15,800 Facebookers back 'beer guy' in vain

Before Wayne McMahon was fired two weeks ago from his job as a vendor at Rogers Centre, most people knew him only as the “beer guy.”

The 62-year-old Toronto resident famously trolled the aisles of the ballpark with a cooler of beer and wait for a quiet moment to deliver his signature gravelly, elongated pitch: “Ice…cold…beer!”

About 15,000 people have joined a Facebook group calling for his reinstatement. MTV Live has invited him to be an announcer every day until he gets his job back.
But this afternoon at his lawyer’s downtown office, Mr. McMahon said he has abandoned hope of working there again after Aramark, the stadium’s concession company, told him that its decision was final.
“It’s a done deal,” the retired sales manager said. “I’m so very, very disappointed, crushed.”
Aramark claims that he sold two beers to a customer without asking for identification. Their policy is that vendors cannot sell a person more than one beer and anyone who appears to be under the age of 30 must show identification.
Mr. McMahon said he was grateful for the “unbelievable” show of support from fans who have proposed boycotts, who have called him “a hero,” “a legend” and a feature that is sometimes more exciting than the baseball game.

Mr. McMahon said he is now considering his options, including whether to file a wrongful dismissal suit to claim damages.
But he acknowledges it will not get him what he really wants.
“It’s never been about money,” he said. He makes about $4,000 a year working at the stadium.
“This has always been about my ability to go out and have a fun time, the best time I’ve ever had doing a job. I guess I feel like I’m a character, an entertainer…I put a smile on people’s faces and that puts a warmth in my heart.”