One thing that you can always count on is the New York Mets. It does not matter what happens in life, a death in the family, a break-up with someone you have dated for years or a fight with your parents. Those lovable losers will still play a game most nights from March through September, and hopefully well into October.
The Mets are headed into their 7th season playing at Citi Field and yet it still does not feel like their stadium. Yes they do play 81 games there but it is not home.
Citi Field is a great place to take in a ball game, the visual experience is first class and the concessions are amongst the best in the league, at least the Mets are good at something. All of that is great but it still is not like Shea Stadium. When you drive into Citi Field the parking sign has the price for playoffs. My friend and I always joke because the Mets have never played a meaningful game there in August let alone October!
Fans, or if you want to call them that, go to the games sit on their cellphones, take selfies to upload to Instagram and leave before the 6th inning is over, not to mention the stadium is half empty on a good night. You could never say that about Shea Stadium.
Growing up Shea Stadium was never a dump to me; it was the greatest cathedral a young boy could ever witness. Back in those days you could not see the field from everywhere you stood in the stadium so when you walked out to see the field for the first time it was special. It was the greatest feeling to walk to your seats and see the field plush with the greenest of grass and the best ball players alive, it always sent chills throughout my body that first glimpse. My idol Mike Piazza would kick the dirt behind home plate and we were all ready to go. Life was simple.
They tore down Shea Stadium when I was away at college my freshmen year. I cried in the dining hall watching construction crews dismantle it, of course the Mets having an epic collapse did not help my emotions either. Shea was never a just a stadium, it was where I learned to love the game of baseball and so much more.
Our close family friend who I considered an uncle had season tickets to the Mets. Me, him and my dad would go to a lot of games, the fun was never ending and the good times rolled whenever the Mets won. We used to go to Firework Night every year and sit in the parking lot. As a kid this was pure bliss and the most fun you could possibly have at a baseball game, the smiles and laughter were never ending. My uncle passed away on September 11th, 2001. I can still picture him smoking cigarettes and drinking beer cheering on the team he loved.
One of my greatest memories of Shea Stadium was a sizzling mid-summer day. My whole group of friends went to a day game and got absolutely torched by the sun. The best part was that we had an entire section in the upper deck of the outfield to ourselves. Somehow the Shea staff left a Gatorade cooler filled with water unguarded, typical Mets, right outside our section, it was awesome! Then my friend punched me in the face on the LIRR platform after the game, which in a sick way I still find hilarious and made the day better.
From Endy Chavez to John “bleeping” Franco to Todd Hundley to Cliff Floyd to Turk Wendell, those guys were what Shea was all about. Always booing whomever wore a Braves jersey, especially John Rocker he was and still is the worst. The roar that stadium made can never be duplicated, at times it got so loud I thought my eardrums would burst.
That is what I want Citi Field to be like, and sooner rather than later. A place filled with tradition and a sense of pride calling the Mets your favorite baseball team.
I compare the Mets fanbase to that of the New York Islanders. You will never find two sets of fans that will get loud and appreciate a team like them. When the product on the playing surface is good Mets fans will show up, and not the ones who got free tickets from work. You want to see an area get loud watch the Islanders in the playoffs next month, just what I would expect at a Mets game in October. The real Mets fans are the people who get there before the national anthem and are planted in their seat until the final out has been recorded. Cheering, screaming, acting like a bunch of lunatics. That’s how a home stadium for the Mets should be.
The Mets will always be 2nd fiddle in New York to the Yankees no matter what anyone says but there is no comparison with the fans. A couple years ago the Yankees had a hard time selling out a home playoff game. I laughed at that because that would never happen with the Mets. Yankees fans will say “we always win, make the playoffs then we can talk” and they are right but that’s what the best part about being a Mets fan is. You know how much it sucks to lose and suffer through gut wrenching loss year-in and year-out, that is why we love our winners so much.
I ask one thing to the entire New York Mets organization this year and that is to play with pride, guts and never quit. Play like you need to win, that every game could be your last. Make us sell out Citi Field in September, not just for the Subway Series but because the Mets are in the thick of a playoff battle. Make it feel like Shea Stadium where the only thing that matters to anyone at the game is the game.
I hope Citi Field turns into a place that is capable of creating memories no one will ever forget, just like Shea Stadium.
