Being a Mets Lifer

I've heard more people remark today than ever before how glad they are that they aren't a Mets fan. Now today is not the optimal day to be one, and the scars from the past two seasons will not quickly heal. But aren't there worse things to be?

You could be a Pirates fan, a Rangers fan, a Royals fan, an Orioles fan, a Nationals fan (if there is such a thing) or a Mariners fan and have no hope of contending in the next decade.

You could be a Braves fan, an A's fan, a Giants fan, or a Padres fan and see that your team was once a power and is now in a rebuilding cycle that could take several seasons.

You could be a Cubs fan and not have won anything in the last century. You could be a Phillies fan and be a fan of the most losingest franchise in all of sports. You could be a Yankees fan and finally realize that money can't solve all your problems. You could be a Cardinals fan and realize that having the best player in baseball doesn't guarantee you a spot in the playoffs every year.

You could be an Astros fan and realize that Miguel Tejada isn't the player he used to be. You could be a Blue Jays fan and realize no matter how hard you try Halladay can't pitch every day.

Each team's fan base has its pros and cons. It just seems that the Mets fan base has had more to suffer through and in more dramatic fashion that any other team of late. And that might be true, but if you're a Mets Lifer this is nothing new.

Highs and lows are our specialty. We've had the high of 1986 only to be followed by the demise of Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry in the years to follow. We had the hope of Generation K followed by the reality that they just weren't that good. We signed big name players like Frank Viola, Brett Saberhagen, Roberto Alomar, Bobby Bonilla, Mo Vaugh, Jeromy Burnitz, and the list goes on, only to see that they were not the players they once were.

We had an MVP season from Kevin McReynolds only to find out that he could really care less. We traded Lenny Dysktra for Juan Samuel only to have Dykstra become the NL MVP.

The list continues, but we remained faithful. Isn't that what a Mets Lifer is all about?

I bet you can name at least 5 people that started calling themselves "Yankee fans" around 1996. I can think of at least ten. And I bet you know at least 2 or 3 people who have become Red Sox fans starting around 2004. Now how many Mets fans do you know that are fair weather fans? That's right, you don't know any. Why? Because to be a Mets Lifer, you're in this for the long haul. A losing season, an utter and total collapse followed by another collapse isn't enough to sway your loyalty. You're invested in this team through thick and thin.

Sure we'll take our lumps this week and for the next few weeks. The word "collapse" will be used again and again as we approach the new season, but in a few months something is going to happen. You're going to be back. You'll be looking at tickets to Citi Field. You'll be playing general manager. You'll start adjusting the lineup card. You'll start yelling at Mike Francesa when he talks about trading Jose Reyes.

It's a vicious cycle folks. I speak from experience. It's what a Mets Lifer does. It's a badge of honor some days, it's a burden on other days. But it's what we are so come to grips with it.

Mets Lifer in Cleveland

Those of you who are becoming familiar with this site know that we like to extend an occasional shout out to Mets Lifers everywhere. Tonight, my shout out goes to the big Mets fan in Cleveland who was in attendance during the Yanks, Indians game. Sporting the classic blue t shirt with orange Mets lettering across his chest, this Mets Lifer was doing all he could to express his passion for his favorite team while the legendary "Drum Guy" was being interviewed during the telecast. Great job!

Disclaimer to Mets Fans

Please, please, I beg of you, do not reach for foul balls if you sit in the first couple of rows on the field level. Last night, in the 4th inning, David Wright just missed a foul pop because someone was jumping for the ball, essentially getting in Wright’s way (I can’t blame the little kid there, but someone should pull him away – buy him a jersey for his sacrifice). The ball dropped and the next pitch by El Duque was lined for a 2 run single and the Braves tacked on 5 runs after that play. (My apologies, but I was a little distracted as I was playing with my 2 year old daughter while the game was on, so I had the volume down and I don’t know what the three amigos in the SNY booth were saying about it, or how exactly the inning unraveled from that moment). If Wright could have caught that ball there would have been one out, and Texiera would not have hit a 3 run homer later in the inning when there were two outs.

The Mets probably would have lost anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal. It’s more important that this doesn’t happen in the post season. Look no further than Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS to see what can happen. Mosies Alou can tell you all aout it.

So, please, unless someone on the Mets hits the foul ball, don’t try to catch it, get out of the way. I’ll personally mail you a box of baseballs.

While I was on Vacation...Atlanta Writer Rips Shea, Mets fans

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.