5
2013
Why Mets Boycotts Are Idiotic And Pointless
An article by 
My dad and I have never gone to a Mets game together before. Sure we’ve watched countless games on TV, been to see the Ducks and the Islanders, went to the Giants ticker-tape parade together, and have even caught a few Orioles games when we visit family in Maryland. But never have we both made it to Flushing with each other. Whenever I have gone, it has always been with friends. We have always tried to, but either something on my end or his would always come up, and we’d put it off until next month, or next season.
That was until this past Thursday morning. I called my dad from my dorm room first thing in the morning and told him that we were going to a Mets game this season, and not just any game, but Opening Day.
I waited until the clock struck ten, and snagged two overpriced tickets way up in the nosebleeds, but that didn’t matter. For the first time, I’ll be going to cheer on my favorite team, along with my dad, and no matter who is suiting up on that field, I know April 1st, 2013 will be a day I will always cherish.
Just because the outfield will be an eyesore at best and the bullpen has more questions marks than the Riddler’s jumpsuit, doesn’t mean the experience of attending a Mets game should be tarnished.
The Mets fight song still plays as you get your ticket scanned at the gate. There is still no feeling in the world that can describe making your way through the Jackie Robinson Rotunda to see the field open up in front of you.
The fries and the shakes haven’t become infested with disease just because R.A. Dickey is playing North of the border; they’re still delicious (overpriced, but delicious).
Mr. Met doesn’t sit in left field in a fetal position. The Wilpons don’t stand on top of the dugouts donning a menacing smile, laughing at all those who were oh-so ignorant to actually pay to see the New York Mets. It is still a baseball game.
I know the boycott movement isn’t as popular as it was last year, but it still exists among many begrudged fans. I just don’t understand the mentality of those who decide to boycott their favorite team. Was this ever done in ’94? Or ’78? Or ’63? The answer is no. Yes, you want Wilpon out, many fans do, but are you really suffering so much that you will rob yourself the chance to see a baseball game with friends and loved ones?
Once again, the answer –at least should be–no. Fifty-plus years ago, this franchise was the worst team in the annals of baseball history. No team has ever lost more games in a season. And yet fans still came. Why? It was to see National League baseball in New York again. They stayed and continue to stay for the experience, the fun atmosphere of the Polo Grounds/Shea Stadium/Citi Field; and the Mets.
Just take a look at the post done this morning by MMO’s own Clare Lafferty. Clare was so excited to have the chance to go to Banner Day once again that she wrote a wonderful post about it, much like myself and Opening Day in this one. It’s not about how awful the team will be, or the upper management of this club, but simply a post about getting to go to a Mets game.
In the seventh inning, you still root, root, root for the home team, and if they don’t win it’s a shame. However the fact of the matter is it’s still the old ball game, no matter who’s on the field or signing the checks.
In actuality, the only ones the boycotters are hurting is themselves. They are the ones who are missing out on the grand old experience of going to a ballgame.
About the Author: Clayton Collier
Clayton, a Long Island native and die-hard Mets fan, started writing online about three years ago. He is currently a Journalism major with a minor in Broadcasting at Seton Hall University. Although very disappointed with the current state of the team, Clayton remains hopeful that the young prospects in the farm system will bring the Mets back to a respected franchise in baseball once again. Besides writing for MMO, Clayton is also a staff member at 89.5 WSOU, Seton Hall's modern active rock radio station. You can contact Clayton by following him on Twitter: @Clayton_Collier or E-mailing him at MaybeNextYearMets@yahoo.com
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I don’t think it counts as a boycott if people just decide on their own not to purchase a lousy product…which is what will happen by Memorial Day.
Truth of the matter is anyone who says they are boycotting probably had no intentions of going to more than two or three games anyway!
Most people who are unhappy are not going to boycott just go fewer than they would if the team was more promising….
