered the stadium we were serenaded by a blasting rendition of “Lovesick” by The Cardigans. Anyone my age remembers it. A perfectly fine catchy pop tune that was released in— checks the Wiki…1996. Carl Lewis won a Gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Mr Lewis is now 62 years old and best known for a viral national anthem fail. Even my son who at 13 will listen to just about anything. Asked “what is this” with a quizzical look. I brushed it off and told him it was just a Canadian band from my youth (they are Swedish) Honestly I was kind of digging the 90’s vibe at a 90’s stadium. However I doubt The Cardigans are on many pre game playlists back home.

Let’s be clear. No one goes to a baseball for the musical playlist. However this is definitely falls in the category of cultural things you just take for granted. I’m from the “jock jam” generation. There are just some things you expect to hear at a sporting event. Now that baseball has sped up the pace of play. The next universal decree should involve the playing of John Fogerty’s Centerfield. It just needs to be done.

I could do a full critique the pre game musical selection. But how should I put this delicately. I’m really old! They had a DJ. No problem there. So do most stadiums. But this was like a REAL DJ. I think she was sampling and dropping beats (told you I was old) on the spot. I’m not a Canadian music aficionado. However I cover AAU basketball. I thought I would hear a little Drake. If they played it. I didn’t recognize it. Maybe a little BNL. The Old Apartment really bangs. Neil Young was Canadian? Nope this was basically the rave scene from Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning at a baseball game.

Enough about music. Let’s get to the game. As I stated in the intro. This was a really meaningful game. It was taking place on the actual trade deadline day. Additionally the Blue Jay’s Hyun Jin Ryu was making his season debut after a missing more than a year due to the second Tommy John surgery of his career.

I won’t go into my medical history. It’s been covered in this space before. A lot of broken bones and surgeries. The worst were by far the two elbow surgeries. It was some serious next level pain and rehab just get to a poorly working arm. I can’t imagine what Ryu went through to try and throw a baseball at a high speed. I told my son to get ready for a big ovation.

While there was definitely a slight rise. I wouldn’t call it a rousing welcome back. Fans seemed more concerned with whether or not they could break the “Loonie Dog” purchased record (I guess that is what they call a hot dog at Sky Dome) If I asked a fan what he thought of the deadline pickup of Paul DeJong. I don’t think I would have gotten much of a response.

To compound Ryu’s tepid welcome. He got rocked pretty hard to start the game. Understandable as he hadn’t pitched in over a year. At this point Blue Jay fans became quite involved. Instead of cheering to help their guy work through it. I heard frequent cries to “get him out”. Once again the baseball disconnect was evident. It was the first inning. He hadn’t even thrown fifteen pitches. The concept of the bullpen did not seem to register in the section I was sitting.

The Smugly

Before anyone thinks I am being over the top at this point. The smugness I am going to refer to is with myself. While I was sitting high and mighty. Looking down upon the quirks of Canadian baseball. A funny thing happened. It was as if the Sky Dome was listening to my judgements and said “how do you like them apples”

I’ll keep it simple. Around the fourth inning—the roof opened….

I’ve been fortunate to attend many iconic baseball stadiums. The histories of old Yankee and Tiger Stadiums can’t be beat. Wrigley Field is a party where a baseball game happens to break out. Having a roof open above me in the middle of game. With one tallest buildings in North America towering through the opening was quite an experience. It was as if Sky Dome said “can your rickety old stadiums do this?”

No Mr. Sky Dome they cannot. I put away my haughtiness for the duration of the game and enjoyed the stadium and for what it was. Without comparing it to something else. A large but not raucous Canadian crowd. Enjoying an American game. I would imagine it’s not much different than watching the Tampa Bay Lightning play hockey.

Conclusion

Outside of Ryu’s return the game wasn’t very memorable. The Orioles pulled away late with a Grand Slam. However once again. This seemed like more of a nuisance on a beautiful summer night.

Leaving the next morning. A friendly worker at the train station asked what we saw on our trip. When we told her about the game. She paused and with a thick Canadian accent said “it’s definitely different than what you’re used to in America.”

That’s the best way to put it. Different doesn’t necessarily mean bad. If you are baseball fan. Go ahead and put it on your bucket list. It has things other stadiums simply can’t match. It’s definitely not Wrigley or Fenway. However not many places are. No shame there. Just don’t have my pious American attitude. The stadium gods have funny way of shooting that down. I’m glad they did.