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TORONTO — An hour before the Toronto Blue Jays’ merchandise store at Rogers Centre was set to open Thursday morning, Fay Dietrich stood in line among dozens of other fans in the drizzling rain.
She said she witnessed the Jays’ debut in 1977 and their back-to-back World Series wins in ’92 and ’93, and she had the T-shirts to show for it. Now, she wanted to buy a new one “for when they win tomorrow.”
“It’ll be an uproar,” said Dietrich with a smile on her face. “I can just see it and I’ll be part of it, too.”
Fans like Dietrich are buzzing in anticipation as the Blue Jays aim for just one more win on Friday to bring home a World Series title for the first time in more than 30 years.
The visiting Jays defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 on Wednesday, giving the Jays a 3-2 series lead in the seven-game series.
The Jays will now look to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy in front of a sold-out crowd at Rogers Centre and millions of fans watching across Canada on Friday, with Game 7 set for Saturday if necessary.
But Dietrich said she feels “absolutely” confident about Game 6, which is set to see first pitch at 8 p.m. EDT.
“I’m really, really happy because I cheered from the very beginning this year. I’ve been to a few of the games and it just has to happen, that’s all.”
Fellow superfan Justin Pang believes the Jays are “super resilient” and unafraid of a challenge. The prospect of winning it all on Canadian soil “brings the country together at a perfect time,” especially amid tensions with the U.S.
“The city has gone through a lot, the country has gone through a lot obviously in the last year with all the tariff wars,” said Pang.
“The Jays are the perfect kind of encapsulation of what it means to be Canadian.”
Even on the road in Los Angeles, Toronto supporters along the first-base side were loving every minute of the Jays’ win on Wednesday. “Let’s Go Blue Jays” chants could be heard as the team’s home run jacket made a few passes in the dugout below.
Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had started off the game with a bang, hitting back-to-back homers off Dodgers ace Blake Snell in the first inning. Back at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, a Game 5 watch party saw thousands of fans explode in cheers as the Jays took the lead.
That’s why fan Luca Varricchio said the opportunity to win Game 6 on Friday on their home field would “mean a lot to the city.”
“It’ll light the city up for sure,” said Varricchio, who was also outside Rogers Centre on Thursday. “The streets are gonna not sleep.”
“Even if we’re in a 32-year drought of losing, we’re always gonna stick with our boys and witness a World Series like we are right now.”
For those who can’t get inside the stadium, there will be a watch party at the downtown Nathan Phillips Square.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2025.
Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press
