I attended the last game of the Montreal Expos last night. Quite a solemn event. Despite the drubbing we received losing 9 to 1 against Florida, the theme of the evening was saying goodbye. Granted the irony that we were playing against Florida did not escape us. fyi, Jeff Loria, owner of the Florida Marlins, used to own the expos is is vilified for having stolen all the talent off the expos and selling the team to purchase the Florida Marlins several years back.
A few skirmishes as instigators tried to wreak havoc but the overall sentiment was that of resignation. You could feel the presence of security as a phalanx of police officers were present. There was an altercation near my section (107) whereby they were called in to quell. An incident in the third inning where some hooligan threw a golf ball onto the field prompted frustration and anger by the irate crowd. Repeated warnings of cancellation of the game if this behavour were to continue finally subdued the crowd. The fate of the expos was sealed in the second inning, already down 5 to 0 but unlike previous games, the fans for the most part did not leave.
At the conclusion of this game, we were treated to a tribute by the Expos team thanking everyone, from ushers to security but most importantly us, for the memories. Some of the fans were teary eyed as a torrent of memories of what the expos could have been but never realised came to the surface. So many fans sport jersey's of old players (Tim Wallach for example and others before my time). Tim Raines made a surprise appearance to the delight of the crowd and thanked the fans for our support. The irony was just overwhelming; it was our lack of support that resulted in this tragedy. But for this evening, if only for a moment, we celebrated the end of an era. The memory will live long in hearts and the debate will rage for a long time to come of what could have been, what should have been, but what never was.