Or those who might have bought Season Tickets opted for a few one offs instead because they felt the team wasn’t going to be good enough to warrant the dedication to use most of the tickets you have to buy on a full season or Weekend package plan.
That said if they are going to continue to not spend and invest in the team they had better expect the fans to follow thier suit….
So they are limiting their attendance and market to those who like cheap and young and will settle for hope over proven, good and competitive….
As I said in another thread if you like the direction of the team you really should attend as many games as possible and show them your appreciation and opinion of what they have done….
And if that plan they used can get to break even it will be up to all those who want them to spend to go to the games and give them the money to do the spending they want.
*Truth of the matter is anyone who says they are boycotting probably had no intentions of going to more than two or three games anyway*
Really? Then how do you explain the drastic decline in season tickets sold over the last few years?
Lower expectations, not happy with the product, general down-turn in the economy. Those still don’t equal boycotting.
TRS pretty much covered it but to elaborate….
Going less is not boycotting….
Boycott infers not going to go at all, not a SINGLE game!
And the truth is anyone who is saying they will boycott probable never went to more than 3 or 4 games even when they were NOT boycotting….
People who just want to go see a baseball game will still go to a game or two….
Maybe less than they might if the team was a contender….
Boycotters (most of them anyway) seem to be boycotting the ownership more than the state of the team…Other just can’t afford the prices since they moved to a reduced seating stadium and had to charge more just to try and stem the losses….
I don’t consider someone who doesn’t go to any games due to thier own financial issues BOYCOTTING a team due to how they percieve it….
In the end this Boycotting thing is not going to lead to the outcome they think the boycotting is going to get them…..
If you don’t want to go then simply don’t go because no one really cares what you call the reason your not going…..
Well I use to have a partial season ticket plan. I do not buy any tickets anymore. If I go to a game its because I am given the tickets for free or get them cheap on stub hub. I refuse to spend hard earned money on this team until they make a REAL effort to improve.
*And if that plan they used can get to break even it will be up to all those who want them to spend to go to the games and give them the money to do the spending they want*
That may be the most ridiculous statement I ever read. So that fans have to spend to watch a garbage team, so the owners can improve it? What are you? 15 years old?
Here is how business works. A business person MUST make his product appealing to draw customers. He does’t ask the public to spend on an inferior product before he improves it.
Thats like me going to a top steak house. Paying top prices but getting a Hamburger, and having the owner tell me, well I need people to buy the Hamburgers so maybe next year I can sell Steak.
No but reading seems to be an issue you have….
What I said was if you LIKE the team and what it has done you should show them by supporting them….
Then once the team has stopped losing money and have thier finances in order they should build the best team they can with the money they have….
AND IF THAT IS NOT ENOUGH…..IF YOU THINK THEY NEED TO SPEND MORE….
Then you had better give them some money to do it with!
You GET what you pay for!
True with Free Agents…Pay Squat, Get Squat!
True with most products you buy!
No one (certainly not me) said you have to pay money to see a bad product…
But if they don’t have the money to make the product better or are convinced that moves they make will be REWARDED as shown the attendance figures….
Then there is no motivation to make things better!
So if you LIKE what they do you should go so they will DO MORE!
If you do not like what they do then feel free not to attend but then don’t complain if they can’t make a move you were not prepared to pay for and REWARD them for doing.
Eventually they will spend money…No way around that!
When they do you should buy some tickets to show them THATS what it takes to get your Money….
If you don’t they will just assume we don’t care no matter what they do so they will do what they can afford as oppsed to what makes them a winner since it doesn’t mnatter either way!
the met fans broke attendance records in 2006…made the post-season….made extra revenue from OUR attendance…
so when Cliff Floyd was leaving…what did they do?
instead of paying for the rest of Manny Ramirez’s contract…they went cheap and signed Alou to a 1 year 7 mil deal with a 1 year team option.
then they nickle and dimed bradford and oliver….weakening our bullpen that suffered from the sanchez injury…
o and in that same time period, the mets were almost dead to last in IFA spending, 3rd to last in overall draft spending
Sorry …but with the wilpons attendance does not equal SOUND reciprocal financial investment
“but with the wilpons attendance does not equal SOUND reciprocal financial investment”
Can’t argue with that at all….
