Retro Blue Jays – Stieb and Whitt Tour EPCOT

Posted by Retronario.

Where to begin…where to begin…

I guess I’ll make something up:

It’s the early 80s. A bunch of Disney executives are sitting in a room. They wonder how they can get Canadians to visit the brand-new EPCOT Center.

Someone suggests a celebrity endorsement. Another person suggests using a couple of athletes. Suddenly, the most experienced executive in the room pounds his fist on the table and jumps up.

“Jiminy Cricket, I’ve got it!” he shouts. “Let’s get a couple of Blue Jays and give them a tour of EPCOT. We’ll film the whole thing and air it on Canadian television.”

Everyone agrees and high-fives each other. They spend the rest of the day eating pizza and smoking weed.

A little over the top, but I’m sure that’s how it all came together; except for the weed part.

Anyway…

Dave Stieb and Ernie Whitt, along with Catherine Swing, tour EPCOT Center. The popular Blue Jay battery try in the vain to act natural and recite their lines as if they’re off the cuff. Their performance gets an ‘A’ for effort. Nevertheless, the awkwardness is hilarious!

In addition, there are cameos from Bobby Cox and Fergie Olver.

Could you envision the current team doing something like this? Just imagine…Vladdy and Bo touring the Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. 😝

ER

Final Thoughts: Don’t bet against the Washington Nationals (née Montreal Expos)

Lesson learned: Don’t bet against those Nats.

Allow me to present this cautionary tale…

Milwaukee will win the Wildcard, I thought.
That didn’t happen.

There’s no way Washington will defeat Los Angeles. Heck, the Dodgers are my pick to win the whole thing.
Wrong. Very wrong.

Okay, I’ll buy into the hype. They’ll defeat St. Louis, but it’ll be a battle.
The Cards got anillated.

World Series, baby! It’s been fun, but Houston is a better team. Besides, the Nats haven’t played in a week. That’s usually a disadvantage.
Washington goes up 2-0, defeating Cole and Verlander on the road.

Is this really happening?

Oh, look. Houston just won three straight. They’re heading back to H-Town, one win away from their second championship in three years. Everything makes sense again.
Nope. Nope. Nope.

The Nats’ victory is stark reminder that everything resets in the playoffs. Each round is a clean slate and whatever happened previously goes out the window. Sometimes, the narrative follows though; sometimes, it doesn’t.

I’m thrilled Washington won. They are – technically – the Montreal Expos after all.

It was interesting how Expo fans viewed the World Series. I saw a fair amount of salty feelings. Some Montreal-based organizations divorced themselves from the Nationals by stating the Expos were “paused” in 2004. Respectfully, it’s a little absurd to deny the historical lineage.

Nevertheless, the District of Columbia will fly the banner, Houston got what they deserved and Bryce Harper saw his former teammates reach the promised land without him – his choice, of course.

Congrats to the Nationals, especially to the former Blue Jays on their championship roster/coaching staff:

• Daniel Hudson
• Yan Gomes
• Henry Blanco
• Javy Guerra
• Dave Martinez

Aplogies to anyone I missed. Long live Baby Shark!

ER