So the postseason ended sooner than we hoped it would. Sometimes you give it all you’ve got, but you just come up short. And though we wanted it for our boys, though we hoped and cheered for that next win, it just wasn’t in the cards this time around. And that’s ok. Being sports fans means we’ve got to be ok with the losses; they make the wins that much sweeter.

But that being said, it’s critical we take a step back from the fresh feelings of postseason defeat, and look at all our Toronto Blue Jays have given us over the last seven months. We have so much for which to thank our boys. So, you guessed it, I’m comin’ at ya with six heartfelt thank you’s to throw out to the entire Toronto Blue Jays team.

1) Thank you for reminding us to never, ever give up. For reminding us that we may be down, but we are Toronto. We are never out. There’s a reason a baseball game lasts a whole nine innings, and nobody makes us more aware of that than the Blue Jays. Even down over a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, you guys remind us we have the power to beat the odds. To get that one clutch hit. To walk off with a win. Thank you for reminding us to keep our heads in the game, and to have the courage to take the right swing.

2) Thank you for being such an upstanding group of gentlemen, both on and off the field. Your kindness and support for one another certainly inspires me to treat those around me as a team, and I am sure your actions have driven others to do the same. Additionally, you boys and your staff are kind to your fans. No matter where you started, you’re part of Toronto now. Thank you for shining such an upstanding and positive light on our city.

3) Thank you for showing us the power of perseverance. Writing your player profiles this season, I’ve learned so much about many of your backgrounds. You weren’t the biggest or the fastest or the strongest. This life wasn’t handed to you. This sport didn’t owe you. You made you. You worked and you fought and you proved yourselves time and time again. Thank you for the motivation you give us every single day.

4) Thank you for your confidence. No matter what happens on the field, you’re never shaken. You step out for that next catch or pitch or at-bat or inning or game, and you make sure we know you can handle whatever comes your way. Thank you for the crazy slides, the diving catches, and the bat flips; they are moments we will never forget.

5) Thank you for making Toronto a baseball city. We aren’t just a city of baseball fans… we are a baseball city. We love the game. We know the game. We are interested in the players and the strategy and the stats. We attend sold out games, we listen eagerly to your radio broadcasts, we follow you as cartoon men on the MLB app, and we rush home from work at the end of the day so we can watch you on TV. We support you through your losses and we unabashedly celebrate your wins. Thank you for igniting our city with the life and energy of diehard baseball.

6ix) Thank you for bringing us together. As a fan living pretty far away from Toronto at the moment, one of the reasons I fell in love the baseball was the connection it brought me with my hometown. Since wholeheartedly embracing my love for the Jays, I’ve reconnected with old friends, welcomed new acquaintances, learned a plethora of facts about players and their histories, discovered the meaning behind many a fancy-sounding acronym, received new writing opportunities, and developed an incredibly long thread of game-talk group texts, all because of Blue Jays baseball. And I know I am not the only one to have felt the sense of togetherness our team has brought to fans all across Canada and beyond. Not every visiting team draws fans that outnumber the home crowd. Not every home team creates countrywide inside jokes (e.g. “I’d rather get punched in May than knocked out in October”). Not every team is like this team. No other team is our team.

So, in closing, I’d love to give a #torontoloud thank you to our Toronto Blue Jays. Thank you for making #ourmoment an exciting one. Thank you for helping us #cometogether through thick and thin. Thank you for an incredible 2016 season. Can’t wait to see you in April so we can enjoy the flight all over again.

Let’s go Blue Jays!