Citi Field opened it’s gates for the first time in 2009. The Mets were coming off a second disappointing finish in a row to their season that saw them just miss the playoffs on the final game of the season. The Mets still won 89 games and had high hopes for their team entering Citi’s Inagural season.
The 2009 Mets did not help welcome it’s fans to their new stadium and take away the sting of losing Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets for 45 years. Shea had a unique charm to it that only a Mets fan understood. Sure, Shea was a dump, but it was our dump. Fans who remember that quote knew exactly what it meant and had no problem calling Shea home.
Shea always had a romantic feel to it, somewhere where you could enjoy a game with your favorite other. It was a place you could enjoy bringing your family, enjoy eating a hotdog, having a beverage, and enjoying that nostalgic ballpark feel.
Or it was a place you could go to with your buddies, tailgate, have a few drinks, and have fun. When the Mets were winning, the stadium rocked! There was nothing like experiencing a sellout crowd at Shea and cheering on our favorite team. The place was electric, and few other stadiums could match or exceed it’s intensity. New York Mets fans are truely the best fans on the planet.
Six years later, and Citi Field has not yet come close to matching what Shea delivered game after game. The only times Citi showed any life was Johan Santana‘s no-hitter, and Matt Harvey striking out the first three batters he faced in the 2013 All-Star Game.
The New York Mets have not had a winning team since Citi Field opened its gates. Fans were growing weary and somewhat impatient with the current regime’s “plan” of bringing winning baseball back to Flushing.
Enter 2015. The life we have yet to see at Citi has begun to develop. The first place Mets have come out of the gate roaring at 9-3 overall and 6-0 at home. They are on a current seven game winning streak and the fans are excited to say the least.
This team looks hungry, and it’s fans have been starving for years. In 2014 we started to see the seeds being planted for a winner. The long rebuilding process had finally begun to bear it’s fruit and there was a feeling in the air that the Mets were turning a corner.
Now the team is playing some fun and exciting baseball and appear to be back to their winning ways. And the fans are responding. They have been showing up so far in bunches, with two sellouts already in the books and a third one expected on Sunday.
The stadium is full, alive, and thankfully loud. The team is enjoying it as well, as one player after another continues to acknowledge and thank the fans for their support and enthusiasm after each game.
A loud and energetic stadium helps bring more life into a team and the players all feed off of it. It creates an electric atmosphere that helps the home team and it’s already making a difference.
Citi Field is finally alive! These last seven days have been a breath of fresh air. It’s great to see the Mets playing winning baseball again, but it’s also exciting to see the fans flocking to our ballpark again to root for our team like they have before. Lets Go Mets.
Editor’s Note: We welcome Kenny Ryan to our MMO team and congratulate him on his debut article. Kenny comes right out of our commenting community and you all know him as Jason deGrom. Welcome Aboard!
