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Mariners face unusual obstacle in Jays fans
- Updated: September 21, 2016
SEATTLE — Lots of Blue Jays fans have annually made the trek south from Canada to see Toronto play in Seattle since the two teams entered the American League together in 1977, but the numbers swelled and the volume increased on Monday when the Mariners hosted their northern neighbors for the start of a key three-game series at Safeco Field.
From the moment the gates opened, through the Canadian national anthem that was sung at full roar by the visitors, through a 3-2 win that saw Marco Estrada throw six innings of no-hit ball, Blue Jays fans created a scene far rowdier than most Toronto home games at Rogers Centre.
It appeared — and certainly sounded like — more than half of Monday’s crowd of 34,809 was rooting for the Blue Jays.
For the Mariners, of course, the solution to preserving their homefield atmosphere and advantage is simple. When the Mariners were winning regularly and Safeco Field was selling out in the early 2000s, tickets were harder to come by and the presence of Blue Jays fans in Seattle was minimal.
But as the years have passed, brokers in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. — which are three to four hours north of Seattle — have scooped up tickets for the annual Blue Jays series and sold travel packages that include bus transportation and lodging to thousands of Canadian fans.
As the Blue Jays ended a postseason drought that dated back to 1993 last season, the popularity of Canada’s lone Major League team grew and even more fans in western Canada opted to make the trek to …
