‘An absolute blast’: network of Blue Jays fans across the Atlantic celebrates Game 1 of World Series

While the streets of Toronto saw seas of blue after the Blue Jays’ 11-4 victory in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, the celebrations stretched all the way across the Atlantic.

In London, members of a group called Blue Jays Fans UK got together for a late-night watch party, cheering the team deep into the early hours.

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Steve Hunter, a Bournemouth resident who started the fan group more than 20 years ago, said the party began at 1 a.m. local time and ran past 4 a.m.

“We had an absolute blast,” Hunter said. “You’re never quite sure who’s going to show up at that hour, but everyone who rocked up played their part. It was just great fun.”

He said dozens of British and Canadian fans showed up to watch the Jays’ explosive nine-run sixth inning. At one point, Hunter said he was on the phone with a friend when Addison Barger hit a grand slam to put Toronto up 9-2.

“I literally couldn’t hear her,” he said with a laugh. “It’s just so raucous and loud in there. Everybody was high and celebrating and standing on chairs and just enjoying watching the game together.”

WATCH | Jays fans go to great lengths to be at Game 1 of the World Series:

What Jays fans did to be at the first World Series game

We caught up with Toronto Blue Jays fans outside the Rogers Centre, where the team faces off against the L.A. Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series.

Hunter first fell in love with baseball during a trip to Hamilton in 1994, when the Blue Jays were just coming off winning their second straight World Series title.

“I think what I fell in love with was just the passion of the fans for the game,” Hunter said.

When he returned to England, he said he found it almost impossible to keep up with the team or meet other fans.

Fans find community abroad

“This was pre-internet, pre-TV coverage,” he said. “The only way I could find out how the team was doing was to go down to my local newsagent and look for an international paper, maybe USA Today, or something like that, just to read a little bit about what the Jays were doing.”

That changed in the early 2000s, when he started a small Facebook group, which only had 13 fans at the time.

Now, Hunter’s group has grown into an online community with nearly 4,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter, as well as fans on Instagram and YouTube.

“It’s about supporting the fandom here on this side of the pond and just connecting fans together so they can find a common space to talk about games and to do things like we did last night,” Hunter said.

He said the group is planning to host more parties as the World Series continues.