RIP Jay and Dan

I miss them. Single tear. /Source: thestar.com

Canada loses two great men to America

Article: Paige Kreutzwieser – Sports Writer

Back a couple of years ago, I used to work the night shifts at a job of mine. Routinely, at 1:00a.m., I would take my break, turn on TSN and watch the notorious Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole recount the day’s sports highlights. It was perfect.

I no longer work that job and I actually function in a normal time realm now. Meaning, I am usually in bed well before the first evening SportsCentre episode even airs. But, that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy staying up every now and then to watch Jay and Dan’s ridiculousness.

That has all changed now.

If you do not know about the departure of Jay and Dan by now, then I offer my condolences for you having to live under a rock. My mother even knew about the duo’s new opportunity with the flagship FOX Sports1 network. That’s saying something.

The pair signed off at the end of June, and it couldn’t have been a more flawless transition.

SportsCentre in the summer is baseball, and lots of it. And as we know, most Canadians couldn’t be troubled to care.

To say goodbye and allow those to mourn without “having” to watch the show was perfect timing.

But, it’s not just saying farewell to two talented TV personalities.

Losing Jay and Dan to an American network is like getting dumped in high school because your boyfriend is going to college.

You know they’re going to have so much fun down there in L.A., meeting all these new people, partying at all the cool parties, while you now have no choice but to deal with Bryan Mudryk showing you another set of awful Blue Jays highlights.

To say I am proud that the duo is representing down south for us Canadians is an understatement.

They are truly two fantastic Canadian icons who will no doubt symbolize Canada with respect and dignity through dancing and extraordinary mustache competitions.

I know I speak for a huge portion of the Canadian population when I say they deserve all this success.

If you are a fan of Canadian sports news than you likely know of Cabral Richards – better known as his on-air personality name, Cabbie. He is ridiculous and at times, unusual.

What Jay and Dan did was different.

Jay and Dan not only proved sports news and highlights could be funny, but they paved a way for sports reporters to reveal their true personalities.

Their relationship with each other was the epitome of bromance. As a viewer, you were captivated by their weirdness. They were, and are, what sports shows need.

That is why we watched.

It is going to be a different world in Canadian broadcasting now.

It is already strange not watching Jay and Dan on TSN anymore. It’s going to be different watching the Olympics without Onrait’s hilarious hosting. And, a podcast just doesn’t do the duo justice.

What we really need is for them to come back.

I read an article where Onrait mentioned that even though the move to LA was official and real, it did not mean it was permanent. And, in the same article, it was stated that the opportunity for them to return to TSN is always available.

No one knows what will happen in the years to come with Jay and Dan, but one thing is for certain – Canada, you blew it.