Images via Twitter
Toronto sports teams seem cursed. Well, not so much cursed, as they are mediocre to outstanding back down to painfully awful to being pretty okay again. It's a weird ebb and flow that has left an undeniable impression of the self-consciousness on the city. The Toronto Maple Leafs this past season were the literal worst team in NHL; in June, the Toronto Raptors got to the Eastern Conference NBA finals for the first time in franchise history; and then we have the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays are currently in the American League Championship Series with the Cleveland [racist team name redacted] and it's going a bit tough. We have high expectations for our blue birds: they haven't been to the World Series since 1993—they also won the year prior in 1992—where Joe Carter's run home became the cover art for your favourite diss track against Meek Mill.Celebrities and musicians gravitate toward sports teams. Jack Nicholson was a fixture courtside at L.A. Lakers games; Usher has some ownership of the Cleveland Cavaliers; Jay Z and Beyonce were courtside this year at the wild Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors NBA finals; and then there's Rush's bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee. The Blue Jays have been unsuccessful for as long as the average length of a Rush song—a seemingly endless amount of time. But Lee is unofficially the Blue Jays good luck charm or mascot or our celeb fixture and he actually knows his baseball shit!
Geddy Lee is your dad, except your dad sucks because he's not Geddy Lee. Your dad didn't do the bass solos on "YYZ" and "La Villa Strangiato," your dad doesn't play bass guitar with his hands while playing synths with his feet on a nightly basis, and your dad DEFINITELY didn't scream the words 'WE ARE THE PRIESTS OF THE TEMPLES OF SYRINX" like his life depended on it. Canada, particularly Toronto, doesn't have its famous fans of local teams (other than one Mr. Graham, seen here throwing the opening pitch at a Cleveland game once upon a time) and even if you don't agree with the band's geeky music then at least share with us in our appreciation of Lee's steadfast support for the Jays. They probably need it. Lee is a stodgy fan though, one who sits behind home plate and keeping score, rarely emoting or standing. He is very serious about baseball, probably in the same way he is very serious about prog rock.While the Jays are currently struggling to keep afloat in the ALCS (we are 3-1 against Cleveland with game five starting in a handful of hours) in lieu of that, we appreciate the stoic pillar that is Geddy Lee behind home plate:His stomping walk-on with actual mascot Ace is the best and also that he can actually pitch okay! Give this man a $217 million contract to pitch for the Boston Red Sox!Please do not disrupt his concentration or his distrust of the digital scoreboard.That feeling when you have no chill.During game five of the ALDS, the Jays played their rivals the Texas Rangers last year—whom they beautifully swept a week ago in this year's ALDS—and Geddy Lee was invited onto this…radio show, I guess, to talk about how insane that game was, which it was. During that game someone threw a beer can that narrowly missed a baby and it DID NOT impress resident Dad, Geddy Lee.He is ALWAYS down to geek out on baseball and also, he was on the GIlmore Girls set in 2007 with Sean Gunn—KIRK! Lee apparently beat Gunn's fantasy baseball team, proving that Lee is not here to make friends, he's here to win. And likely thinks Buffy the superior series.Phil Witmer loves Rush. Follow him on Twitter . Sarah MacDonald likes Slow. Follow her on Twitter .
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