As you may have heard, Shea Stadium closed its vaunted doors for good today. Never again will professional baseball be played in the Mets' now-former home. Fittingly, the Mets summed up 45 years of mediocre baseball by getting four hits in a game that, had they won, would have forced a one-game playoff for the Wild Card. Collapsing in September? Surely, you jest.
Anyway, watching the Mets pay tribute to their former legends - and isn't it interesting how important people in Shea Stadium history like the Jets and the Beatles were barely mentioned - I couldn't help but think about my Islanders. As we all know, no local team honors tradition like the Islanders. The Yankees do a good job as well but it's different with the Islanders. So often the Islanders have had to rely on their past to sell the present. Obviously, the Yankees don't have that problem. Neither do the Mets. So theoretically, today should have been a nice day to remember the good times at a ballpark that, quite frankly, didn't have very many.
As a devoted Islander fan who has seen more than his fair share of celebrations, I have to say the Mets nailed this one, even down to the questionable decision to do the ceremony after the game ended. This ended up being a good thing; by the time it was all over, I'd almost forgotten that the Mets performed an egregious chokejob for the second straight year. And even though it only amounted to Howie Rose reading out a bunch of names and then those players walking out onto the field, it was nice to see.
It's always interesting to see who gets the biggest reactions. It tends to be some combination of the biggest stars and those people who don't come around very often. I barely remember Al Arbour Night - it was my birthday and I was extremely hammered - but the biggest pops came for the guys we don't see very often, like Pat LaFontaine and Benoit Hogue. The Dynasty guys are here all the time; hell, half of them work for the team. It doesn't diminish anything they've done or their value to the team today, but it's worth noting that when fans get one shot to show their appreciation, they make the most of it.
That's what happened today at Shea Stadium. If I had to venture a guess, the loudest cheers were for Dwight Gooden and Mike Piazza. Not coincidentally, neither of them had been back at Shea since they retired. Piazza was so beloved by Mets fans that he received a curtain call when he hit a home run at Shea in 2006... while playing for the Padres. And while the surprising retiring of #31 never happened, it was nice seeing him as part of one of these things. The same can be said for when LaFontaine showed up at Arbour Night. As great as it is to see our heroes, sometimes it's even better when they keep themselves a bit more scarce.
What's my point?
Maybe it'd be wise to keep these ceremonies to a minimum. I love seeing the Islanders honor their past, but sometimes they go a bit overboard with it. They said after Core Of The Four that they weren't going to be doing any more elaborate ceremonies, but only time will tell. Meanwhile, the Mets never do this sort of thing, and I think that's why today was so important. At the same time, though, you don't want to end up like the Rangers and have a forty-year gap of time where nobody has any idea who even played for the team or how they did. I'd rather try too hard like the Islanders do, and that's not because I'm an Islander fan.
Anyway, watching the Mets pay tribute to their former legends - and isn't it interesting how important people in Shea Stadium history like the Jets and the Beatles were barely mentioned - I couldn't help but think about my Islanders. As we all know, no local team honors tradition like the Islanders. The Yankees do a good job as well but it's different with the Islanders. So often the Islanders have had to rely on their past to sell the present. Obviously, the Yankees don't have that problem. Neither do the Mets. So theoretically, today should have been a nice day to remember the good times at a ballpark that, quite frankly, didn't have very many.
As a devoted Islander fan who has seen more than his fair share of celebrations, I have to say the Mets nailed this one, even down to the questionable decision to do the ceremony after the game ended. This ended up being a good thing; by the time it was all over, I'd almost forgotten that the Mets performed an egregious chokejob for the second straight year. And even though it only amounted to Howie Rose reading out a bunch of names and then those players walking out onto the field, it was nice to see.
It's always interesting to see who gets the biggest reactions. It tends to be some combination of the biggest stars and those people who don't come around very often. I barely remember Al Arbour Night - it was my birthday and I was extremely hammered - but the biggest pops came for the guys we don't see very often, like Pat LaFontaine and Benoit Hogue. The Dynasty guys are here all the time; hell, half of them work for the team. It doesn't diminish anything they've done or their value to the team today, but it's worth noting that when fans get one shot to show their appreciation, they make the most of it.
That's what happened today at Shea Stadium. If I had to venture a guess, the loudest cheers were for Dwight Gooden and Mike Piazza. Not coincidentally, neither of them had been back at Shea since they retired. Piazza was so beloved by Mets fans that he received a curtain call when he hit a home run at Shea in 2006... while playing for the Padres. And while the surprising retiring of #31 never happened, it was nice seeing him as part of one of these things. The same can be said for when LaFontaine showed up at Arbour Night. As great as it is to see our heroes, sometimes it's even better when they keep themselves a bit more scarce.
What's my point?
Maybe it'd be wise to keep these ceremonies to a minimum. I love seeing the Islanders honor their past, but sometimes they go a bit overboard with it. They said after Core Of The Four that they weren't going to be doing any more elaborate ceremonies, but only time will tell. Meanwhile, the Mets never do this sort of thing, and I think that's why today was so important. At the same time, though, you don't want to end up like the Rangers and have a forty-year gap of time where nobody has any idea who even played for the team or how they did. I'd rather try too hard like the Islanders do, and that's not because I'm an Islander fan.
Considering you brushed off Yankee Stadium by calling it a dump, you sure took your time celebrating a Stadium that has seen 2 championships, 1 amazing catch, and Carlos Beltran caught looking a minute after Cliff Floyd saw the same exact pitch.
ReplyDeleteThe Mets losing means no postseason baseball in NY since 1994 I guess. Good for hockey coverage. Sorry for my ill-timed text.
Ouch.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I have no history with Yankee Stadium so I don't care about it. Just like I have no history with the Garden aside from the Royal Rumble. Shea and the Coliseum are where I have my fondest sports memories, so it has a special place in my heart. That said, I've seen the Mets' most excruciating defeats of the past three seasons live (Game 7 in '06, the final game last year, and Wednesday's game) and I'm glad to see all the bad luck go.
Which was Wednesday's game?
ReplyDeleteThe one where Daniel Murphy led off the 9th with a triple and none of the other overpaid stiffs could drive him home. That was the moment when the 2008 season was lost.
ReplyDelete