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Toronto Blue Jays fans get rained on after roof jams during game
The Toronto Blue Jays' season has been so rough that even the stadium roof might end up on the disabled list.
It's one thing to get soaked figuratively at the Rogers Centre by forking over $8 for a bottle of water, it's another to get soaked literally. In what's already been a long year for the Jays, who have seen stars Jose Bautista, Brett Lawrie and J.P. Arencibia end up on the disabled list while former ace pitcher Ricky Romero has been charged with 12 consecutive losses, the stadium's roof jammed during their 12-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. It shall be known as The Night The Dome Broke.
From John Lott:
As light rain began in the fourth inning, umbrellas popped open among the sparse crowd at the Rogers Centre and the roof began to close. But by the sixth, with the rain intensifying and the dome stuck in a partially open position, it became apparent that something was amiss.
When Jays pitcher Carlos Villanueva complained to the umpires about mud on the mound after the top of the sixth, a brief delay ensued as the grounds crew added dry material to the dirt portions of the diamond.
By then, many fans had taken to the exits, owing to the rain, no doubt, but possibly because of another dreary performance by the home team.
... Normally, [the roof] closes in about 20 minutes. This time it took almost three innings, although no one kept track of the elapsed time because the process seemed routine at the start.
At one point, with the roof jammed open and the rain falling, the stadium alarm began to blare in triplet notes, adding to the surreal atmosphere. (National Post)
Who knows, perhaps the Montreal Expos loyalists who were out in full force earlier this week put a hex on the place, cursing Rogers Centre to have the same problems as Montreal's Big Owe. It was reported that "only in Canada" could a rain delay happen in a domed stadium, but that never actually happened.
This doesn't do anything for the already poor image of the stadium. As Dustin Parkes put it, Toronto baseball fans "swallow the distaste" of watching games in a 1970s-vintage multipurpose eyesore that opened in 1989. It's there and it's not going to be replaced; team owner Rogers Communications has other priorities and so do the various level of governments. People have pretended away that the stadium is ugly, as if being a baseball fan in Canada means you can't have nice things. As Parkes noted:
There is nothing pretty to look at during a baseball game in Toronto. The field is comprised mainly of Astroturf with visible seams that destroy any illusion of real grass. The only view of the outside world is of the CN Tower and condominiums that stand over the domed structure, peering in like unwanted voyeurs. Even the rechristened corporatized name of the stadium connotes a place where cold and clinical business operations take place. It matches well with the claustrophobic feeling that the concrete confines create.
However, baseball fans in Toronto swallow the distaste of what is essentially a matter of poor timing, as the Rogers Centre represents the last of the clunky, grandiose and unnecessarily modernized stadiums that were built before Camden Yards in Baltimore. The willingness of the team's supporters to sit in such an awful stadium is justified through three factors: 1) Baseball junkies would be willing to watch a baseball game in even the worst of environments; 2) Many Canadians aren't aware of how pleasing it is to watch a Major League game in most of the ballparks in the United States; and 3) Blue Jays fans need not worry about getting wet at their local ball park because of the stadium's retractable roof. This is the price fans pay to look at so much concrete.(Getting Blanked)
Believe it that fans south of the border are empathetic. In June, yours truly wore a Jays cap during a Detroit Tigers-Pittsburgh Pirates game at PNC Park, which offers a view of the entire city skyline which is pretty grandiose. It was all one could do to not watch the game with a smile plastered on his face. And Detroit and Pittsburgh fans alike noticed the stranger's cap and stopped to say, "You guys need a new ballpark." It was nice to hear that and no doubt they didn't mean it literally that Rogers Centre qualifies as a ballpark.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.
