I need a break. Even if it’s for just one post, I need a break!!! No talk of lockout, NHL, PA, or hockey in general as this sports fan is getting tired of walking under the dark cloud known as the “(Soon to be canned) 2012-13 Non-Hockey Season”. And oddly enough, as I look for some solace from the indifference surrounding the past three months, I find a bright spot in a most unlikely spot: The Jays.
Yeah, for the first time in almost 20 years I’m overly stoked at the prospects for the Blue Jays in the coming season, with my cautious optimism much lower than in previous years. The team put together a roster capable of hanging in the AL East, while the Yankees get older, the Red Sox remain shaky and an additional Wild Card spot is available for the taking. I’m going to spend my energy today allowing myself to be excited about Toronto sports for the first time in a while, and allow the latest edition of “The Display Case” to deviate in a like manner with this story from Alphonse, a reader who was in SkyDome that fateful night in 1993 when Joe Carter launched one over the wall to capture a second consecutive World Series for the Jays...
My little piece meets some of the disclaimers that you mentioned as it is probably not worth anything. It is small, but it is from an extremely relatable sporting event. This little ticket stub is truly a blessed piece of paper that is meant to stick with me for hopefully my whole life or until someone offers me $20 bucks for it...
I was born & raised in London, ON about an hour & a half away from Toronto. I was the youngest of 18 kids. One of my older brothers has and still does this uncanny knack to get tickets to the craziest sporting events there are. His list includes Canada's Gold in Vancouver, the famous ' Gretzky to Lemieux Canada Cup' goal game, most of the Leaf's run in '93, where he had his smug melon pressed against the glass above the Tim Horton's ad...Despite having any sort of status, these big time games just seem to find him. I was rarely a benefactor of his luck, skill or however he got these tickets. I forget the exact details that led to me being chosen for this baseball game, but regardless, me, one of my buddies, & my brother & one of his buddies headed down the 401. We parked at one of the malls at the highway & took the subway to the game. We got there in plenty of time & has a few wobbly pops at Gretzky's before the game. Embarrassing to say, I really did a hard push for scalping the tickets & staying to watch the game on TV. It was close, but I was overruled by my bro. Needless to stay, quite ecstatic that we went to the game. Unbelievable game, crazy atmosphere, crazy party after the game. During the game, my brother watched me drop the ticket stub as I didn't even think about any significant reason for keeping it. A quick cuff to the back of my head questions whether I was a simpleton. It was the second instance of the ticket stub & me meant to stay together.
Fast forward to the craziest party scene street party controlled chaos, hanging with a million fun loving drunk happy Canadians. We stopped in many bars, but after we left one, my buddy realized he left his credit card at the bar we'd just left. We had only moved half a block, but it took us half an hour to get back to the bar. As we got back to the bar that was packed, sitting on the bar where I had been sitting, but where someone else is sitting now was my ticket stub. Stills blows me away that no one picked it up & me not even realizing it was missing. So the crazy night continued & it took us 8 hours to get back to our vehicle...but what a fun 8 hours it was. There were probably another dozen instances over the next five years where I would move or misplace the stub, but it would always show up. This included a break in when I was convinced that it was stolen with some other cheesy sports memorabilia I had. Lo & behold, a year later, during a move there was the crazy Joe Carter ticket stub.
What a great piece of memorabilia to have and an amazing event to have witnessed live! Let’s just revisit it and remember what it’s like to be an excited sports fan for a brief moment...
That was a great night, eh? Still get chills...
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Do you have a piece of treasured memorabilia that has a great story behind it? Let me know and you can be featured in an article. Doesn't matter how big or small the piece is, how valuable it may be, or whether it's a common item or more oddball. If you think it has a story, contact me via the information below and we'll chat. In the meantime, check out some previous "Display Case" articles via the links below to see what others have submitted in the past...
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Shawn Gates [email protected] Follow @ShawnHockeybuzz
Facebook: Shawn Gates
Facebook Group: Hockeybuzz Collectibles
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