dennis.ca

Now that the Montreal Expos have played -- and lost -- their final game at Olympic Stadium, it seems fitting that I recall one my few memories of the team.

When I was 9 or 10 my father took me to Montreal. It was my first visit to the province of Quebec and my first trip to a Major League baseball game. I knew next to nothing about "the French" in practical terms, and managed to develop something of an irrational fear of the unfamiliar city and culture. I was utterly boggled with the fact that Notre Dame held masses in French.

My grasp of the language was minuscule at best and so I largely ignored the chatter of fans around us at Olympic Stadium. A crotchety woman several rows behind us -- loudly and continuously -- expressed her displeasure with the play of switch-hitter Tim Raines. The Pittsburgh Pirates were well on their way to a one-sided victory, and in her estimation, his play was largely responsible.

After a particular colourful outburst from the woman, my father turned around and asked her (in French) to check her language. "I have my kid here," he continued to bark in English. I looked back to catch her reaction, and she seized the opportunity to look at me directly and bellow, "Tim Raines is a fuck!"

Though surprised, I was neither offended nor scared. I relayed to my father a startling discovery that seemed to immediately dissipate my concerns about the city: "French people like baseball a lot!"

Indeed, I had established a common ground with the city of Montreal, developed a newfound interest in baseball, and laid the framework for the still enjoyable past-time of cursing out athletes.