And I was not suggesting that if we went more they would spend more….
What I was suggesting is if you WANT them to spend more you can’t expect them to do it when we are not there to pay for it.
OR
are not making our purchasing decisions based on what they are doing at the time and instead making it based on who owns the team and what they may have done in the past.
I agree with those who have a spending phobia when it comes to the fact that
Fans are/can be fickle….Unfortunatly MLB contracts are not!
I contend it wasn’t Omars spending that killed us because every player signed at the time was considered a good signing when it happened….
What REALLY killed the team finances is we stopped liking/attending/paying the bills on that spending before the contracts ran out!
What has happened here is that the fans who DID THE RIGHT THING and kept paying/going to see the team they bought for them from 2006 on have stopped going because the team got rid of the players that inspired them to support the team. They didn’t like the direction and stopped going…PERFECTLY within thier rights.
But if your boycotting and refuse to go you really don’t have a right to ask them to spend money your not willing to spend. And I’m not suggesting you have to go BEFORE they spend but if and when they do if you don’t commit and go to help pay for it they certainly won’t do what you like AGAIN knowing it won’t get them your money….
SO if and when they go get us another Beltran anyone who thinks a Boycott is in order due to what they have done (spending) will either have to end the Boycott and vote for what they like or they really have no right to complain about them not spending because you didn’t put your money where you mouth said they should put it.
Thats all I’m trying to get accross there…
At least for all my complaining I still go see the Mets every year. Mostly in Philly because it’s actually more convenient and closer for me, but still go and root for the Mets.
The late 70′s teams may as well have been boycotted. ’79 team drew 788,000 fans. 77-79 drew 2.8 million over three seasons.
attendance has always risen and fallen with the record and PS chances. that is not new. Even when fans were perfectly happy (or totally indifferent to) the GM and owners.
I can understand the rationale for a boycott of your favorite team in some circumstances. If you were a Marlins fan, would you continue to support Loria?
So I think the question is whether or not the Mets deserve to be boycotted, and I think clearly they do not. I know that some fans will say they are boycotting this year, and then continue to support the team by watching them on TV, which means they are really only half boycotting the Mets. That’s their choice, but I just don’t think it’s warranted.
There’s a difference to “boycotting” and just not wanting to see what you thin kwil lbe a bad team.
Self grandizing bluster.
Agreed there is a big difference between boycotting and just not wanting to attend games.
I’ve gone to 2 Mets games in the past two years mostly because I didn’t care to spend the money on, or the time in the ballpark watching, an inferior product. It wasn’t a boycott. I dislike the Wilpons and would like them to sell the team, but it wasn’t a boycott.
On the other hand, I gave up season tickets and boycotted Knicks games for a number of years based on my intense dislike for James Dolan and at the time Isiah Thomas. That decision wasn’t just about not spending money on an inferior product. That was a conscience decision not to spend money on or show support for a franchise run by such dislikable incompetent individuals.
People will Boycott for any number of varying reasons I guess. As to which of them are idiotic or pointless I’ll leave that for others to judge but I do think that when it comes to how one chooses to spend their entertainment dollar no one should be told how they should or shouldn’t spend it.
I just think think that it’s a shame when if you have the means and you actually enjoy going to a game that you allow ownership the Front Office or other individuals stop you from watching the team that takes the field.
I don’t know why some would rather not try to enjoy the positives. Maybe it’s just easier to focus on the flaws. I don’t know. Let the arm chair psychologists try to figure that out. But when I look at this club there are players to feel positive about and look forward to. Speaking for myself If the day ever comes where all I do is complain about the Mets every day after day and I am unable to express some enjoyment from said team at that time then I will know my worst fear as happened that I am no longer a Mets fan.
