‘Absolutely electric’: Sask. fans thrilled as Blue Jays advance to World Series

Blue Jay fans in Regina were feeling absolutely ecstatic as they watched the team clinch Game 7 against the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.

At the Boston Pizza on Rochdale Boulevard, many fans were on the edge of their seats and watching nervously as Toronto climbed out of a 3-1 deficit thanks to a three-run home run from George Springer.

Read more:

• Toronto Blue Jays fans say ALCS Game 7 is like a Canadian heritage moment
• Toronto Blue Jays head to the World Series following historic Game 7 win
• Comparing Shohei Ohtani’s Game 4 to the greatest feats in sports history

“Springer clutched up in that clutch situation. I’m absolutely electric right now,” said Cooper Ostund.

Ostund said until Springer’s home run, he was worried about the direction the game was going. And he wasn’t the only one.

Fans watching the Blue Jays in Regina were overjoyed to see their team advance on Monday. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

“It was an amazing game – nail biter,” said Bryce Johnson.

“At least the Jays pulled it off tonight. Hopefully we’re winning it all this year.”

Johnson’s friend Phoenix Bird agreed.

“It was a close game,” Bird said. “Jays were down, but you know what? They came back and they fought hard.”

Johnson said he looks forward to cheering the Blue Jays on in the World Series, where the team will meet the L.A. Dodgers. Johnson said he plans to try and find some tickets to see the action live.

“(This win) was well-deserved. We’re going to go crank some beers in Toronto. We’re going to buy some tickets,” Johnson said.

Ken Topp said he’s been a Blue Jays fan for as long as he can remember. With the Jays heading to the World Series for the first time since 1993, he said the win on Monday night was very cathartic for him.

“Put ‘em in the World Series, now they’ve got a hill to climb,” Topp said.

“Dodgers are wicked. Let’s go Jays, though… Anything can happen, it’s baseball.”

Marley Spence said she’s fan of the Los Angeles Angels, but she was still happy to see a Canadian team make it to the World Series.

“Everybody’s here, everybody’s cheering the same. There’s a great energy. People are happy,” Spence said.

Although he’s an Atlanta Braves fan, Blake Connolly was also enjoying the atmosphere on Monday. Connolly, an American from Georgia, was visiting Saskatchewan for a duck-hunting trip along with a friend.

Blake Connolly (right) was visiting Regina from Georgia, U.S.A. The two were in Saskatchewan on a duck-hunting trip, and stopped in to watch the end of the series. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

“We came here to Boston Pizza, trying it out for the first time. We walked in, and of course the seven-game series is on, and it happened to be Toronto winning it,” Connolly said.

Connolly said people in Saskatchewan have been very nice during his stay, and he was glad to witness the historic win.

“It’s pretty cool to be here. We can say we were here when this happened and it hasn’t, apparently, happened since ‘93. It’s a pretty cool memory,” he said.

Connolly said he’s inclined to pick Toronto to win it all.

“Freddie Freeman was a Brave. My boy Freddy seems to pull it off in the series, but I do wish the best for Toronto,” he said.

“I see how much it means for the people here – that is kind of where I’m leaning.”

Rock 102 host Ryan Sullivan was at Monday night’s game, which he described as an “unbelievable” experience, despite the fact he’s a Seattle fan.

“Everyone was so elated last night. Everyone’s so excited here, and it’s hard not to get caught up in that,” Sullivan said. “Even if you’re a Jays fan, you can admit Seattle had a special team this year.”

Sullivan said the crowd in Toronto exploded when Springer hit the home run that changed the trajectory of the game.

“That was pretty incredible,” he said.

“Everything can change in the swing of a bat, and as soon as he connected you could just feel it in the stadium. Everyone was just waiting – waiting to jump and scream, and the place was just absolutely going wild.”

‘Absolutely deafening’: Sask. fan recalls Jays win to clinch World Series berth

A Saskatchewan Jays fan is rejoicing after witnessing the Jays triumph over the Seattle Mariners in Toronto to advance to the World Series.

Jesse Pentz is from Regina and was one of the 45,000 fans who packed the park on Monday night for Game 7 in the series.

He said on the Evan Bray Show that the vibe before the game started was subdued.

Listen here for the full interview with Jesse Pentz:

“I got out of Union Station, and all you could see was blue, but it wasn’t loud like I expected it to be, like, Let’s Go Blue Jays’ chants and all that. It was just, you could see blue, but it was kind of eerie, almost.”

However, he said, going into the stadium, it was almost like it was a regular game.

“People knew what was at stake, and it was like, ‘Hey, we’re excited and I was excited, but like, what if they lose?’ People were scared of that feeling, I think.”

Pentz said it was a rollercoaster of emotions for Game 7, similar to the feeling fans have felt in the playoffs.

“At the start, it was so loud in there. I’ve never experienced anything like that. How loud it was right before the game, when they got that first run, to tie it in the first inning, it was absolutely electric, and then it just kind of slowly came down a little bit, and in that sixth inning, you could feel it,” he said.

“It was like, okay, if they don’t get a run here, it’s over. That was kind of the feeling of people talking around me. That was kind of the general consensus; if we don’t go now, we’re done.”

However, Pentz said it was a surreal feeling when George Springer hit the winning home run.

“I had my phone out, I was that guy,  just because I knew that this could be the moment, and George Springer, it had to be that moment, right?” he said.

“I’m trying to relive it right now, and it was absolutely the most insane thing I’ve ever been a part of. The sound in that stadium when it went off was deafening, absolutely deafening. For five minutes, you couldn’t hear the person next to you.”

He said fans in the stands all had the same reactions.

“It was the craziest thing ever. Everyone in that stadium had tears, like I had tears rolling down my face. It was like, oh my god. It was incredible. It was so incredible.”

Walking out of the game, Pentz said the Jays’ pride continued.

“It was just, ‘Let’s Go Blue Jays,’ almost as loud as when Springer hit that home run. And then you get out of the stadium, and that’s when it was just shoulder-to-shoulder walking out of that stadium. I’ve never seen so many people out on a street in my life.”