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TORONTO — Most of us know first-hand what kind of atmosphere can accompany a winning baseball team in Toronto.

Other than perhaps watching from afar more than half a decade ago, not many current Blue Jays truly understood it.

Until Friday night.

With 45,022 packed inside Rogers Centre for the first time in what felt like forever — it was the first true sellout since March 29, 2018 — everyone finally got a taste, as the 2022 season started the same way the 2021 campaign ended … in dramatic fashion.

I won’t bore you with my thoughts on it.

Here’s how 16 players and coaches described the atmosphere and emotion of it all.

VLADIMIR GUERRERO JR.
“It felt amazing. This is my first opening day here in Toronto and when you see all the fans cheering for you, you try to be good and all the work you put in the off-season, you’re here. That made me feel like home.”

BO BICHETTE
“It was amazing. The team as a whole was a lot more calm than I expected and I think we did a great job handling it. I think the jitters were more just the lead up to the game. Once the game started I think we did a pretty good job. The fans were awesome. Definitely met my expectations, for sure.”

GEORGE SPRINGER
“It was awesome. I wish I could’ve hit the ball a little better, but it’s all good. I think, for us, it’s just a sense of normalcy here and to have this place like that, which I’ve seen as a road player get loud, get hectic, it was awesome. That’s pretty much standard issue Blue Jays. We’re never down and out. With this offence, with this team, we’re always in the game. Last night was stuff that we saw all last year.”

CAVAN BIGGIO
“It was a lot of things, but to sum it up it was definitely a moment I’m going to remember for the rest of my life. I think it says it all. Being able to experience that for the first time, you always hear coming up in the organization of how this city kind of rallies and vibrants around the team, last night was definitely a special moment and the culmination of a lot of hard work and a lot of adversity. A very special moment for not only us players, but obviously the fans in the city.”

MATT CHAPMAN
“Unbelievable. To be able to call that home and have that many people and a country behind you like that, it’s pretty special. I think you could tell everybody was a little excited early and then we kind of settled in a little bit. It was cool. That’s obviously not how you draw it up to start, but I think that shows what this team is capable of.”

LOURDES GURRIEL JR.
“My first opening day, it was crazy. It was a very special moment for me and for the two past years, 2020 and 2021, was very different. To come back home after two years was special.”

TEOSCAR HERNANDEZ
“I mean, it was unbelievable. If you asked me this question 100 times, I don’t have the answer. It was electric. Everybody was into it, fans, players, coaches, everybody that’s a Blue Jays fan or has the Blue Jays logo on, it was just an unbelievable feeling for us. It was incredible.”

JORDAN ROMANO
“It was, honestly, kind of an emotional day, just seeing it like that again. I’ve seen it as a fan watching games, but it was cool to be on the field experiencing all of it and seeing what the team means to the city. It was just a really cool and special day, and the way we came back kind of capped it off. It was probably my coolest experience yet on a ball field.”

SANTIAGO ESPINAL
“Man, I’m going to tell you, it was crazy. Tears came out of my face when the first pitch happened. I didn’t want to cry in front of everybody, but it was crazy. I’m so glad that I’m a part of this team and the opportunity that I got to be in this organization in front of the Toronto fans.”

ADAM CIMBER
“I don’t know if I’ve ever pitched in front of so many people and seen as much excitement around a baseball team as I did yesterday. It’s super special. I think when you’re out there you try to tune out everything going on around you as much as you can and just focus on the game, but it’s hard not to be excited when you’re in that kind of atmosphere. If they’re showing up like that for the first game of the season, I can only imagine what the World Series is going to be like.”

JULIAN MERRYWEATHER
“I was warming up during the Teo three-run bomb, I mean, wow. Just the lights, the crowd, how electric that was having 50,000 Canadians going crazy, I’m just glad they’re on our side. It was a great atmosphere. We feel like if we play the way we should, we’re going to be feeling this every night. We’ve been waiting a long time, (the fans) have been waiting a long time, it’s good to just put two and two together and finally be home.”

MANAGER CHARLIE MONTOYO
“That was just awesome. It seemed like everybody was a little bit nervous at the beginning, the whole team. That’s to be expected with so many people because we wanted to give them a show.”

HITTING COACH GUILLERMO MARTINEZ
“Incredible. Magnificent. It was unbelievable just because we haven’t really been out here having a home stadium or a home feeling. The guys were very excited and just wanted to prove what we’re all about. It was a party, man. They wanted to go out there and have fun.”

BENCH COACH JOHN SCHNEIDER
“Awesome. Loved it. I think the promotional people did a great job and the fans were outstanding. Sorry it took a couple innings to get going, but it was a long time coming for a lot of us, even the staff, with the exception of Luis (Rivera) and Pete (Walker), who have been here. It was electric. Goosebumps.”

FIRST BASE COACH MARK BUDZINSKI
“Incredible. Obviously, you see 50,000 or so people here and you know it’s going to be loud, but I think the pinnacle of it was the play at the plate when Teo slid in and they reviewed the play. As soon as they say, ‘The call has been overturned,’ the umpire kept talking and you couldn’t hear anything on the field. It was just electric. They brought the energy last night and it was a lot of fun.”

THIRD BASE COACH LUIS RIVERA
“That brings back good memories from when we were in the playoff hunt in 2015 and 2016. It was loud and, honestly, I wanted these young guys to feel that because I know they weren’t around when it happened. We felt it. I kept telling the guys, when we start winning the fans are going to show and they’re going be real loud so you have to get through those emotions and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”