I pray that day never comes.
Hey Jersey!
“I just think that it’s a shame when if you have the means and you actually enjoy going to a game that you allow ownership the Front Office or other individuals stop you from watching the team that takes the field.”
Mate – well put and I couldn’t agree more. If a person wants to spend their money going to Citi Field they have as much right as someone who feels that the Mets are putting out a substandard team and won’t shell out $300+ for a family of four.
Personally, I wouldn’t have a problem if someone wanted to see the games – it’s a great experience regardless how bad the team currently is.
I also support those on this forum who say they don’t want to spend a penny. I feel their pain.
I would very much love to go to a game this season – but that’s probably not going to happen.
If I did go I would buy my ticket on stubhub with the hope of getting a huge discount.
Of course, living in Sydney Australia means that instead I’ll pay $135 to MLB and watch the Mets on my computer.
Knocking the Mets does not mean you are not a Mets fan. Whether you can praise what’s happening to the Mets through rose colored glasses or feel that the FO has let you down is what’s great about being a fan.
Thanks for the compliment Tlagee. It’s awesome that at least we can Thank God that we live in a time where you can be on the other side of the world and not miss a pitch of a Mets game.
Of course – if you don’t mind watching a Sunday afternoon game at 3am Monday morning…
The best part is Friday night games – a 7:30pm start means 9:30am Saturday morning which isn’t bad if I can get the kids out of my hair.
Get them to softball and soccer practice then hide behind a tree with the Ipad.
LoL
In the end I don’t want to spend the time and money on a business that is selling a bad product. Call it what you will. There’s no law that says I HAVE to give any inferior company my money. I don’t have to hand out my money to a bad company just so they can survive.
Other fans can manipulate it by challenging a person’s “fanhood” or talk about the “thrill of a baseball game” if they wish, but this is America and we are about capitalism. This MLB franchise is a business, I am a consumer, and I if I don’t like the product I don’t have to buy it.
If they can’t make money in this business, they have to do what any other business would do, either sell it or shut it down. They’ve chosen to hold on to the business, so it’s up to them to make it work, not me.
I might watch it on TV, but if the game stinks, I’m changing the channel. Paying to watch my team get their butts kicked is not entertainment, so I refuse to spend cold hard cash on it.
I’ve spent plenty of money on this team, and I chose to spend none of it on them now. That’s MY choice, which I am allowed to make. If anyone else chooses to make a different decision, they are allowed as well.
And no one is suggesting you should have to spend on a product you don’t like…
Doing that is technically not a boycott just a decision..
A Boycott doesn’t really care how good the product is either way….
They just refuse to buy it….
Maybe the reasons are good, maybe not…
But it has less to do with the team in most cases and usually based on some other percieved slight.
Truth is anyone who claims they are boycotting are just full of it….
If the team starts winning they will go there and go back on their word in a heartbeat!
Metsie: Aren’t you splitting hair’s here. I don’t go to the movies because to me 99% of the actors are leftists and commies and I refuse to support them with my movie money. If I din’t go to movies because the movies stink it would be the same thing but coming at it from a different angle. If fans that used to go to Citi Field are not attending on purpose for whatever reason it is a boycott but I prefer the term “Fans on Strike.”
But I bet you still watch those movies when they go on TV though don’t ya?
Boycott means you wouldn’t…you would never watch TV at all if you really wanted to hurt the folks your talking about because it’s the same folks making movies as are making TV shows…Only the distrbution system used is actually different between the two…
I’ll Use SRTs post as a good example of NOT a boycott…
She has yet to attend a game at Citi but she watches on TV…NO BOYCOTT!
Other who SAY they are boycotting also say they watch on TV instead…They may think they are boycotting but they are not…They are STILL putting money in the team’s pocket.
Only those who say No Tickets No TV No Gear, Nothing they are DEAD to me are actually boycotting….
