It’s been a rollercoaster day for many Toronto Blue Jays fans, from seeing the team beat the New York Yankees in a 3-1 series victory to losing out in the race to score home game seats for the next round.
It was a brutal scene on Ticketmaster Thursday morning after tens of thousands of people queued for a chance to see the team play in the Toronto home games of the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
Tickets sold out in moments and are now being resold at much higher prices — some even going for over $1,000 per seat.
With music blasting and champagne spraying from every direction in a tarp-covered room, the Blue Jays celebrated their American League Division Series victory in New York City after ousting the Yankees 5-2 in Game 4.
Soaked in champagne, Blue Jays hitter George Springer said he was proud of how the team has played thus far.
“This is why you play the game. This is incredible. So happy for our city, our fans. This is awesome,” he told CBC News Wednesday.
WATCH | Blue Jays celebrate series victory over Yankees:
‘I love this team’: Get your poncho on and join George Springer during the Blue Jays celebrations
The Blue Jays eliminated the New York Yankees from the playoffs and are heading back to Toronto to host the American League Championship Series. CBC’s Greg Ross has the reaction from the team inside the locker room following the 5-2 win in Yankee Stadium.
Blue Jays star player Vladimir Guerrero Jr. told CBC News that the team needs to keep doing “the work [they] have been doing” to keep the success story going.
“The year is not finished. We have eight more [games] to go,” he said.
In a now viral interview with FOX Sports, Guerrero Jr. celebrated beating the Yankees on their home turf with Red Sox legend David Ortiz by repeatedly chanting, “Daaa Yankees lose!”
The winning spirit was in the air at Scotiabank Arena as fans cheered the Blue Jays’ victory on the big screen, following the Maple Leafs’ 5-2 home opener victory against the Montreal Canadiens.
Toronto now moves on to the ALCS against either the Detroit Tigers or Seattle Mariners.
The four home games to take place in Toronto will be Game 1 on Oct. 12, Game 2 on Oct. 13, a possible Game 6 on Oct. 19 and possible Game 7 on Oct. 20 at Rogers Centre.
The winner of the seven game series will receive the American League pennant and move on to the World Series.
Fans still have chance to join in on Blue Jays fever
Toronto will host free viewing parties for the remainder of the postseason run with ALCS games being hosted at David Pecaut Square, said the City of Toronto in an emailed statement Thursday.
If the Blue Jays make it to the World Series, the city said it will host viewing parties at Nathan Phillips Square. This year the World Series is schedule to take place from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1.
The city said the viewing parties will not have a ticketing system and will be open to everyone.
Last week Blue Jays owner Rogers announced it would be giving away 500 free tickets for every home game “throughout the MLB postseason.”
For the ALDS round, Rogers announced the giveaway location on social media the morning of each game with hundreds of fans racing over to line up.
“Details for the next round [of giveaways] will be available soon,” said Rogers on Thursday in an emailed statement.
WATCH | Recap of Blue Jays celebrations as they head into the ALCS:
Jays eliminate Yankees, advance to ALCS for 1st time since 2016
The Toronto Blue Jays are off to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2016 after eliminating the New York Yankees. CBC’s Greg Ross recaps the post-victory celebrations.
Fans can also get last minute general admission standing tickets by signing up for District Drops, which will release tickets for sale at an unspecified time.
Fan Dave Turliuk says “it was a long morning” trying to get ALCS tickets, but he was able to get some in the end.
“Got online at 9:30 a.m. and I think I yelled yippee at 10:45 a.m.,” he said, while grabbing the newest ALCS merch at the Blue Jays store in Toronto.
Turliuk says he hopes to see Detroit go onto the next round since “Seattle has just been a tough putt” for the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays last made it to the ALCS in 2016, where they were defeated by Cleveland, a team that went on to lose the World Series to the Chicago Cubs.
The Jays last played in the World Series when they won back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993.
