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Let's Get Some Perspective on Being a Mets' Fan
I received an email yesterday, asking me why I was so "down" on this Mets' team right now, and didn't I know that only 2 teams in the NL had less losses then we did, and in the AL, only 2 teams had the same amount as we did, with everyone else having more; his point was, since everyone is having a "challenging" season so far, along the lines of parity in football, shouldn't I ease up a bit?
Let's use this example: my son comes home from school, with a note that I have to see the teacher. My wife and I go to school, and the teacher tells us that our son has been dropping "f-bombs" aimed at other students. When we quiz him, he tells us that half of his friends in school go up to girls every day and use such language; we return to school the next day, and scold the teacher, as, since everyone else is using such language, why should she single out just OUR son and it's okay, since everyone else is using it.
Obviously, the example is extreme, but you get the point- why should I, why should YOU, think that it's okay for the Mets to be playing poorly, or without fire (prior to the series over the weekend) just because other teams are?
Last I checked, we root for the Mets, a team that has, for the majority of their seasons, quite frankly, stunk. We've turned a corner under this regime, expecting to compete each and every season. The Wilpons are committed to this more than anyone, having the second highest payroll in the game, laying out hundreds of millions to build CitiField, and giving GM Omar Minaya an open account, practically, to go get whatever he feels he needs to make this into a first class, sustaining and thriving organization, a la the Yanks. Omar did JUST THAT, and those who at first criticized his trade of Milledge are eating their words (with a ton of salt, I hope) as we seemed to have an all-star, former all-star or future all-star at just about every position. Granted, there were always going to be weaknesses, primarily taking age into consideration, but this team was built to contend now, THIS SEASON, which is why the Milledge/Church-Schneider trade was made! If the owners expect us to contend, and we pay the money to the owners in the forms of various revenue streams, shouldn't WE be expecting our team to contend, regardless of how well or poorly other teams are playing???
Finally, I am happy that we found some "fire" this weekend, and I pray that we sustain that feeling, and that it translates into a long winning streak and greater on-field success, now and throughout the season. You'll forgive my scepticism, borne not of collapses last year and in 2006, but as a Mets' fan who has been disappointed too many times to count over the past 40 years. It doesn't mean I'm giving up - FAR FROM IT - I wouldn't post on this blog in my "spare" time if I did; I wouldn't travel around the West and East Coasts to see games if I did; and I wouldn't feel the sting of a loss so greatly, at times, that I have trouble sleeping that night, if I did; however, perhaps the biggest change, after last season's collapse, is that a bit of the optimism that every season brought has, perhaps, eroded. That's not to say it can't come back, and I'm sure that losing my father this past January has colored my feelings in ways I've yet to fully understand, but forgive me if, this one season, I wait for the METS to prove something to ME- and give me something to believe in, more than just having less games in the loss column than other teams does...
Let's use this example: my son comes home from school, with a note that I have to see the teacher. My wife and I go to school, and the teacher tells us that our son has been dropping "f-bombs" aimed at other students. When we quiz him, he tells us that half of his friends in school go up to girls every day and use such language; we return to school the next day, and scold the teacher, as, since everyone else is using such language, why should she single out just OUR son and it's okay, since everyone else is using it.
Obviously, the example is extreme, but you get the point- why should I, why should YOU, think that it's okay for the Mets to be playing poorly, or without fire (prior to the series over the weekend) just because other teams are?
Last I checked, we root for the Mets, a team that has, for the majority of their seasons, quite frankly, stunk. We've turned a corner under this regime, expecting to compete each and every season. The Wilpons are committed to this more than anyone, having the second highest payroll in the game, laying out hundreds of millions to build CitiField, and giving GM Omar Minaya an open account, practically, to go get whatever he feels he needs to make this into a first class, sustaining and thriving organization, a la the Yanks. Omar did JUST THAT, and those who at first criticized his trade of Milledge are eating their words (with a ton of salt, I hope) as we seemed to have an all-star, former all-star or future all-star at just about every position. Granted, there were always going to be weaknesses, primarily taking age into consideration, but this team was built to contend now, THIS SEASON, which is why the Milledge/Church-Schneider trade was made! If the owners expect us to contend, and we pay the money to the owners in the forms of various revenue streams, shouldn't WE be expecting our team to contend, regardless of how well or poorly other teams are playing???
Finally, I am happy that we found some "fire" this weekend, and I pray that we sustain that feeling, and that it translates into a long winning streak and greater on-field success, now and throughout the season. You'll forgive my scepticism, borne not of collapses last year and in 2006, but as a Mets' fan who has been disappointed too many times to count over the past 40 years. It doesn't mean I'm giving up - FAR FROM IT - I wouldn't post on this blog in my "spare" time if I did; I wouldn't travel around the West and East Coasts to see games if I did; and I wouldn't feel the sting of a loss so greatly, at times, that I have trouble sleeping that night, if I did; however, perhaps the biggest change, after last season's collapse, is that a bit of the optimism that every season brought has, perhaps, eroded. That's not to say it can't come back, and I'm sure that losing my father this past January has colored my feelings in ways I've yet to fully understand, but forgive me if, this one season, I wait for the METS to prove something to ME- and give me something to believe in, more than just having less games in the loss column than other teams does...
3 comments:
Wow, David...just, wow!! You summed it up so well, not much more I can say...
I read your blog every day, and I wouldn't say you've been "down" on the Mets- just being realistic. I agree- they've got a LOT to prove to us, and we deserve it, whether Willie likes it or not that we boo him or players when things are rotten, cause we'll be the first to cheer when things are good. That doesn't make us fair weather fans- it makes us fans, period!
EXACTLY!!! I agree 100% with that post and with what this person just said- "it makes us fans, period!" Should I root just because they're my team? If a player beats his wife, but he's on our team, should I look the other way and cheer him because he wears our uniform? NO!!! Should I cheer for him if he is playing terribly? NO!!! I might not boo him, but I CERTAINLY am NOT going to cheer for him! Remember something- LONG after these players have come and gone, I, like all of you, will still be wearing this uniform- and that seems to be something that Willie doesn't understand, and it's certainly something that these players need to remember- the team belongs to us, they are honored to be wearing our colors, now go out and perform!!!!
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