Jeff Schultz, writer for the Atlanta Constitution, took
some cheap shots at Shea Stadium and Mets fans.
If the Braves could just figure out a way to fly insult-hurling New York fans and mutant tabloid headline writers to other cities, they would rarely lose a road game.
(On Chipper Jones) For some reason, he has thrived in this toilet of a stadium and the appropriately named surroundings of Flushing. As pitcher Tim Hudson joked, “They hate him here for a reason. It’s like an ongoing joke for us when we come to New York. You know their fans are going to be crazy, and Chipper’s going to drive in six or eight in a series. I would venture to say that a). Schultz is too young to remember Fulton County Stadium or b). not good enough to write in NYC so he’s relegated to cover the great sports city of Atlanta; the same city that can’t sell out playoff games at Turner Field, which by the way, is one of baseball’s newer stadiums and is rarely, if ever mentioned as one the must-see ball parks. You think they’d like a do over on that one?
While Shea Stadium might be a dump, it is our dump. And although I can’t wait for the state-of-the-art Citi Field to open, I have an affinity for Shea that goes back nearly 30 years. So when an outsider - from Atlanta no less – rips it, I get ticked off. At least our stadium fills up when our team is in the post season. Not only does is sell out, it is absolutely rocking, although nothing compared to the insprational Tomahawk Chop. Woo, hah, that’s fun…yeah, like Disney fun.
And for Tim Hudson, the joke is on your organization and its fans. You have won just as many championships as the Arizona Diamondbacks over the last 15 years (and Mets over the last 21 years) and yet you act like you’re the greatest organization on the planet. The joke is, is that the Braves always exit early in October. The joke is that the Braves barely have any fans. The joke is that you and all of your teammates, including Chipper, would love to have die-hard fans pulling for you.
Mets fans are filled with passion, with energy. That’s why we throw the ball back in Wrigley after a Cubs player homers, or why we catch Barry Bond’s 756* home run...because we live and die with this team. That’s why a “little” site like Metsblog gets 280,000 unique visits two days before the trade deadline. (Jeff Schultz could only dream of this traffic). It’s because we love this game, we love our team. And we want to win.
Jeff Schultz, writer for the Atlanta Constitution, took some cheap shots at Shea Stadium and Mets fans.
3 comments:
"...Turner Field, which by the way, is one of baseball’s newer stadiums and is rarely, if ever mentioned as one the must-see ball parks. You think they’d like a do over on that one?"
Free stadium (no tax fund necessary) from the 1996 Olympics. Can't complain.
Perfectly said. Fulton County stadium was a dump. This guy is an idiot, so it's a good match for covering the Braves.
Free Stadium explains why it's so bland then. We wouldn't expect Atlanta to complain because they could care less. That's precisely the point.
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