As I worked at my job as a loan clerk with the Bank of Commerce in late summer '76, I had been following the fiasco of the attempt to bring the Giants to Toronto. They had always been a favourite of mine, but when it fell through and then I heard that the CIBC were partnering to bring an expansion team to town, I was greatly excited. I sent in a ballot to name the team (the Maple Leafs, in honour of the AAA team from the past, not the hockey team), but I was very excited by the name chosen. I had actually put a down payment on tickets for the Giants, but when that fell through, my father, a wise man that he was, told me that his company and several others that he dealt with were going to have tickets and to save my money. Well, undeterred, I still ordered tickets for the first game and my best man and good friend, Doug McKay, sat in section 128, row 30 seats 1 and 2 on April 7, '77 and both of us leaped in excitement at Doug Ault's first of two home runs. Alvis Woods became my first Jays hero when he clubbed a home run in his first MLB at bat. Although I chanted for beer, I did not really care, I had live baseball to watch. Through my father's contacts, I was able to go to an additional 46 games that year and would continue to go to a minimum of 20 games a year until 1985 when I moved to Calgary.
I bought airline tickets and World Series tickets and I was ready to go, but alas, the Royals spoiled the party.
I have never, ever jumped off the "bandwagon", hence my sometimes over the top comments and trust in all things Jays.
I am truly a Blue Jays fan first and foremost and shall always watch them, most every inning every year. They are my passion.