Never mind the peanuts and crackerjacks. Toronto Blue Jays fans want their favourite beer guy back.

Wayne McMahon, a 61-year-old beer vendor known for his trademark beer holler, was fired July 8 and since then, fans have turned to the web to fight for his reinstatement.

Aramark, the company in charge concessions at the Rogers Centre, says he was let go because he sold beer to someone without checking their identification first.

The customer turned out to be a 22-year-old mystery shopper who ordered two beers.

"Our policy requires vendors to ID everybody who appears under the age of 30 and limits beer sales to one beer per person per transaction in the stands," said company spokesperson David Freireich. "When we employ mystery shoppers, we use individuals where there can be no question about his or her age and the need for vendors to ask for identification."

McMahon, who has been working every Jays game for the past six years, was fired on the spot.

Daniel Lublin, the Toronto employment lawyer representing McMahon, says his client believed the customer was also ordering for his friend. Regardless, he said, immediate dismissal was too harsh a punishment.

"A dismissal wasn't a proportionate response," he said in an interview with CTV.ca. "They didn't consider his previous history. He had passed all six of his mystery shopper exams."

The situation "just doesn't make sense," Lublin said, which leads him to believe there would be other factors involved in the dismissal.

"I think there might be other factors involved but I'm not prepared to comment on what they might be."

McMahon said he has a spotless employment record and has never been in trouble before.

"Do I speak my mind? I absolutely do," he said in a telephone interview with CTV.ca. "There must be more to it than that because I don't understand this in the slightest."

McMahon said he was "crushed" when they told him he was fired.

"I absolutely loved coming to work every day," he said. "I just can't believe I lost it. I'm completely crushed."

Lublin wrote a letter on behalf of his client to Aramark on Monday. On Wednesday, the company responded, saying they were investigating the incident, Lublin said.

McMahon is considering suing the company for wrongful dismissal, something his legions of fans have been clamouring for him to do.

Fans to the rescue

On July 11, an online group and petition was formed on Facebook, a popular networking website. Since then, 4,602 members have joined but that number is growing by the hour.

"Wayne McMahon is a legend of epic proportions," wrote one member. "I usually go and see about 10 games a season but I refuse to return to the Rogers Centre until Wayne is reinstated. 'Till I hear ICEEEEE....... Coolllllddddd...........Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrr! We love you Wayne!"

McMahon, known among his fans for his trademark beer holler, is also getting some sympathy on his personal Facebook page.

"I've been a big fan for a long time and I'm not too pleased about Aramark's decision," wrote one person. "I'm behind you 100% and I will not be attending any Jay's games until this wrong is made right. All the best to you friend."

The only way for McMahon to return to his job is if Aramark agrees to reinstate him, as a judge does not have the right to order the company to give him his job back. Rogers also can't step in to save his job, although they can suggest Aramark give the man another chance to appease Blue Jay fans.

Public pressure also carries a certain amount of weight, Lublin said, which is why he's urging McMahon's fans to sign the petition.

However, the issue for McMahon is not the money, but the fans, Lublin said.

"He really just misses his job," he said. "It was never about the money. He has a love for the game and his fans."

McMahon, who in the 1990s was a successful sales manager making "very good money" said his T4 slips are now less than $5,000. He doesn't care though, he said, because the extra dough helps feed his golf addiction.

He'll be back

McMahon said he hopes he'll be back at the Rogers Centre, performing his old shtick. In the meantime however, MTV has given him a job as an announcer during MTV Live. Once in a while, they ask him to growl "ICE COLD BEER."

The crowd at MTV goes wild, just like they do in the stands, he said.

"I've always had a good voice but being in sales, I knew I had to differentiate myself from the other vendors," he said when asked how he came up with the holler. "I came up with a concept to say "cold" in a way that would really make people shiver. Then I thought that what sells best is sex so I say "beer" in a sexy low growl.

"I know it's crazy but that's how it started," he said, laughing. "People go absolutely nuts for it."

In fact, one woman proposed to him once after hearing him at a baseball game. But the self-professed flirt turned her down.

The divorced father of two said he's thrilled at the MTV opportunity but that what he really wants is his old job back. He won't even consider lending his talents to the Toronto FC, the Toronto Argonauts or the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"I was at the first ever hometown Blue Jay game at the Exhibition in the seventies," he said. "This is my home. I love this game."