The Intersection of Music and Sports: Crying in the Locker Room, Shouting at the Stadium — The Long Story of Dallas Green and the Toronto Blue Jays

Photo by HobbyFotomeier, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

"The Song of the Blue Jays" Begins to Play in a Quiet Basement

On the night of the 2025 World Series Game 7, when the Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Dodgers, Dallas Green secluded himself in his home's basement with a guitar.

To sort out his emotions, he always chooses one method—writing a song.

"I'm really down about the Jays losing, so I'm writing a song in the basement now. I think it helps me pull myself together, and maybe someday someone will listen to this song." He expressed these sentiments in an interview with a Canadian sports site.Blue Jays Central

The "incident" that symbolized that series was the so-called "lodged ball" play, where the ball got stuck under the padding of the outfield fence. He reflects with a wry smile, "I'll be talking about 'that ball' with Jays fans for the rest of my life."UMVA

Even in that moment of mixed disappointment and laughter, melodies were already playing in his head.
The story of Dallas Green, a singer-songwriter who has traversed the worlds of post-hardcore and delicate folk, is now strongly intertwining with a third axis: "baseball."

The Man with Two Faces: Post-Hardcore and Folk

Dallas Michael John Albert Green was born in 1980 in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
He rose to prominence as the guitarist/vocalist for the hardcore band Alexisonfire, while simultaneously releasing acoustic-focused music as a solo project called "City and Colour."Wikipedia

The name City and Colour is a breakdown of his own name, "Dallas" (a city) and "Green" (a color). He says it was because he felt embarrassed to use his real name directly.Recording Academy

His debut work "Sometimes" in 2005 was certified platinum in Canada, and he won the JUNO Award for Songwriter of the Year with subsequent albums like "Bring Me Your Love" and "Little Hell." As Alexisonfire, he gained global popularity as a representative of post-hardcore, attracting many fans with his style of transitioning between husky shouts and clear singing.Wikipedia

Despite emerging from the punk-hardcore scene, he unabashedly exposes his vulnerability in his solo work.
"The best music is a little sad," he believes, a conviction that has determined the tone of his songs throughout his career.

"The Love Still Held Me Near" and Songs Walking with "Loss"

An essential part of discussing recent Dallas Green is the album "The Love Still Held Me Near," released in 2023 under the City and Colour name. This work was inspired by the accidental death of his close friend and engineer, Karl "Horse" Bareham.The Georgia Straight

After losing a key figure who supported early City and Colour works and was a touring companion, Green began to put his emotions into words through songwriting after a long period of mourning. In interviews, he has said, "By turning it into songs, I was able to release what I had been holding inside like therapy."The Georgia Straight

In the same work, he also confronts his religious views, having been raised in a Catholic school during his childhood. Although he no longer holds faith, the form of prayer he learned as a child resurfaced amidst his grief, making him realize, "Part of my character was shaped by that education."The Georgia Straight

Although the scale of his stages has grown to arena size, what he always seeks is "intimacy."
He says, "I want to sing so that it reaches the person at the very back of the audience, no matter how large the venue," aiming to create live performances as experiences of sharing the same time.The Georgia Straight

This process of "scooping up something beautiful from sadness" directly connects to his latest move of turning the Blue Jays' defeat into a song.

The Love for the Blue Jays Nurtured in Canadian Ballparks

Well-known among baseball fans, Dallas Green is a die-hard Toronto Blue Jays fan.
In an interview with the Recording Academy, he reportedly seemed more eager to talk about the Blue Jays than his new work, amusing the reporter.Recording Academy

The "unforgettable moment" he first mentions is Joe Carter's championship-winning home run in the 1993 World Series. After a long period of decline, he had special feelings as a fan since childhood for the team that returned to the playoffs in 2015.Recording Academy

Even while traveling the world for his music activities, he visits the stadium whenever he returns to Toronto. In the 2010s, he watched games with his optimistic bandmates, and their appearances became a topic on social media.Sportsnet.ca

For him, who has appeared at the Raptors' championship parade and participated in ceremonies at arenas, the Blue Jays are more than just a "favorite team" in Toronto's sports culture.
They are probably like "family," just like his bandmates.

The Magic of 2025 and the Nightmare of the "Lodged Ball"

It's no wonder he described the 2025 Blue Jays as "perhaps my favorite Toronto team ever." Young players and veterans meshed well, and the clubhouse was reported by many media outlets to have a strong bond and positive atmosphere.Blue Jays Central

However, the story did not end with a happy ending.
In Game 7 of the World Series, the Blue Jays lost to the Dodgers just one step away. The controversy surrounding the "lodged ball" that arose during that process will linger in the hearts of fans for a long time.

Dallas Green is no exception. In an interview, he said, "I witnessed that lodged ball. I'm sure it will be the first topic whenever I meet Jays fans from now on."Blue Jays Central

Despite being hurt, he quickly switches to "creative mode."
He began writing new songs in the basement to "process this frustration in his own way" and also with the modest hope that "someday someone might listen to this song and be saved in the same way."Blue Jays Central

He sees the same thing in this team as he does with his bandmates in Alexisonfire.
The history of the band, which has toured for years as a "chosen family" and supported each other through tough days, overlaps with the "brotherhood" that pervades the Blue Jays' locker room now. This overlap transforms even the pain of defeat into a somewhat warm story.Blue Jays Central

The Second Chapter of Alexisonfire and a Love Letter to CanRock

In terms of music, Dallas Green is now in the midst of a "second chapter."
Alexisonfire continues to be active after reuniting, and recently released an EP titled "Copies of Old Masters Volume 1," covering songs by Canadian rock legends like The Tragically Hip, Rusty, Shallow North Dakota, and Doughboys.UMVA

Canadian rock that played on MuchMusic in the '90s is his "musical landscape." He is now giving back the influence he received with his band's sound. He has repeatedly expressed respect for the late Gord Downie, frontman of The Tragically Hip.UMVA

Meanwhile, as City and Colour, he continues to tour for "The Love Still Held Me Near" and has already begun sowing seeds for the next work. He has recorded new songs with his friend P!nk in their folk duo "You+Me," hinting that they will be released in some form someday.The Georgia Straight

And at some point, a song about the Blue Jays' 2025 season might slip into a City and Colour album—such is the expectation surrounding Dallas Green now.

Empathy and "Self-Deprecating Humor" Overflowing on Social Media

The dramatic season of the Blue Jays, Dallas Green's "lodged ball" comment, and the "new song in the basement" episode naturally became a big topic on social media.
Here, we attempt to reconstruct the trends in online reactions without losing the essence. *This is not a verbatim quote of specific posts but an image summarizing the nuances.

• "We lost the game, but if Dallas turns this pain into a song, it feels a bit rewarding."

• "Who else but Dallas Green could write a song about the lodged ball?"

• "From the roaring sound of Alexisonfire to the quiet strumming of City and Colour, it all feels like the 'emotional range of a Jays fan.'"

• "That Game 7 is traumatizing, but thinking that even that trauma becomes part of CanRock history... makes me a little proud."

On the other hand, an online poll targeting baseball fans showed that just over 30% answered "I'm a fan" to the question "Do you know City and Colour?" while nearly 40% answered