It’s the most wonderful time of the year — for sports fans

By Lethbridge Herald on September 19, 2025.

Al Beeber
Leave It To Beeber

It’s that time of year again when sports worlds collide.

Autumn is not only joyous for the spectacular colours that emerge as leaves change colour, it’s also a season when other colours start appearing everywhere in the form of NFL, college football and hockey jerseys which mingle with the favourite hues of fans’ baseball teams. Soon hockey and basketball jerseys will add their own splash of colour to the mix.

With the NFL now in its third week, the CFL and college football seasons in full swing, baseball playoffs starting and fans of the NHL and NBA getting ready for their campaigns, there is a smorgasbord of sports offering to keep or get fans excited. And of course, the WNBA playoffs are on for fans of women’s hoops.

Auto racing buffs on weekends can look forward to the the NASCAR playoffs and Formula One racing so the dance card is really full for avid followers of whatever sport tickles their fancy.

With the Blue Jays closing in on a playoff spot and potentially the  best record in the American League, excitement for our lone Canadian  major league baseball team is at fever pitch right now. Not since their run to a first World Series have I seen so much interest in the Jays, who managed to give Canada two straight championships before the twinkle of their star faded.

But now it seems the Jays are on everyone’s minds – except for devoted fans of the Yankees and Red Sox, of course.

During the Jays’ first run to the World Series in 1992. before the  Herald switched to a morning edition, I filled in on the news desk for the late, great Pat Sullivan while he was on vacation. Sully would be at his desk well before the crack of dawn to start laying out the day’s news pages.

On nights when the Jays played, I’d get about four hours sleep before waking at an hour I feel now is normal, a time which 1992 me would probably have shook his yawning head at because at 33, I couldn’t see myself moving at 4 a.m. except to make a bathroom visit.

As a guy whose teams – Chicago Bears and the Leafs – perennially disappoint, to watch the Jays on their path to glory was something I wasn’t going to miss. And for two years we Canadians could claim our country was home to the best team in major league baseball.

Potentially, we will be able to proclaim that again because this  year’s team is really special, their late-game comebacks which one day will be part of Blue Jays and Canadian sports legend. Except for those Sox and Yankees fans, the Jays have truly become Canada’s team.

As the Jays edge closer to clinching a playoff berth, the buzz around the team is going to get deafening as we focus our eyes on Sportsnet to watch them in action virtually every night.

As I’ve written about before, I’ve long participated in fantasy sports pools – baseball, hockey and NFL football – and I’ve had my fair share of success. While I draft my own players in hockey and football, I’ve always done autopick for baseball because it’s a sport I find daunting, with so many different scoring categories. And this season, after a horribly slow start, I thought I was destined to be the basement dweller. But I resisted trade offers and held steady to my strategy of building a better team through the waiver wire and on the last week of the season, I secured the final playoff berth.

As this column was being written, it seemed clear my hopes for a championship were over but I still have a shot at bronze in next  week’s third place game – if I don’t pull off a fantasy miracle this  weekend.

My main fantasy focus right now is on the NFL – for the first time ever, I’m in a league with nephew Dan the Glad Man who rescued our long-time fantasy group by joining this year to prevent it from folding. Years ago, Dan and Dylan and I would be playing Nintendo in  the basement and now he and I are facing each other as adults in fantasy football and I’m looking forward to our head-to-match up this  season.

In hockey, I get to continue my rivalry with long-time pal and former colleague Dave Rohovie, who has made life really tough for me in our fantasy league since he joined. Dave always has my number even if I’m icing a team that on paper should be better. But he always prevails and this season will probably be no different.

And that’s okay because sports is about fun and camaraderie, a diversion from the seriousness of life. And even losing seasons are fun because  as we Bears and Leaf fans know all too well, there’s always next year!