Denying the team any revenue from thier participation…
SO truth is the majority of people who say they are boycotting are really just fooling themseves and doing nothing towards fixing the reason they claim to be boycotting for.
Very true and those people most likely wouldn’t be on here complaining about it either as they would be fed up. They certainly couldn’t go to Metsblog as that too is supporting the team.
And even if they WERE here (true Bycotters) they really wouldn’t have a leg to stand on when it came to complaining about spending and team moves made…
They would have every right to state what the team could do to get thier money back, but if your boycotting you really can’t complain about what they spent/did since they aren’t spending your money and your not giving them the money to do whatever it is you want them to do.
That said by the same token if you never go to a game (logistics of attending aside) and only watch on TV, Your not supporting the team enough to actually influence what they do. The Budget is largely based on Stadium attendance. It is the single biggest money train in the game.
So if your not attending in person you have a slightly less firm ground to stand on than someone who does in regards to what they do with money.
I have pressed this point since 2010 when most of this Boycott talk first started.
Think of attendance like shares of stock…
If you only own a couple of shares your vote/desires of the direction of the company carries less weight than those who own much more stock in the team finances.
Bottomline is if you like what they are doing and want it to continue you had best GO see them and see them for the duration of that thing they did you liked…
That didn’t happen with the spending Omar made that everyone liked at the time…
And thats why the finances went south…Not the spending of the team (cause it made a profit even at it’s highest payroll) but the lack of spending of the fans to continue to pay for that spending they liked….
And the end result was a team who spent according to the support the fans gave them!
Best post on this subject! I might add I don’t think the Wilpons care. They make their money outside the park in revenue sharing, SNY and other broadcast rights and merchandise and the such. Boycotts hurt the stadium employees and businesses close to the stadium. If fans don’t come the Wilpons will just keep cutting the staff. The team is worth 750 million plus
For example last year I bought more in merchandise than a couple of good seats would have cost me so I didn’t need to be there for them, to make money. Your post was written from a fan and business perspective without the emotional attachment one has to their team and this is the way to approach this subject. If I had 30 grand to spend on a new car why would you spend 30 grand on a car that has a poor reputation for breaking down or the same 30 grand on a car with a great reputation for dependability and performance. The Mets are the lemon and the Nats are the ever so reliable Honda.
true, they make their loot in revenue sharing, but if they are not generating any revenue, other owners depending on their contributions to the pot will start grumbling.
this is why i feel the wilpons and therefore the league NEED our revenue stream.
boycotts absolutely work. I love the Mets. Not the Wilpons
Boycotts work? Really? How many successful sports boycotts can you think of?
Clayton, you gave me goosebumps!! First, I gather you’re a fellow Long Islander, because who else would root for the Ducks & Isles? Secondly, I can only pray that some day my own son will take me to a Met game, and third, the Mets Magic hits you went you enter the turnstyle. There is nothing like hearing Meet The Mets on the organ, at Citifield!!!
Let the boycotters boycot, I’d take an afternoon game at Citifield and cold beer over most anything else this summer. Lets Go Mets, and keep up the good work!
Thanks gregg! And yes I’m a Long Islander, born and raised but I’m currently away at college in New Jersey.
I totally agree, there is nothing like going to a ballgame no matter the standings, so I can’t imagine myself not going simply to prove a point.
Clayton, I am guessing it’s safe to expect a post about your experience going to Opening Day? That’s an experience sadly I never got to share with my father. By the way don’t worry despite some confusion I think most understood by your opening paragraph that your post was talking about boycotting going to Citi Field.
Hey MNJ,
Thanks I hope it was interpreted as such. I have seen it advertised as boycotting the Mets, so I entitled my post as such.
And I will be sure to have a follow up post. I’ve never been to an Opening Day before and this one I won’t soon forget.
