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After two wild games at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, the World Series is now moving to Los Angeles for Game 3. Currently, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays are tied 1-1, and they will play the next three games at Dodger Stadium. This change required an international flight from Canada to the US, which involved passing through customs. And for the team that just marched through a smooth playoff run and never had to cross the border in October, this trip was not a happy one. So, when asked about the trip from Toronto to LA, as per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith post on X, Roberts said, “I don’t want to get too far into it… I just arrived about 30 minutes ago. So there was some delays. I don’t know if there was intent or not. But, man, the international stuff was a bear. But we made it. We made it.” It is a known fact that professional sports teams have special access to travel. They usually fly on private charter planes. But looking at the 53-year-old’s comment, it is the “intent” part that was the most troubling. It seems like the blame is on Canada for the delay, but the final destination was the United States. This means they were dealing with U.S. customs, not Canadian customs. Although Roberts has not clarified what he meant, it has sparked some controversy. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad And this comes at a tense moment in the World Series after the Blue Jays shocked the Dodgers with an 11-4 rout in Game 1. Though the Dodgers answered back in Game 2 when Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a 5-1 complete-game victory, anything can happen in this series. Now, Games 3, 4, and 5 are set for LA, and the series will only return to Toronto for Games 6 or 7 if needed. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad But Roberts’ snide remark did not just fade away, as the annoyance in the fan sentiment was pretty evident. The fans, especially from Canada, were not happy Fans immediately questioned the logic of Roberts’ complaint, as one comment read, “Intent, please…. You go through customs once you arrive in Toronto. Not when you leave. 🙄” This fan is right. Major Canadian airports like Toronto’s have U.S. pre-clearance, which means the Dodgers went through U.S. Customs before they even boarded the plane. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports Other fans pinpointed exactly where the “problem” was, saying, “Not sure what this means. Sounds like an American issue since he was going back into the US. Nothing to do with Canadian customs.” Some even mocked the manager for complaining about his “tough” life. “Poor Dave Roberts man. Had to travel from Toronto to LA for a World Series on a private charter making millions of dollars to manage a super team. Prayers below 👇🏻” ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Roberts manages the most expensive team in baseball history with a $417 million roster and full of MVPs. And with that privileged position, complaining about a delay seems petty to fans. So some fans repeated the same feelings, writing, “Dave Roberts has the easiest job in the world, and he’s complaining about a flight delay because of a work staffing shortage in his own country.” Reportedly, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has faced staffing shortages. So, the delay was likely a normal American administrative problem, and it had nothing to do with Canada. This is why many fans felt Roberts was just making excuses.
