While I am not generally a big baseball fan, I can get into it sometimes. This is especially true once it is time for the playoffs. I remember getting excited when the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992, and followed it up again the next year with another championship. A little over one decade later, I really got into the playoffs again in a big way, when the Boston Red Sox finally managed to break the "Curse of the Bambino" and overcame an 0-3 series deficit to beat their longtime tormentors, the New York Yankees.
Generally, I loosely follow the baseball season, checking the standings at various times during the season, mostly to see how my current two favorite teams, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox, are doing. And on rare occasions, I have gone to some baseball games. The most recent one was back in 2013, when I took my son to see the Kansas City Royals take on the Blue Jays in Toronto. Back in 2002, on a very memorable night that was twinged with a little sadness, my then wife and I saw the Expos play the Phillies up in Montréal. I assumed that this would be the last year or two that MLB would be in that city.
Apparently, I was wrong.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to go ahead with a plan to play half their games in Montréal. Since I like Canadian teams, and especially French Canadian teams, this was exciting news to me. Just like that, a team that I had previously not really cared about, one way or the other, becomes a team that I will follow much more closely.
Also, I have to wonder why this is not done more often, in more sports. Maybe the Bills can play half of their games in Toronto, so that city can more fully and freely embrace that team? How about the Lions maybe playing some games somewhere north of the border? It certainly could not hurt, since it feels like that franchise has been cursed. Or maybe one of the Texas teams, or perhaps the Arizona Cardinals, or even one of the Los Angeles franchises, playing some games south of the border, in Mexico? I mention the NFL specifically, of course, because that is the only major North American sports league that has somehow avoided having any teams in any other countries, which at this point outright feels foolish.
It does not even have to be international. Why not have certain teams like, say, the Broncos, play some games in neighboring states on occasion? It might build up and/or solidify their fan base in those places. The Seahawks and/or Mariners could play some games in either Vancouver or Portland. The Chargers could play a game or two in San Diego, so their fans do not feel like they have been completely severed. Maybe the Nets could play some games in New Jersey, like they used to just years ago? The Grizzlies could play some games in Nashville, and the Titans can play some games in Memphis, which would mix it up while keeping the franchise entirely in Tennessee. Perhaps the Portland Trailblazers can play some games in Seattle and/or Vancouver? Perhaps the Canadiens could play some games - not just one single preseason game - up in Québec City, which as most people remember, lost their NHL franchise years ago? Perhaps the Ottawa Senators can play some games across the river somewhere in western Québec province? There really would be no limit to the possibilities.
There are some issues that would need to be ironed out, and that makes this sister city act uncertain. Some concerns over the expenses clearly would need to be worked out in detail, and there are concerns that a team that spends only half the season in a city would not be able to meet the financial obligations there. Those are some issues that seem like they could be major obstacles. However, I think it is a fantastic idea, more or less like the United States and Canada and Mexico working together to get the 2026 World Cup, or Poland and Ukraine getting the Euro tournament some years ago, or Japan and South Korea getting the 2002 World Cup. Upstate New York (specifically Lake Placid) tried working with Québec City some years ago in a failed bit to get the Winter Olympics. It would seem to me in that same spirit, and could have more universal appeal. I am an example of this. Not that I am the biggest baseball fan, but if the Tampa Bay Rays suddenly play half their games in Montréal, that would get me to suddenly pay attention, and again, either tune in to some games and/or attend some of their games, once travel becomes more normalized. Surely, I would not be the only one. And if filling up seats is an issue in Tampa Bay, like it used to be in Montréal when the Expos played there, would it not be easier to attract more fans to fill more seats if there were literally half the games in both cities?
Not sure if this would start a new trend, at least with some teams. I know that the Bills did actually play some games in Toronto, for all of three or so seasons. In fact, I actually attended one of them, a preseason game against the Colts back in 2010, I believe. All I know is that personally, I applaud the Tampa Bay Rays, who suddenly would become a team that I do indeed follow and support. Maybe even someday, I might try to catch another game up there at the beautiful Stade Olympique, which is one of my favorite stadiums, and which has one of the most unique appearances of any stadium that I know of in the world.
Tampa Bay Rays announce sign of Montreal future coming in the MLB playoffs Daniel J. Rowe Daniel J. Rowe CTVNewsMontreal.ca Digital Reporter @DanielJRowe42 Contact Published Sunday, September 26, 2021 6:44PM EDT Last Updated Monday, September 27, 2021:
https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/tampa-bay-rays-announce-sign-of-montreal-future-coming-in-the-mlb-playoffs-1.5601320
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