Fans across the country got the chance to cheer on a Toronto Blue Jays win on Sunday night, with baseball lovers from coast to coast watching the game.

With an evening game time, fans had the choice of spending the game at their local watering hole or amongst family during Thanksgiving dinner.

In downtown Vancouver, fans packed around bar televisions to watch a do-or-die game scenario.

"Baseball has always been a sport I've loved," said Sebastian Jasiorkowski, a B.C. resident who has supported the team for 15 years. "Growing up on the West Coast, I didn't really have a team and found myself cheering for the Blue Jays."

Jasiorkowski says despite the hole the Jays found themselves in the series at the start of the game, he's pleased with how the season has turned out.

"The last two months have been the best sporting experience in my entire life. This is the first time I have supported a team that's successful," he said.

His friend, Scott Bauer, is a more recent addition to the fan base.

"I'm totally a bandwagon fan," he says. "I bet on them winning the World Series and found myself drawn in to supporting them."

Bauer says he was caught up in the playoff surge and now finds himself learning more about the sport.

The team's success this year has brought long-time fans out of the woodwork as well as new ones eager to cheer on a successful franchise.

And they’re not the only ones: businesses and politicians across the country are also showing their support.

Home hardware retailer Canadian Tire gave employees in its Toronto and Calgary offices the day off for the first playoff game.

Ottawa's mayor and members of city council raised a Jays flag at city hall, paying tribute to the team's long wait to return to the post-season.

 

 

In support of the @Bluejays play-off run, Ottawa City Hall will fly the Jays flag for the rest of the season. #Cometogether

A photo posted by Jim Watson (@jimwatsonottawa) on

Despite the team’s connection to Ontario, some fans in Western Canada are just as enthusiastic.

One of those fans is Calgary resident Trevor Harding, who has even travelled to Toronto, Tampa Bay and Anaheim to cheer on his team.

"I’m completely obsessed,” he told CTV News. Harding joked: “I might lose my wife, my kids… I can’t stop watching."

The excitement has captured Atlantic fans as well, with fans from as far as Newfoundland attending playoff games.

And despite the relatively short notice of the game in Texas, hundreds of Canadians made the trek to the Lone Star state to support the Blue Jays.

Kyle Hudencial and six of his friends drove across the Canadian border into Cleveland, then caught a flight to Dallas to attend Game 3 against the Texas Rangers.

Hudencial says part of the motivation was to honour a friend who recently died from cancer and was a dedicated Jays fan.

With the team and fans now facing another do-or-die situation for Monday's game, some fans of Toronto teams are keeping it in perspective.

"Being a Leafs fan, I know how Toronto sports usually go," says Jasiorkowski.