I am the kid. No, I am not Gary Carter. I’m Satish Ram. The MetsMerized Online kid. The kid who sits here and believes that we’ve got a shot no matter what and that every game can be that first no hitter. That’s why I’m the kid. Above all else, I am a Mets fan. For those of you who don’t know, Mets fans are probably some of the most intriguing ones in the world because they choose to express their fandom in many different ways. You might claim that all fans do that but if you are a Met fan, you know we are different. You know that we’re more vocal, more critical, and we’ve taken blows to the heart more times than we can count, but we get right back up again to watch that next game.
I say this because as the trade deadline approaches, we all have our different reactions. Some of us are praying at night still hoping for the Mets to pull an Oswalt out of the bag while some of us don’t expect the Mets to do a thing. Some of us are calling for the head of GM Minaya, Manager Manuel or Hitting Coach Johnson. Some of us want to hurt one another for even defending those guys. That’s just the way it goes for being a Met fan.
The point of all this? Whether the Mets make a move at the deadline or not, they will still be our New York Mets. There will still be people who are unsatisfied as we agree to disagree and synchronize to criticize. There will still be games that we will inevitably lose because no one person can win us every single game. No matter which way you decide to go about your Mets fandom, remember that in the end, we all look for the same goal: Mets WS rings. We can’t possibly win a WS every year and I hope that nobody expects them to. Would it be nice? Of course! But let’s put a bit of realism in the air. If you were a Pirates, Royals, Nationals, Astros, Orioles, Jays, Diamondbacks or Seattle Mariners fan, you probably would’ve killed yourself by now.
Step out of that New York bubble and recognize that this New York Mets team is an irreplaceable part of our lives. Our differences are what bring us together, because we love to argue about the Mets and express the passion that they build up inside of us. Now I am not saying don’t criticize the players or the management. I’m not saying the Mets shouldn’t add somebody at the deadline because I think they should.
But can anyone sit there and tell me that there wasn’t one point in this season where you didn’t believe to yourself that the Mets had a chance to make the playoffs this year? Because if you can, you’re not a fan. Every real Mets fan is always believing: It’s just a matter of how they express that belief. So as the deadline approaches, find your reason to believe again.
That’s why I’m the kid. I’m sitting here trying to get you to believe with me just as little kids believe in Santa or Fairy Tales. You may claim that these magical runs don’t ever happen, but the 69′ Mets weren’t called the Miracle Mets for nothing. So at the end of the day, I’ll be sitting here and believing in my team because that’s how I choose to go about my fandom. Sure, I criticize, I complain, and I get angry. But I won’t ever stop believing in this team. So yes, I do believe the Mets still have a playoff run in them this year.
You don’t have to believe with me, even though I’d appreciate it. You can try to convince me to stop believing but it won’t work. And if that makes me the ignorant one in the bunch, then so be it.
I’d rather be the Kid and the believer than anyone else any day of my life. Let’s Go Mets!
