An MMO Fan Shot by US Army Combat Veteran Michael Cunningham
First, let me preface this by saying I do NOT think the postseason is over or that the Mets even have the NLCS locked up. I don’t want to jinx our team.
Now, I have bled blue and orange since 1982 when I was an eight year old watching Mike Scott lose at Shea. I have seen more ups than downs in those years, counting 1986 as one of the most fun experiences of my life. But I have always stuck with them through it all. Like many of us I have PTSD of sorts from everything that goes with following the Mets.
This has been an exhilarating season and it is the first time in decades that I have been able to watch the Mets compete in a playoff race and then see them playing in the postseason on TV. Life has a way of getting in the way of fandom at times. While I never stopped following the Mets, especially with the aid of the internet, it’s been different for me this year.
Tracing backwards, in 2006 I followed the playoffs while deployed in Iraq, but unlike some of the more current deployments, I didn’t have the luxury of the Armed Forces Network to even get a glimpse of a game.
The battle rhythm was too intense to even follow on a day to day basis on the net so as great of a season it was, life got in the way of enjoying that particular the way I would have hoped.
In 1999 and 2000 I was very busy building a family. Each year there was either a newborn in the house or one almost ready to pop out, and providing for a young family kept me too busy. My only vivid memories of Mets success then, of really being a part of it, are from the ’86 and ’88 seasons.
This leads me to the reason for my story. After every last out of every Mets playoff game I always get overcome with this feeling of “is this even real!?!?!”
It is such an Amazin’ feeling to be able to enjoy this current run whether it ends in the NLCS or the World Series, for good or for bad. It’s been a thrilling ride.
I am scary superstitious during games and picked a horrible time to quit smoking. My stomach is a mess, my heart is going nuts and I am loving every minute of it.
Thank God that there are days off in the middle of each series so I can attempt to recover for the next rush.
In short, we all should cherish this incredible Mets season and particularly this postseason run because you never know what life has planned for you and what you may miss out on. Moments like these are the ones you’ll always hold dear and pass along to your children and grandchildren. LETS GO METS!!!!!!
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This Fan Shot was written by MMO community member Staff Sgt. Michael Cunningham. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 30,000 Met fans who read this site daily. Send your Fan Shot to [email protected]. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.
