As the Western Hockey League's Penticton Vees took the ice for practice ahead of Friday night's game against their Washington State rivals, the Wenatchee Wild, Riley Pollock had another cross-border battle on her mind.
“I think there are a lot of people who have been waiting a long time—or even their entire lives—for the Jays to go to the World Series. [and] they are also dedicated Vees fans,” said Pollock, the team’s director of public relations and “Voice of the Vees.”
Choosing between watching the new season of Canada and the Americas is not an easy decision.
“It would have been a difficult choice for me if I didn’t broadcast the game,” admits Pollock.
At least two Western Hockey League teams in British Columbia's interior have decided that if you can't beat baseball fever, you might as well join it.
Penticton Vis will be open the doors to the South Okanagan Events Center two hours before puck drop to watch Game 1 of the World Series on the arena scoreboard and skating TVs.
The Kelowna Rockets will do the same on Saturday in Game 2.
“We thought if we could do something to celebrate [the Blue Jays]but also to get people to play our game… it was pretty easy.” – said Pollock.
While hockey teams are jumping on the bandwagon, the Toronto Blue Jays' minor league farm team, the Vancouver Canadians, are celebrating with family for now.
The Jays' High-A affiliate is hosting an invitation-only viewing party on Friday, mostly for season ticket holders and their biggest supporters.
But on Tuesday the team will hold a public watch the party before the fourth game in Hero's Welcomepub just off Main Street from Nat Bailey Stadium.
“It's on a first-come, first-served basis,” Canadian spokesman Tyler Zickel told CBC News.
“We are looking forward to [a] victory in game four.”
Bars Expect Baseball to Grow
For British Columbia's hospitality industry, this World Series provides a much-needed break from the ongoing strike. British Columbia government workerswho disrupted the distribution of alcoholic beverages.
Thousands of workers, represented by the British Columbia Workers Union (BCGEU), was on strike for weeks, closing liquor distribution businesses and limiting supplies to restaurants.
“You know, beer and baseball go well together. So that won’t be a problem,” Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the BC Restaurant and Catering Association, said of the World Series. “Getting a martini can be a challenge, but it’s not really a baseball thing.
“[But] thanks to the game, we'll probably see a 10 to 15 percent increase in sales compared to a typical Friday night. This is good news for us.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers and superstar Shohei Ohtani arrived in Toronto as favorites heading into the World Series against the Blue Jays, but Jays fans are excited and the team's players and coaches believe in their chances.
Tostenson says sports championships and big games are events that fans want to share as a community, whether they win or lose.
But so far, he says, the fever that has gripped Canada's baseball team has not yet fully infected West Coast sports fans or brought particularly high profits to bars.
“No, no, this is not hockey. And it's not [the] Super Bowl, but it’s something,” he said.
“And you know, in hospitality we see that everything is something.”