I for one haven’t been to watch a game since the night Gary Sheffield hit number 500. I am not boycotting the Mets and or Wilpon personally, but have decided to draw a line. That line is the crazy prices for everything related to attending a game. What ever the ticket price plus, $25-30 to park, $10 beer, and so on. I don’t see why I should have to sell my first born to watch a ball game. At some point you have to say enough and let folks know that they can longer take advantage of you. Add to that an inferior product and you see why many people probably feel like I do. I’ll die a Met fan, but will watch them faithfully on TV.
Define boycotting.
I haven’t missed more than 2 games on TV per season since SNY stood up. Watched as many as I could catch on other stations before 2006.
I’ve only been to 2 games though in the past 20 years. Opening day ’87 and one game in July last season at Shea. I’ve get to make it to Citi field.
If I could, I’d go to several games a season.
*I’ve yet to make it to Citi field.
Read what I said above but the short story….NOT a boycott…
srt when I say boycotting I am referring to the active movement by some fans to refuse to attend Mets games until the Wilpons aren’t the owners any longer.
My dad is very much like you srt in that whenever there is a Mets game on TV he’ll be watching but just hasn’t had a chance to get to a game in some time. I’m not referring to that.
I was a season ticket holder who will never attend another Mets game again in my life. I can pick up a great milkshake anywhere same goes for food. Maybe when they decide to start trying to win games i’ll think about attending games again. Until than Brooklyn isn’t to far.
Metsie do people who boycott not have their reason’s. They are boycotting until the team is improved, until ridiculous ticket prices drop, until the the team they are spending their hard earned money to see starts giving the same way the fan is. And it’s up to those people their not boycotting just to boycott. I don’t blame them never will.
OK, here’s the thing.
Ticket prices will not drop. They will increase exponentially when the team is a contender.
“until the the team they are spending their hard earned money to see starts giving the same way the fan is. ”
there is not a team in the United States of America that gives back to its community anywhere close to what it receives. Everything we get told about creating jobs and bringing in business is bunk. any money the respective governments might see is almost entirely surpassed by the money invested. Even “privately funded” stadiums manage to screw over the tax payers.
Exactly Donal, ticket prices are not going to drop. As far people paying hard earned money to see a team, I think the players are trying their best. Mets ownership has not been shy in paying salaries, they have just chosen to waste money on the wrong guys.
It’s funny though, the mets are “down” right now, but see how fast the boycot ends when the Mets start winning games and all the fakes and phonies say they were Met fans for years.
James I’m not questioning whatever it reason people say they are boycotting…
I might debate if what they are doing is actually a boycott or not…
And I might also disagree in respect to that Boycott lasting for whatever reason they started it in the first place once the team starts winning baseball games again.
I know the most often used excuse for boycotting is hatred of the Wilpons…
It sure helps that the team isn’t playing all that well to keep the boycott going…
But if they were winning and getting to the playoffs I can guarantee 99% of those who said they are boycotting because of the WIlpons would end the boycott and go see that team…
Boycotts are kind of like Diets in that respect…
They are only as strong in changing whatever it is you want changed as you are strong in sticking to it…
As for prices the only way they come down is everyone boycotts….
But thats not going to happen….Cause most people will just go less not take a stance until prices are reduced and even if they reduced them to the point you want to go once the boycott was over they jack the prices back up on you anyway….
Excellent post Clayton! Glad to see another college writer on the staff.
I agree wholeheartedly with your statement, knowing how important it is to go to a Mets game just to watch the game be played. The Mets are how my dad and I bond, they’re the way my brother and I bond as well. In fact, my dad got my brother and I 8 games for Christmas, just to bond with each other when he moves back to New York. Besides that, i’ll probably jump into a couple of games with friends, or go watch Brooklyn’s youth movement play out and scout out a bit.
Love the Mets no matter what team is on the field, and I will for as long as I possibly can.
By the way, let them boycott, that way you won’t hear any awful and baseless comments that many fans own.
