We all know that today should have been Opening Day. We should all be at Citi Field, relishing in the glory of baseball being back, and cheering on our favorite team. But unfortunately, we are not. Of course it was the right decision as we are in the midst of a pandemic, but, it still sucks.

Like us, I am sure that many of you are spending time today doing something baseball related to help fill the void, or at the very least, thinking back to your most cherished Opening Days. Let’s spend today sharing these stories with each other, because we are all missing baseball and well, we can all use some happiness to.

Here are some of our favorite memories. What are yours?

Jack Hendon

Santana made his first start after missing all of 2011 with Tommy John, and he was doing it against a pretty solid Atlanta lineup (like Freddie Freeman, Michael Bourn, Brian McCann, Matt Diaz-kinda solid). The team had lost Jose Reyes the prior offseason, and going into the season projected by most analysts to finish last in the NL East made for uncharted territory in my then-limited experience as a fan. Even 2011 felt a little encouraging at the outset given they’d hired a new manager, Beltran and Pagan were still around, etc.

Things looked like they were going to get a lot worse, so naturally 42,000 fans showed up and Santana had a scoreless outing. David Wright drove in the lone run in the bottom of the sixth, and that makeshift bullpen of Ramon Ramirez, Tim Byrdak, Jon Rauch, and Frank Francisco combined for four shutout innings. Citi Field was incredibly loud that afternoon. The whole experience is, honestly, surreal in hindsight.

The team was bad, there was no indication it wouldn’t be bad, but that first win of the season felt as electric as any win in our more competitive days, and it was more or less entirely a result of fans coming out and enjoying that baseball was being played again, even if we weren’t watching those Shea staples in Reyes and Beltran in the heat of a playoff race.

Matt Mancuso

2015’s Opening Day felt different. Everything in the game wasn’t supposed to work out. Bartolo Colon wasn’t supposed to shut down the Nationals. Ian Desmond wasn’t supposed to make two errors. Buddy Carlyle wasn’t supposed to record the save, much less factor in an important spot in the late innings. Heck, the Mets weren’t supposed to win. But what the dust settled, the Mets topped the Nationals and seized first place in the National League East. Looking back, It was a precursor to the entire season. Things that weren’t supposed to occur just did. There wasn’t any sort of reason, more of an acceptance of hey, this Mets team is different.

Mia Perlman

This would’ve been my 12th Opening Day. Since I’m only 21 years old, this is a big accomplishment. Out of all of the Opening Days I have had the opportunity to attend with my dad, there is one memory that sticks out to me. On Opening Day 2013, which was on April 1 2013, David Wright and Ike Davis were standing in Citi Field’s Jackie Robinson Rotunda greeting fans and taking photos with them.

I was lucky enough to be one of the fans who met both Wright and Davis. I also took a photo with them. The Mets played the Padres that day, and beat them by a score of 11-2. That personal experience strengthened my love for the Mets and helped sculpt me into the die-hard fan I am today. I hope to continue my Opening Day tradition with my dad in the future! LGM!

Jacob Resnick

I’ll never forget how Citi Field exploded when Collin Cowgill hit a grand slam on Opening Day in 2013 (off future Met Brad Brach), becoming the first player to do so since Todd Hundley in 1995 and the first player in franchise history to hit a slam in his team debut (Taylor Teagarden matched that the following year).

Cowgill, for those who remember, was supposed to be the everyday center fielder that year (despite having no track record of major league success) and only survived through the end of April before a player with even less major league experience, rookie Juan Lagares, took over and cemented himself in the role. But even as Cowgill quickly faded into Mets obscurity, I smile when I recall the little flashes of success from these types of players that you would have missed if you blinked. Cowgill’s just happened to come on a day where the team woke up with a 0-0 record.

Sal Manzo

With today marking what was supposed to be Opening Day, I find myself reflecting on the 2006 opener at Shea with my grandpa. Like I mentioned in a previous article, I attended many of them with him but ‘06 was always my favorite. An active offseason with acquisitions like Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner, combined with a promising young core already in place, made for an especially excited middle-schooler at Shea that day. Ol’ Tommy Glavine pitched 6 strong innings against the Nats and pulled ahead 3-2 in the 7th.

The best part of the game for me though was 9th inning. Getting to see Wagner run out from the bullpen to the mound for the first time in a Mets uniform and the anticipation of knowing you were about to see 100 MPH on the radar gun (not everyone threw 98 MPH+ back then) was awesome. The ending of the game was just as great too with Carlos Beltran gunning out a runner trying to stretch a base hit into a double. The stadium was rocking, and it was by far my fondest Opening Day memory!

Joe D.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the following video is worth a million. My favorite Opening Day memory happened on April 9, 1985 when the New York Mets opened the season against the St. Louis Cardinals at Shea Stadium.

In his first game as a Met after being acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Montreal Expos, Gary Carter would hit a tenth-inning home run off ex-Mets closer Neil Allen to give the Amazins’ a dramatic 6–5 Opening Day victory. The comeback victory would usher in one of the most successful runs in franchise history culminating in a World Series title in 1986. I miss you, Kid…

Michelle Ioannou

I have quite a few Opening Days under my belt and all mean something different to me. But when it comes down to it, my most cherished Opening Day was one I didn’t even get to go to — it was one that my brother did. He got to go to the first game ever played at Citi Field. Was I bitter? Of course I was. But I am so happy that he got that experience. And that’s the thing with baseball and with Opening Day — it’s the start of something, a new hope of sorts. It’s just a happy day and made even better when spent with loved ones who are also there rooting for your team.

In terms of Opening Days I was actually at the ballpark for, I have to go with 2016 (the home opener). Not only was I with my brother (and ran into my cousin at the game), but we got to watch them raise the 2015 National League Championship pennant and that is something I will never forget. Jacob deGrom on the mound, David Wright at third, it was just right. The Mets winning that game 7-2 against the Phillies also helped, too.