WARMINGTON: Despite results, Toronto sports fans revelled in marvellous May hat trick
Maple Leafs, Blue Jays, Toronto FC all hosted home games with sports fans buzzing in downtown core
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Just call this one a city of Toronto hat trick.
Maybe not in terms of the scoreboard. But in terms of sports games, it was a tip of the hat to a great sports town.
It doesn’t happen often, but Toronto was hosting three amazing sports games on this Wednesday night.
Very exciting. At least for a while.
The Maple Leafs were battling with the pesky defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena. Just a little west down Bremner Blvd., the Blue Jays were being visited by the AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays. While at BMO Field, Toronto FC was entertaining FC Cincinnati in MLS action.
A sports fan’s dream! Or nightmare. It depends on who you were cheering for as in the end, the Leafs were trounced 6-1. Toronto FC lost 1-0, but the Blue Jays won 3-1.
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Needless to say, this was a busy night in the downtown core. Toronto traffic is unfriendly on most nights, but this was wild. Cars, trains, buses and people on foot. Everywhere you looked, there was a jersey of one of the teams.
But the one place where it was fun was on the GO Train system, which was jammed with fans from all over.
It was a perfect Toronto sports night. The only thing that could have made it even more perfect was if the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres had been playing at home for Game 4 of their playoff series with the Minnesota Frost instead of on the road — where their season ended in overtime. But there were posters of them in Union Station just to remind everybody.
Needless to say, the fans were pumped.
Paolo and son Massimo Libia were heading to the TFC game, while Nikki Grosvold and Brian Grosvold were heading to Rogers Centre for some baseball action. Robin Brem, wearing her Max Domi No. 11 sweater, was taking a night off from Timothy’s Pub on Brown’s Line to go see a game in person.
The electricity on the train was noticeable.
It got even louder on the march from Union Station to Maple Leaf Square, where fans were jammed in for the crucial Game 5 of the Leafs-Panthers series.
The guest on this night was none other than Hall of Famer Darryl Sittler, who pumped the fans up with a pep talk that he would have given the team before throwing T-shirts into the crowd.
The scene outside was clearly more exciting than what happened inside The Vault as the Panthers took a 4-0 lead into the third period. But no matter what, nothing was going to take away from the night as the fans never gave up cheering — even when there was not much to cheer for.
Well, at least until it the Panthers went up 6-0. Then there was a different kind of traffic jam — people leaving early.
While there were some boos, some among Leafs Nation were still chanting, “Go Leafs, go,” even when they couldn’t remember the last time the team scored a goal. Finally, Nick Robertson break the goose egg and scored a beauty late, giving the panicky fans something to cheer about while offering some hope for Game 6.
The Leafs will have another chance to bring it back home when they try to avenge this humiliation Friday in Florida for Game 6. As Toronto knows all too well, winning that elusive Stanley Cup is no easy quest. No Leafs team has done it since 1967.
But capturing that elusive Stanley Cup is no easy quest. No Leafs team has done it since 1967.
That said, Carmen Giardino, Mike Serio, John Balazic and Angelo Grassa reminded us that the Leafs won it four times in the 1960s — ’62, ’63, ’64 and ’67 — and they were wearing their sweaters with each of those numbers on the back. They said they are going to keep wearing them until the Leafs win the Cup again.
“We sure hope it’s this year,” said Giardino.
They would love to add a fifth friend and put No. 25 on the back of their sweater. They were all alive for all four of those cups, but want their kids and grandkids to experience a parade.
“The fans deserve it,” said Grassa. “They are the greatest fans in the world.”
They really are. And patient.
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When you think about it, the fans on that train going to the TFC game have witnessed a championship. Most Blue Jays fans remember their two World Series championships.
Certainly, there’s a long way to go in 2025, but there’s nothing wrong with fans having a dream.
Whatever happens and no matter the result, that was one special sports night.
May 14 — the night of the Toronto Triple.
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