Your analysis of the “boycott” term is flawed. First, you have an ego the size of the the planet Jupiter to assume that only your opinion counts. Fans have every right to go… or not go… to a Mets game at Citifield for whatever reason they choose. They make that choice as an entertainment consumer. The way a business treats its’ consumers is frequently a reason for that business to gain… or lose… customers. The Mets management has been guilty of shoddy treatment of its customers starting with its 20% ticket increase the last season at Shea Stadium and leading into its “Haves and Have-nots” ticket pricing policies at Citifield. The monumental ineptitude of the team on the filed and the sleazy post Madoff era is enough reason to cut back on visiting Citifield. Sorry, pal, but that unabashed bleeding Orange and Blue is a thing of the past. Mets management made it all about money; the fans are only following suit. I, for one, can only hope the Wilpons are driven in to bankruptcy sooner rather than later.
Rich my “analysis of the ‘boycott’ term” is not in reference to those choosing to be entertained elsewhere or losing interest in a subpar team, but those actively choosing as part of an organized movement to boycott the team because of their owners.
And as for me having “an ego the size of the planet Jupiter”, that is simply your opinion, but not one I agree with and by no means “the only opinion that counts” either.
Actually it takes an ego the size of the Twitterverse to think that the paultry $1000 a boycotter is denying them per is actually hurting the owners or team enough to make them change…..
No one saying people don’t have a right to choose….
Just that if they think denying th team from thier money is actually going to do anything , your wrong…
You want to know HOW you get thier attentaion and get them to hear what you have to say?
BUY a FULL SEASON PLAN….And when they invite you to Citifield for the dog and pony show they give all season ticket holders RAIL on them in front of all the other Season Ticket holders!
THEN you got thier attention!
Boycott or not. Call it what you want. I don’t see why I should give this team my hard earned money if they are going to continue to put garbage onto the field. I don’t look at it as me denying them my money. I look at it as I have better things to do with my own money rather than spend it on a bad product.
No one is saying (or should say) you should either John….
What we are saying however is that if they give you what you want and make a move, sign a player you think is the right thing to do you kind of have to stick with them and help pay for it for the duration of the move you liked at the time.
If you thought Beltran was a great signing you can’t expect them to do that again if your going to abandon your support halfway through the length of the contract.
And if they DO spend again on someone you like you need to go (comesurate to how much you liked) to help pay for them doing the right thing as far as your concerned.
Hi Clayton,
You and many others have an advantage over us much older guys because we have vivid memories of what things used to be like that are no longer so today. I’ll explain why.
As you know, many have been turned off by this organization because we have no trust in its motivations and the manner in which the front office deals with us, makng many feel as if we are being manipulated for the sake of purchasing tickets rather than being treated with respect.
Will give an example. If after their initial shock about being swindled the Wilpons then came clean – in a general sense – many of us would have felt different. All they really needed to say was say something like ” yes, we were indeed victimized by Madoff and that has suddenly affected our ability to operate on the financial level we want to at this time – and on the level that the fans deserve as well – and we will make every effort to get ourselves out of this mess that was thrown upon us as quickly as is possible. But it is going to take time”.
What they think they might have lost in box office by leveling with the fan base would have been more than offset by the goodwill and trust it could have instead generated – despite our disagreements about 2011, Reyes, Dickey and the need for a total rebuilding.
Because we have the advantage of our years, we remember the time when the fans were treated much differently, thank you Mrs. Payson and that the business aspect did not trickle down in the form of a corporate way as to how they interacted with the fan base. And that is what puts us at a disadvanate that you and others do not have to contend with We were brought up in a less cynical time and after the Dodgers and Giants leaving New York opened up a bitter taste of reality to many. Perhaps had that not been the case we would be more apt to shrug the realities of today and better accept what we see happening as a part of life and learn how to deal and accept it better as you and others do by not letting it interfer with the pleasures that going to a ball game still brings which you describe so beautifully.
Too bad many of us can’t. We weren’t conditioned to deal with things at least as they are now with the Mets as well as the generations that came after us.