The city of Toronto looks to be temporarily shutting down as Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour make their way through town for six consecutive shows.
The Blue Jays have jumped on the bandwagon, too, even erecting a giant friendship bracelet in honour of the pop superstar’s first Canadian concert since 2018.
In our Tayronto Era ✨#TorontoTSTheErasTour pic.twitter.com/laAUm2HJ3Q
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) November 14, 2024
Blue Jays Way has also been temporarily renamed Taylor Swift Way during her stay. Meanwhile, streets around the Rogers Centre are closed off and transit service ramps up to accommodate the influx of Swifties.
While the 34-year-old singer’s fans are likely delighted by the city-wide celebration, many baseball fans are not.
A quick look at the comments on the Jays’ recent array of Swift-inspired social media posts is indicative of that.
“Cringe,” wrote one X user in response to the giant bracelet outside the stadium, to which the team responded with yet another Swift GIF.
Ratio Sadly pic.twitter.com/Vy5czff5Og
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) November 14, 2024
“I thought this was a baseball team’s page,” another chimed in.
I thought this was a baseball teams page? pic.twitter.com/vWNNybyLIP
— Markus (@Msky9729) November 14, 2024
One fan urged the team to turn its attention to free-agency signings instead.
Why don’t you sign some players instead
— Victor Rodrigues (@v_rod91) November 14, 2024
Over on Instagram, the mood was equally sour. One user said they hope that the team will use some of the revenue from next week to sign star free-agent outfielder Juan Soto.
@bluejays/Instagram
Someone even expressed relief in not having to be in the city while the shows are happening.
@bluejays/Instagram
Others took the chance to poke fun at the Jays’ underwhelming 2024 season.
@bluejays/Instagram
@bluejays/Instagram
Some have gone as far as calling the entire string of concerts a waste of time.
@bluejays/Instagram
Well, as Taylor herself famously sings, “the haters gonna hate, hate, hate,” and they certainly are in this case.
Despite the backlash, though, over 500,000 people are expected to fill the stands for Swift’s run of sold-out shows. With that in mind, Blue Jays fans may just have to find a way to shake it off.