Why was a Colonel Sanders lookalike at the World Series Game 2 in Toronto?

A man dressed as Colonel Sanders caught the eye of World Series baseball fans Saturday night.

Dressed in white with the trademark goatee, black ribbon tie and browline glasses, the man was standing behind home plate during Game 2 at the Rogers Centre.

Harland David Sanders is the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Born in Henryville, Indiana, in 1890, Sanders lived out his final years in Mississauga from 1965 until he died in 1980.

While some speculate the man posing as the fried chicken founder was a clever marketing ploy, many people believe the Sanders lookalike was meant to rattle the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“Shoutout to the man behind home plate in the Colonel Sanders outfit messing with the Dodgers Japanese players,” Morgan Ross wrote on X.

Ross was referring to the so-called “Curse of the Colonel”, a Japanese urban legend that the ghost of Sanders placed a curse on the Hanshin Tigers after fans threw a statue of the Colonel into the Dōtonbori Canal in Osaka in 1985. The Tigers won the 1985 championship, but it was the start of a long losing streak.

Many fans believed the Tigers would not win the championship again until the statue was recovered. It was finally pulled from the river in 2009, but the Tigers didn’t win the Japan Series again until 2023.

I can’t believe that Colonel Sanders is in the stadium in Toronto over the sea where the World Series is exciting 🇨🇦 😳 In my country, Japan 🇯🇵🐯 Hanshin Tigers, Colonel Sanders is honored as a god.
If you think about it, it is the best symbol of Hanshin in Japan in 1985.
※A… pic.twitter.com/oN5aLTe7UQ

— ダリル【Daryl Dixon】 (@dead1978tt) October 26, 2025

The Dodgers have three Japanese players — starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and closer Roki Sasaki.

As it turns out, a KFC spokesperson told The Canadian Press that the Colonel Sanders lookalike was indeed someone sent by the company to promote their newly renamed sandwich.

The fast-food chain is changing the name of its “fan-favourite” Zinger Sandwich to the Dinger Sandwich to support the Jays.

“When the nation’s baseball fever hit new heights, we knew we had to step up to the plate with something just as bold,” Azim Akhtar, interim chief marketing officer with KFC Canada said. “We decided to change the name of our iconic Zinger sandwich to the Dinger, as our way of feeding that Canadian baseball fandom, celebrating the hits, the hype and the moments that bring fans together.”

There was some speculation that the man in question was Sudbury resident Rob Wills, who played Colonel Saunders in TV commercials in 2023.

Just above the Sanders stand-in, is another well-known person in Mississauga. Realtor Sam McDadi can be seen watching the game along with other Blue Jays fans. McDadi has season tickets and has enjoyed the Blue Jays run to the World Series this year. McDadi’s guest, who is seated behind the Sanders lookalike, was legendary MMA fighter Georges St. Pierre.

COLONEL SANDERS?????? pic.twitter.com/s2vNtyJPED

— nessa (@n36ssa) October 26, 2025

The Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 5-1 in Game 2 of the best-of-seven championship. The series now shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

With files from The Canadian Press