I think the world has lost its mind when it comes to sports, so I truly loved watching the pure joy on the faces of both the participants and the spectators on Gold Cup & Saucer night at Red Shores Charlottetown on August 19th.

I also enjoyed watching the fun had a night earlier in Berlin, Germany, watching Canada’s Doug McNair and his entourage whoop it up a bit, while Dougie made a valiant effort to capture the 2023 World Driving Championship - an effort that fell just short and resulted in a silver medal showing.

Sure sports are big business, but my experience is that for the most part, the more fun the player(s) have, the more relaxed they get, and the more success they have.

Case in point - the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. A fairly young group the past 3-4 years, they were one of the first teams in the MLB to introduce a home run celebration in their dugout following round-trippers. The ‘Home Run Jacket’ sported by each player for a 10 second celebration that lasted  the length of the dugout, after they hit a dinger, was nothing but a joyful parade of happiness. Patches on the jacket showing the home countries of all who wore it showed camaraderie, and the young group grew close together - reaching the playoffs in both 2020 and 2022.

After an early playoff exit last year however, the naysayers argued that the team was having “too much fun” and that it was “time to get serious.” One of the team’s, and the league’s, brightest young stars - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - was deemed to be one of the biggest ‘fun-culprits’ - how dare he dump ice water on a teammate after every victory! God forbid! It was time to grow up and get serious about winning, said many.

A new bench coach, Don Mattingly, was brought in to create a more serious atmosphere, the Home Run Jacket is no more, and two of Vladdy’s best friends on the team - fellow fun-culprits Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. - were both traded away. That will teach them for having fun!

There were many armchair quarterbacks on social media who applauded these moves. I actually thought people were joking. But to joke is to have fun, so I guess not.

On August 18th in Berlin, I was proud to watch my friend Doug McNair win two of the first four WDC races, and add a second and a third, putting him in position to complete a stunning comeback with one race to go. But I was even more proud to watch him laugh and joke with the interviewer that kidded him about possibly proposing to his girlfriend Michelle, right in the winner’s circle, and then drive off after each win, waving to and interacting with the fans, to John Denver’s Thank God I’m A Country Boy.

In Episode 3 of Unfiltered, on Crave, Doug tells viewers, “I hate coming second; I’d rather come last.” In Berlin, I’m sure that a gold medal was the goal, but finishing second sure looked fun from where I was sitting. Good on ya Dougie!

On August 19th in Charlottetown, Maritimers showed everyone watching, that at the racetrack in PEI, fun can reach a whole new level.

The sheer joy on Jordan Stratton’s face in the post parade - BEFORE he even won the race - was priceless. It was evident that he had never been in a GC&S post parade before, and it was more evident that he liked it.

A few days after the race Jordan told me, “It was similar to Camluck [Classic] night at London, but on a whole different level. When I raced in Ireland it was very similar, everyone was just there for the love of harness racing. 100%, the fun of that night will be a lifelong memory.”

Winning trainer Jeff Gillis (see pg 44 for more) told me, “The most fun I’ve ever had racing was when we were going for the least amount of money... That’s Maritime racing, right, you’re in it for the love of the game and the fun that goes with it. Racing as much as I do in Ontario and New York, you forget that sometimes.”

The purse of the GC&S may have been $100,000, but in speaking to both Stratton and Gillis, I’ll promise you one thing - the money they made that night had nothing to do with the joy they experienced.

Stratton even told me: “I actually felt a little upset right after the race, knowing I had promised one of the kids my whip earlier in the night. I tossed it into the air after the wire in pure exhilaration…”

Eventually, Stratton learned that very boy somehow ended up with the whip nonetheless.

“I have no idea [how he got it],” Jordan laughed. “My guess is that he had his eyes on it the whole time, and ran out and grabbed it as soon as the track was clear.”

Stratton was greatly relieved that somehow his promise to the boy was fulfilled, and he gave the child’s friends (see photo) his goggles and driving gloves as well. Good on ya Jordan!

Those three boys had a night of fun they’ll never forget, and are sure to be lifelong fans, if they weren’t already.

Vladdy and his pals might be a bit older, but they’re playing a game that’s supposed to be fun, and it doesn’t look like they’re having as much of it as they used to. Maybe we’ll just have to get the Blue Jays’ brass to Old Home Week next year, and have a few Islanders remind them how to have fun.

Dan Fisher [email protected]