A young fan had their day made in the cutest way at a Toronto Blue Jays game
A New York Yankees fan, of all people, was the recipient of some trademark Canadian generosity during Tuesday's ballgame at the Rogers Centre, a shoo-in for cutest fan moment of the 2022 Toronto Blue Jays season thus far.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge crushed a homer to the left-field second deck in the top of the 6th inning, the bomb of a hit caught by an adult fan in a Blue Jays hat. But it's what happened next that has fans league-wide recognizing just how nice our sports fans can be here in Toronto.
Upon making the catch — scoring a live home run ball is something most fans only dream of — the Jays fan immediately hands off the ball to a nearby child dressed head-to-toe in Yankees gear, including an Aaron Judge shirt.
Enjoy the kindness. 🥺
— MLB (@MLB) May 4, 2022
Aaron Judge and this very generous Blue Jays fan made this kid's night! pic.twitter.com/qgFe9j8BTX
It clearly made the kid's day, who responds by hugging the generous stranger, seemingly on the verge of tears of joy while thanking the Jays fan.
The parent/guardian, also decked out in Yankees merch, seemed pretty stoked too, appearing to (and I'm no lip-reader) drop an extended "wowwwww" in response to the unexpected generosity.
One self-identified New Yorker commented, "This is why Canadians have the rep for being nice people. Good on Aaron Judge and good on that Jays fan."
The heartwarming moment shows that sometimes just a pure love of the game can override even the most bitter of sports rivalries. And any Jays fan who has cursed the Yankees' existence at least once knows what I'm talking about.
Bigger than the game itself!!!! Love this. As a Red Sox fan, much as I hate Yankees, Judge is a good player and he seems like a good guy. It’s more than just the sport itself 🥲💙👏👏👏👏👏
— Bryon (@bdh1563) May 4, 2022
Despite documented evidence that this type of thing happens all over the league, a few commenters were quick to point out that it can be a very different story in some U.S. stadiums.
Good vibes in Canada.
— Daysleeper ☀️😴🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@daysleeper96) May 4, 2022
Meanwhile at Wrigley…drunk Cubs fans beating themselves. smh. https://t.co/0WolxPefhW
It's a sweet moment for sure, but it doesn't erase mistakes of the past that have negatively affected the reputation of Toronto sports fans.
I’m a Jays fan and even I don’t believe that. The 500s on a summer Saturday is not for the feint of heart 😂😂
— Quarant-Ian (@Mr_Ian_Griffin) May 4, 2022
For every moment of fans doing sweet things, we have to remember the time Jays fans threw beer all over the field or the incident where Raptors fans (and this is debated by some) cheered when a star player on the opposing team fell to injury.
You don't even have to look that far back into the past to find instances of Toronto sports fans acting like trash. It was only two weeks ago that a brawl broke out at a Leafs game, and three weeks since a fan punched a cop in the face at a Jays game.
The Jays ended up getting clobbered 9-1, and will lose their first series of 2022 to a team that has few redeeming qualities. But at least this kid had a fun time.
MLB
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