A quintessentially Canadian experience
Apr 30, 2024
I guess I haven't share yet on this website, but I live in Toronto. Today, I had such a stereotypical yet cute Canadian experience.
I had a deadline that I was working to meet all day. I was pretty stressed, all things considered. Thankfully, I had spent most of my day at my friend's apartment, the two of us working on our own projects in companionable silence. She had her own deadline too.
At around 21:45, I decided it was time to start heading home. I've been reading a really absorbing book recently (a potential future blog post, once I've finished it!), so I wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on around me. When the subway arrived and its doors opened, I finally looked up and was really upset to find it completely packed. I'm talking standing room only.
It was pretty clear why. Almost everyone on the train was wearing Jays gear. They were coming back from the baseball game. I don't follow sports (in fact, I'm sort of against them), so I didn't know there was a Jays game tonight and I didn't care how they had done. Mostly, I was just annoyed that I'd have to stand on the subway, squished up against someone, all the way home.
A few minutes into the ride, the conductor comes on the speaker to announce
Hey everyone, the Leafs just won in overtime!
The whole subway started clapping and cheering. Seriously.
It was so sweet! A subway full of baseball fans, but the conductor (rightly) assumed that everyone also cared about the hockey game. Well, of course they did! It's Canada! I only found out after I got home that winning this game saves the Leafs from getting eliminated in playoffs, so it was extra good news that they won.
I still don't like sports, but it was a really cute and heartwarming scene. I have never heard the conductor say anything not related to train problems before! However grumpy I was about the crowded train, the huge wave of cheering and joy instantly made up for it.