Paul Bychko has a tattoo and a shirt commemorating April 7, 1977, the day that the Blue Jays played their first game at snowy Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.
Now, April 7, 2026, might worth another bit of ink as the date that he became the team’s owner for the day.
Bychko was selected as the winner in perhaps the most exclusive and immersive contest that Rogers and the team has ever put on, bestowing the title of Game Day Owner on one lucky Blue Jays fan per month this season.
And if Rogers was looking for a superfan to take over, it couldn’t have picked a better person.
In Bychko’s basement, at home in Sault Ste. Marie, is a veritable Blue Jays museum, with the 46-year-old married father of two boys owning more than 13,000 pieces of team memorabilia.
“Every wall is covered, there’s no space,” Bychko said.
His collection is so grand and exclusive that he even let the club borrow a few pieces for the Jays’ 50th-season celebration.
“It’s nice to have people enjoy it,” he added. “It means a lot to me.”
His favourite piece of memorabilia is a baby blue jersey he got when he was a kid, but it was an adult size and too big for him to wear. Instead, he took it with him to games and events, getting it signed by the many players he encountered over the years.
By the end of the day, he’d have many signatures from the stars of the current team to take home, as well – but more on that later.
What kind of exclusive experiences does the winner get?
The day began with a behind-the-scenes look at the Player Walk, or Celebration Alley, as it was known during the team’s magical 2025 playoff run.
The Game Day Owner got to experience exactly the same game day experience that a Jays player goes through – including getting access to the team’s weight room, performance department and clubhouse, none of which are on the usual stadium tours.
While stepping out onto the field as the grounds crew prepped for the game that evening against the Dodgers, Bychko was given the chance to handle a couple of bats used by some Jays sluggers.
One of the most interesting stops was in the game operations department, the figurative neural centre for in-stadium entertainment at the downtown dome.
After receiving a crash course on how the Jumbotron, video boards and statistical outlays work, Bychko was given the chance to try out the stadium’s announcement system – and hit the home run horn, much to the field worker’s chagrin.
And while he already received his fair share of team merchandise – complete with the custom ‘Game Day Owner’ nameplate on the back of a powder blue jersey – a shopping spree at the Jays Store also was on the agenda.
Making his own pitch to executives
While the morning began with those fun and games, as the team’s owner for a day, there was some business to attend to.
As part of his honourary role, Bychko was able to sit with several Blue Jays executives from baseball operations, finance, marketing and more to pitch his ideas on how to improve the club and the fan experience.
While we can’t get too far into the confidential details, it was clear that Bychko – a teacher by trade who currently works with the ministry of education – certainly had some ideas worth listening to.
Bychko mentioned that the portion of his experience that was most likely to make his friends back home jealous surely lived up to its billing: On-field meet and greets with some Jays players.
With the teams’ pre-game batting practice wrapping up, Bychko had the chance to chat with Kazuma Okamoto and John Schneider. The manager even signed a ball with one of his memorable quotes from last year’s playoffs which was a bit too colourful to share here.
He also had the opportunity to chat with several Sportsnet personalities, including Dan Shulman, Jamie Campbell and Hazel Mae — who was celebrating her birthday on Tuesday.
Bychko then got to head up to the Rogers Terrace with his family to watch the Jays take on the Dodgers while chowing down on some of the first-class food served at the newly created club area.
What is the Game Day Owner’s season outlook for the Jays?
While the end result of Tuesday’s game — a 4-3 loss to the Dodgers, with the Jays failing to capitalize on some late-inning opportunities — wasn’t what he probably wanted to see, Bychko and his family surely won’t forget it anytime soon.
“I did it as a bucket-list thing,” he said.
As for evaluating the team’s overall performance, Bychko remains optimistic about the Jays hopes of once again contending for a World Series championship despite an “unfortunate” start to the season.
“I think it’s a series of unfortunate events that have happened,” he said. “it’s just bad timing just based on the high that they left.”
Bychko added that he believes that once the team begins to get healthy again, it can break its current collective slump and that the Jays easily can be in the same position they were last year.
What is Rogers Game Day Owner program?
With the Blue Jays celebrating their 50th season, owner Rogers revealed several initiatives earlier this month to help bring fans “closer to Canada’s team” as it celebrates this milestone campaign.
“As the proud owner of Canada’s team, we’re excited to celebrate 50 years of Blue Jays baseball with fans from across Canada,” Edward Rogers, owner of Rogers Communications and the team, said in a press release. “During this milestone season, we’re celebrating the fans that got us here, from first-time fans to lifelong fans.”
According to Rogers, the company will be “handing over ownership of Canada’s Team to the people who helped build the franchise: The fans.”
How do you enter?
With Bychko’s tenure over, applications remain open for the remainder of the season as the team looks for its next Rogers Game Day Owner. There will be one winner selected per month, with all successful applicants receiving the same exclusive, immersive experience that he did.
According to Rogers, the company already has received more than 10,000 applications from across Canada to become the next winner.
The remaining dates this season include:
-May 9: Barbie Day vs. Angels
-June 13: ALDS Rematch vs. Yankees
-July 20: AL East Matchup vs. Rays
-Aug. 28: ALCS Rematch vs. Mariners
-Sept. 12: Battle of the Birds vs. Orioles
Fans looking to potentially take on the role of owner for a day can apply for the “job” through the Rogers website.