Most of my friends know me to be one of the cheapest men on the planet. I’m not sure what specific incident earned me this label-it could have been anything from the four-dollar haircuts I receive in Chinatown to the fact that I seem to have the jump on every single campus giveaway imaginable. Ranging from various campus barbeques and other complimentary lunches to free condoms at the Koffler center, my cheapness knows no bounds.
Rather than resent this mark of moderation bestowed upon me, I have chosen to embrace my title and am constantly looking for opportunities to secure my spot as the foremost in frugality.
As the Sultan of Savings, I have found that no day of the week is greater than Tuesday. Despite theatre companies dropping Tuesday as student night, Tuesday has remained Canada’s most exploited day of the week since the 1996 introduction of the Toonie.
The often imitated and always appreciated slogan, “Toonie Tuesday” has caught on in many marketing schemes, and this past Tuesday I took advantage of my favourite of the lot down at the Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays hosted the defending National League champion St. Louis Cardinals, and with the ticket costing only two dollars, there was no place I’d rather have been.
This particular Tuesday had a lot to live up to. The last time I spent a Toonie Tuesday at 1 Blue Jay Way was May 24, where I was fortunate enough to witness the Jays beat the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox.
Even more spectacular than the game itself on that date was the ominous appearance of the number two.
After paying two dollars for my ticket, I quickly encountered a promotional giveaway, where two free tickets to a game later on in July were being handed out. Once I had obtained my free tickets, I went to my seat, second in the aisle, just in time to catch the top of the second inning.
The game was being dominated by Boston until, in the bottom of the fourth, Toronto catcher (also known in baseball as the #2 position) Greg Zaun hit a two run home run off of David Wells to make a game of it. The Jays would score two more runs in the inning and take a 4-3 lead, which would hold until the top of the seventh inning. At this point, Boston took its second lead of the game when, with two outs, Bill Mueller hit a two run home run-his second of the season.
Boston’s lead would prove short-lived, as Reed Johnson (no doubt rejuvenated by the “OK Blue Jays” song) hit a two run shot off of Boston’s Mike Timlin in the bottom of the inning. This was also Johnson’s second home run of the season.
Johnson would return to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied and hit his second homerun of the contest, this time with two men on, to win the game.
That many twos in one day is just downright creepy. But with a Jays victory-and only a two-dollar dent in the wallet-a little creepiness can be overlooked very easily.
Meanwhile, the second of the two Toonie Tuesdays this summer was a bit of a letdown, as the red birds showed why they are favoured repeat as National League champs. The contest started off well for the home team, as sparkling defensive plays took care of the first two batters.
The most impressive of the two was the gunning down of Abraham Nuñez at second after he tried to stretch a single into a double. This play would prove to be the only “high-fivable” play of the game for the Jays, though.
B.C. native Larry Walker opened the scoring with a two run blast later in the first, which would prove to be all the Cards needed in the lopsided hitting display.
Ex-Jays pitcher Chris Carpenter allowed half as many hits as it cost me dollars to come to the game in a stellar complete game shutout against his former club. The Cardinals managed to pile on seven runs of support to make their gunslinger’s revenge that much sweeter.
Dejected after the loss, solace was quickly provided from the realization that I had only paid two dollars to see this one-sided mockery of a baseball game-that and the fact that I could still go to KFC and grab two pieces of chicken and a side for $2.22. Gotta love Toonie Tuesdays!
What is the moral of the story? Well, next time you, the cash-strapped student, are looking for cheap entertainment, do not forget about Toonie Tuesdays.
