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Playoff-bound Blue Jays celebrated (and envied) on social media

After a 22-year drought, the Toronto Blue Jays have earned themselves a spot in postseason play, provoking a serious case of Blue Jays fever and congratulations from around the world on social media.

Twitter dubs the Jays as Canada's Team, as congrats pour in from across the country

Haydn Watters · CBC News ·
Toronto Blue Jays' Jose Bautista gets soaked with beer as the team celebrates in the clubhouse Saturday after clinching a wild card spot. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

After a 22-year drought — the longest in North American professional sports — the Toronto Blue Jays have earned themselves a spot in postseason play, thus provoking a serious case of Blue Jays fever.

Thanks to a convoluted and confusing tie-breaker system, the Jays are guaranteed at least a wild card playoff spot. Now they've set their sights on winning the American League East division crown.

With the Jays back in the playoffs, the internet crowd has had a lot to say — and it wasn't just the city of Toronto celebrating.

Congratulations are pouring in from the rest of Canada.

The Blue Jays are the only Canadian-based team in major league baseball. Many Twitter users have rallied behind this, using the hashtag CanadasTeam.

One Twitter user in Whitehorse celebrated the team along with another milestone — the first snowfall of the year!

The Blue Jays diaspora extends well beyond Canadian borders ... and they were cheering, too.

Some have opted to celebrate with a spin on the infamous, Drake-approved Toronto Raptors campaign, We The North.

While there have already been direct Blue Jays tributes to We The North through the season, Twitter users have decided to put their own, more original, take on it, under the moniker Fear The North.

Others got a little snarky, reminding people just how long it's been since the Jays made the playoffs.  

This marks the Blue Jays' first postseason appearance since they swept the World Series back in 1993. That prompted one fan to make a nostalgia-inducing blog post chronicling all the things that have changed since.

When the Jays last appeared in the playoffs, the original Jurassic Park film was the highest grossing movie of the year and gas prices in Toronto averaged around 52 cents a litre, according to Statistics Canada.  

Amid the jubilation, there were more than a few gripes about not being able to snag those coveted playoff tickets.

General public tickets for some of the playoff games went on sale last Thursday and were snapped up almost instantly. Many fans were disappointed that they were unable to secure any tickets and pinned the blame on ticket scalpers.

Others chose to get inventive with how they would take in the playoff games.

Meanwhile, the team took the celebrations to another level with beer, cigars and champagne. 

The players' celebration over the postseason spot came a day late. Following Saturday's win over Tampa Bay, the Jays took to their clubhouse and hosted a spontaneous party.

It may have been a bit too much for some of the players.

And it wouldn't be baseball in Canada without the appearance of a few bitter Montreal Expos fans.

Montreal lost the Expos to Washington back in 2004. But there's an active push, championed by Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, to bring the team back. Looks like the success of the Jays has made it a little harder to bear.

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