Blue Jays: End of hockey should contribute to larger crowds

With the Toronto Maple Leafs losing their first-round playoff series to the Boston Bruins, the Toronto Blue Jays, who have been more or less a sideshow so far this season, should see a significant increase in attendance now that the buds are done.

A lot of Toronto Blue Jays fans are also Toronto Maple Leaf fans. A lot of Toronto Blue Jays fans are also Toronto Raptors fans. Throw in the always exciting Toronto FC, and you’ve got some unfavourable conditions for the Blue Jays to draw large crowds.

It’s no secret that the Rogers Centre hasn’t been nearly been as full as we’re used to. In fact, the Jays’ average attendance so far this year has been 23,843 per game, significantly down from last year’s April average of 37,047 per game. A lot of uncontrollable factors, including the terrible Ontarian weather, can be used to justify this drop in attendance.

It’s also worth noting that the Jays have played a lot of home games against bad teams. Even worse, they’ve played a lot of home games against bad teams on weekday nights. Last year, the Jays played two full weekend series in April, versus this year’s lone stretch Opening Week against the Yankees.

Even more surprising is the fact that last year’s team got off to a terrible start, contrary to this year’s team, which has been exciting to watch and has kept up admirably with the big boys in the division. This year’s team also sports new and unique faces that fans haven’t seen yet. You’d think that the addition of some notable names would drive the numbers up, right?

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However, there’s some larger power at play here. The Maple Leafs, who play just down the street, has captured the hearts of numerous Torontonian sports fans. For those unaware, they were recently eliminated from playoff contention after losing a tough Game 7 to the Boston Bruins. Prior to the disappointing playoff series, they looked poised to make a deep playoff run, boasting an excellent roster of young and skillful players. Now, it’s all over. As unfortunate as that is, it can only be a positive thing for the Blue Jays.

With the weather warming up, and less attention being placed on other franchises in the city, the attendance is sure to go up. While it’s not the biggest deal in the world, larger home crowds can contribute to more awareness, and ultimately, more excitement surrounding a given team.

With that, the Jays can ride the wave of interest into the summer as they try and reach the playoffs after a disappointing 2017 season. It stinks that the Leafs got knocked out so early, but it’s got its own silver lining.

From here on out, let’s hope to see a starkly decreased amount of blue seats left vacant. Because with great crowds, come great energy, and as anyone who’s been inside the ballpark during a sold-out game will tell you, the atmosphere is unparalleled. It’d be nice to see that again in the city of Toronto.

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