Growing up Me: Sports Teams

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The organization, one of the "Original Six" members of the NHL, is officially known as the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and is the leading subsidiary of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, (MLSE). They have played at the Air Canada Centre (ACC) since 1999, after 68 years at Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto won their last Stanley Cup in 1967.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional
baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s American League (AL). The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name. They are nicknamed "the Jays", which is featured on the team's logo and on the front of the home uniform.

An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Toronto, in 1977. Originally based at Exhibition Stadium, the team began playing its home games at the SkyDome, upon completion of its construction in 1989. Since 2000, the Blue Jays have been owned by Rogers Communications, and in 2004, the SkyDome was purchased by that company, which renamed the venue to Rogers Centre. As just the second MLB team to be based outside the United States, they became the first (and to date, only) team outside the U.S. both to appear in and to win a World Series. They also became the fastest American League expansion franchise to win a World Series (winning in their 16th year). Since their fellow Canadian franchise, the Montreal Expos, relocated to Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season (becoming the Washington Nationals), the Blue Jays are currently the only MLB team outside the United States. The Blue Jays are also one of three MLB teams under corporate ownership, with the other two being the Seattle Mariners (Nintendo of America) and the Atlanta Braves (Liberty Media).

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada. When the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2001, the Raptors became the only Canadian team in the NBA. They originally played their home games at the SkyDome (renamed as Rogers Centre in 2005), before moving to the Air Canada Centre (ACC) in 1999.

Sure there are other Toronto teams (namely the Toronto Argonauts and the Toronto FC, as well as the Toronto Rock), but I really follow only the Leafs, Jays and Raptors.

Now, for something interesting and rare (despite what people say).

Yup, notice the dates? My Father took my brother and I (14 at the time, Mike was 12) to Game 1 of our beloved Jays. We sat in the north Grandstand of the old (and now demolished) Exhibition Stadium. Was cold, windy and snowy.

Here's a reminder of what the day was like.