Nostalgia for a young love from the distant past can be a powerful thing, a feeling so intense that it can wreck marriages and radically alter lives.
Don’t worry, I’m not going all Dr. Phil here, I’m talking about the possible return of the Montreal Expos, who left after the 2004 baseball season and seemed to never be coming back.
I mean, I like the New York Mets – I even wear their hat sometimes – but I don’t cheer passionately for them, even if I keep an eye on how they’re doing (mediocre, and their bullpen is terrible).
The Expos, however, were that first love that you fell deeply for, carried a torch for as years rolled by, the one that you thought was gone forever. But now here she is, standing on your doorstep, alluring as she ever was and ready to reclaim your heart.
For real, if the Tampa Bay Rays move to Montreal (the idea has been percolating for a few years now, and recently has picked up serious steam), they'd have a huge AL East rival in the Toronto Blue Jays, and even the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees would be sending fans north of the border.
One can easily see New Englanders heading to Montreal for a weekend series when the Red Sox go there, same with up-state New Yorkers who are Yankee fans. Not just for baseball, but to soak up the coolness, the history, the culture that contributes to the city of Montreal.
Tampa Bay can't draw fans to the ballpark even when they're playing well and winning games, and this year is yet another example of that, so no one should feel sorry for them if the team ends up leaving Florida.
The Expos have a strong group working on a stadium site/team procurement for downtown Montreal. If it happens, I’ll be like: ‘so long, New York Mets, I like you a lot but I don’t love ’ya. Sure baby, we had some good times, but fate has intervened.’
• There doesn’t appear to be any danger that the Pictou County Sports Hall of Fame will close its doors – let’s get that out of the way, right off the bat.
Outgoing curator Barry Trenholm is stepping aside as soon as a replacement can be found, and the hall of fame board of directors is currently searching for a volunteer replacement, or even a group of people who can share the workload (the hall already has volunteers who step in when needed).
Trenholm has certainly put in his time, with more than a decade of donating his time to make sure the efforts of the late Billy Dee – who helped start the hall of fame 30 years ago and was a key part of its day-to-day operations before his death in 2008 – is not put in serious jeopardy.
Eventually, someone (or someones) will step up and answer the call, because it’s what people do around here. There’s so much history there at the East River Road location, and there is always something new to discover.
Non-Sports Thought of the Week:
• Canadians really aren’t going to elect Andrew Scheer when the federal election rolls around this fall, are we? It doesn’t look good on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, when his bumblings, touchy-feely snowflake-ness and his record of not getting much done in Ottawa might just open the door for Andrew Scheer to walk right through.
Kevin Adshade is a writer with the News. His column appears each week.
