Sunday, September 30, 2007

Profound Heartache

This is a picture of me when I was just 4 or 5 years old, back when Joe Torre used to manage the orange and blue. That would be 1976 or so. Boy, how I loved going to the games back then and yell Joe Torre’s name, “Hey…Joe Toyeee” My family used to tease me because I couldn’t pronounce it properly. I was just a simple, innocent little Mets fan at that time, didn’t care about wins and losses, I just loved the game. I look at that picture now and think; how happy I look, if I only knew the agony that lay ahead.

Nearly 30 years later, I have never felt as bad as I do right now as a Mets fan. Sure I’ve experienced heartbreak many times before; I was at Game 7 last year; and Game 4 of the ’88 NLCS. Those stung real bad. That’s just part of being a baseball fan; you go in to this thing knowing you’re going to be crushed at some point or another. Even Yankees fans have felt heartache. As a Mets fan, heartbreak is an inherent extension of our being. It’s just there.

But this time, this heartache is different; it’s a profound kind of pain that I cannot comprehend nor do I know quite how to handle. I can sit here and tell all of you young Mets fans out there that bitter losses only make you a better fan, they harden you and you learn to live and die with your team. It makes you love them that much more when they win. But this kind of monumental collapse, this humiliation, is something that I’m just not sure how to react to. It rips me to the core.

Back in June, when Dave and I started this blog, it was simply an outlet for us to vent about our favorite team. The Mets were reeling then, and our email exchanges that were fueled by frustration evolved in to a tiny little web site dedicated to all of you Mets Lifers out there. I love this team and I will never, ever stop rooting for them. ‘Til next year, I leave you with my first ever post (with new addition) on MetsLifer.com.

Thank you for reading…

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Well said my friend. I've felt sick ever since Glavine's 1st inning exit. But the crazy part is I'm already thinking about next year. The next free agent. The next time to shine.

It never stops and that's what makes this game so great.

Coop said...

Dave, while i am looking forward to 2008, I have to take a baseball sabbatical. no postseason games for me. well, maybe if the cubs go further than the first round.

Jekoch19 said...

Because of the Mets I could not sleep tonight so I decided to go on the computer and see if anyone else felt the pain that I feel right now. My family is originally from Northern New Jersey but moved to the suburbs of Philadelphia when I was 2 years old. My father is a huge Mets fan and made sure we always watched all 162 Mets games. I inherited his love for the Mets and can honestly say I am addicted to the team. I watch every game, I check their website 3 times a day for updates, I check my phone for Mets updates hourly. I have lost countless girlfriends because of my love for the Mets. If you have ever seen the movie fever pitch that is me with the Mets. When the Mets lose my whole day is ruined. Having been this big of a Mets fan, I Have taken a lot of abuse growing up in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Everyone is a Phillies fan and because of the abuse I have taken from Philies fans over the years I have a hatred for the Phillies that you cannot even fathom. As you can imagine the last week has been awful and now my biggest fear has been realized. The Mets have completed the most monumental collapse in 108 years of professional baseball to the team I hate the most which happens to play in the area my parents chose to live. To make things worse none of my friends are Mets fans and I have no one to talk to about this. So I just wanted you to know that when I saw your blog tonight I gave me a little comfort to know that I am not the only one in the world tonight that will never fully recover from this. I just keep pinching myself hoping to wake up from this bad dream.

Matt Colvin said...

Nice to see that you are suffering like I had to last year :P Braves fan here - the fact that we missed the playoffs hurts, but seeing you miss them too helps a LOT.

Cya all next year :)

bryan said...

jekoch19 - love your comment, albeit, painful, it has that kind of passion and emotion that Mets Lifers come to know. It's what makes us the best fans. And believe me, I feel your pain. Hang in there near Philly, Karma has a way of rearing its ugly head - just asdk Yankees fans.

Interesting post from airforcematt, claiming to be a Braves fan. Didn't realize they actually had any...must be Galvine's family member, or even Glavine himself.