Story Archive

Lackluster Season

It’s a common occurrence at sporting events: a fan jumping onto the field, and being chased down by security. This time, it was a Toronto Blue Jays game at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ont., Canada. What makes this case interesting, though, is the Toronto Police report on the incident. The Jays “were surprisingly winning against the underrated Seattle Mariners,” the official report begins. “Our hapless Jays limped along to the bottom of the 8th inning. At one point, the Jays were considered World Series contenders. One can almost forgive the accused for his below described actions.” The suspect, identified only as Joseph, ran onto the field “in what can only be described as an attempt to inject some kind of spark in our listless Jays... giving Jays fans a brief respite from their season-long agony.” Joe was tackled and hauled off to jail, but the criminal charge, “Mischief: Wilfully interfere[d] with the use, enjoyment or operation of property,” was dropped after he donated $1,000 to the Jay’s charity. (RC/National Post) ...The prosecutor said the charge wouldn’t stick, since no one in the stands was “enjoying” the game.