Everyone is comparing the Blue Jays to the Leafs after epic collapse
The Toronto Blue Jays now, officially, have something in common with the Maple Leafs: a collapse nobody will ever forget.
On Saturday, Toronto was up 8-1 over the Seattle Mariners in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series, but ended up falling 10-9 in the biggest road comeback in MLB postseason history.
While the Jays looked poised to even up their series and set up a do-or-die Game 3 on Sunday, an absolute meltdown of a game led to them being meme fodder rather than Toronto sports heroes.
Seattle scored four runs in the sixth inning, four runs in the eighth inning, and one run in the ninth inning to complete the historic win and move on to the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros.
The Blue Jays, of course, will simply be watching the rest of the postseason from home, wondering where it all went wrong.
But for their citymates, ending the postseason disappointed is nothing new.
The Leafs, of course, are no stranger to historic collapses of their own over the past decade. There’s the first, and most iconic, one: blowing a 4-1 lead in Game 7 in the third period during their first round matchup against the Boston Bruins in the 2013 NHL playoffs.
But there’s also blowing a 3-1 series lead to the Montreal Canadiens in 2021, as well as blowing 3-2 series leads to Tampa and Boston in 2022 and 2019, respectively. As you might know, the Leafs haven’t won a single playoff series since 2004, while it’s a shorter drought (2016) for the Jays.
Twitter, of course, had a field day with the comparison of the team’s two collapses.
Toronto fans, Toronto haters, the media, and well, just about everyone else was quick to point out the parallels between the Blue Jays and the Leafs.
— ava (@teapottoffoIi) October 9, 2022
Live shot of the Jays passing Toronto’s tortured soul to the Leafs… pic.twitter.com/21vgXSHdrg
— Bryan Hayes (@HayesTSN) October 9, 2022
It was 8-1.
Eight. One.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 9, 2022
Leafs fans seeing the Blue Jays blow an 8-1 lead in the post season: pic.twitter.com/nEuxIfQbGT
— Tanner Havens (@RadioTanner) October 9, 2022
Just saw Blue Jays score. Looks like the Leafs might not be the only Toronto team that knows how to choke in the playoffs.
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) October 9, 2022
In all honesty, I can’t wait to see what the Leafs do to upstage the Jays this year with playoff disappointment
— Matt Marchese (@Mattymar89) October 9, 2022
BlueJays Collapse so awful for Canadians. Many thought they were watching the #Leafs https://t.co/T0vc63jC8v
— Charles Adler (@charlesadler) October 9, 2022
Blue Jays Maple Leafs
🤝Choking in the Playoffs pic.twitter.com/aPEenGeLRC
— Karan (@Karan8263) October 9, 2022
Stop comparing the Jays to the Leafs. That's not fair at all. The Leafs at least manage to lead a series before losing.
— Active Stick (@TheOakLeafs) October 9, 2022
The Toronto Blue Jays are the Toronto Maple Leafs.
— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) October 9, 2022
Sportsnet’s Tim Micallef might’ve summed it up best, though: Toronto fans should really, really, appreciate the Raptors.
Toronto sports fans…once you pick yourselves up from this one…don't forget to hug Masai.
— Tim Micallef (@tim_micallef) October 9, 2022
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