Nostalgia North of The Boarder

This time of the year in Montreal, the cold wind blows over the city and the people wait for Spring. The chilled air is not the only thing blowing over the people of Montreal, the other is nostalgia.

The memories of the Expos run rampant through their heads as other cities with Major League teams prepare for Spring Training. Expos hats still are worn daily in tribute to the fallen franchise.

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team formed during the MLB’s expansion in 1969. The Expos embodied what the city of Montreal was all about. With quirky players, bilingual announcers, and a furry mascot named Youppi, the Expos added its own spin on the national pastime that will leave its mark on the city and the game forever.

Following a financial collapse in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria was forced to sell the team to the Major League Baseball National Office. Following the 2004 baseball season, the Expos were moved to Washington D.C., where they reside today as the Washington Nationals.

The move was not as scarring until around 2012, when Expo legend Gary Carter passed away. The city was reinvigorated for its love of baseball and the city strived to regain its beloved Expos. The city very well may be getting what they ask for, the question is just, when?

With the poor fanbases and stadium situations in Tampa Bay and Oakland, it remains a very real possibility that those teams may move, but MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says not anytime soon. "It remains my strong preference, because I think it’s a policy that has served baseball really well over time, to stay in the markets where we’re located," Manfred said in an interview with Sports Nation. "We’re going to exhaust every possibility to get stadiums done in Tampa Bay and Oakland. But clearly you would think I was sort of la-la if I didn’t recognize at some point in time it may be necessary to consider alternatives."

In April 2015, the Toronto Blue Jays played the Cincinnati Reds in two exhibition games in Olympic Stadium, the Expos former home. In an article written by The National Post, Scott Stinson says “Expos jerseys were all over Stade Olympique (Olympic Stadium in French) on Friday night, rivalling those for the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that was actually playing in the game.”

The average attendance for those two games totaled over 90,000 nostalgic, passionate, and hopeful baseball fans. Fans were in tears when they paid tribute to former Expo players before the first game.

The love for the game is strong in Montreal, the city yearns for the Expos return. Expect a large turnout and support if and when this legendary and beloved franchise returns to Montreal.