Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Traitor!
If Dave Brooks spent the rest of his time on Earth defending big government conservatism, I do not believe I would be as irate at him as I am for this travesty of a column. It seems Brooks is contemplating switching his baseball allegiance from the Mets to the Nationals.
As a relatively new DC resident who probably will spend of my life here, I am pretty excited about baseball coming back to the District. It is long overdue, and will be a welcome summer amusement. Moreover, the Nats play in the same division as the Mets, and therefore will play 9 or 10 games against them each year at RFK.
I actually will probably roots for the Nats - that is, when they're not playing the Mets. I usually don't root for the teams that play in the locations in which I live. Believe me, I took immense joy while at Emory in watching the Braves, Falcons, and Hawks lose. One of my fondest sports memories was watching the Knicks beat the Hawks in the 1999 playoffs at the Georgia Dome. There were more Knicks fans in attendance, and we pretty much had a fullout party after the game. Actually it was kind of sad. There is no way in hell an opposing teams' fans would be able to carry on like that in the Garden. But that's Atlanta sports for you.
Similarly, I detest the Redskins and take a great deal of amusement watching the Skins fans get all hopeful about the upcoming season, only to have their hopes dashed again and again and again. Though I must say that at least Redskins fans, unlike Atlanta sports fans in general, support their team through thick and thin, and for that they have earned my grudging respect.
But with the Nationals, I feel a little differently. I suppose it's because I already was living here when they arrived, and thus I feel like they are a little bit more my team.
But I can never truly be a Nationals fans. Being a Met fan is part of my identity. I have given enormous amounts of time and energy for this team. I have cried tears of sadness after crushing playoff defeats in 1999 and 2000, and have also been through the enormous joy of a world championship. I still get chills every time I walk into Shea Stadium, even if it is a dump. And, as always, I get to anticipate with great optimism a season that will no doubt end in failure.
This is the team that has given us Bobby Bonilla calling the press box from the dugout after being charged with an error. There was Vince Coleman, lobbing firecrackers at fans. Bobby V in disguise in the dugout after being tossed. Steve "Skill Sets" Phillips. Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano. Kenny Rogers walking in the winning run of the 1999 NLCS. Bernie Williams catching the final out in center in game five, and Yankee fans celebrating in our fucking stadium.
But then there's Mookie grounding one through Buckner. Orosco's glove. Mike Piazza blasting one into the night sky in the first home game after 9/11. Ventura's grand single. The Murph's happy recaps. Dwight Gooden's first two major league seasons. Strawberry's first eight. The Kid homering in his first game on opening day against the Cardinals. Dykstra and Backman getting their uniforms dirty every single game. And now Pedro and his midget.
For a very brief period I may have been slightly more devoted to the Rangers, but that ended the day after they won the Cup. Since then there has only been one team in all of sports that can cause as much pain, anguish and suffering within me as the New York Mets. It will be a cold day in hell before another team grabs my heart as they do.
So as another season approaches, it's time to break out the lyrics to this great song.
MEET THE METS,
MEET THE METS,
Step right up and greet the Mets!
Bring your kiddies,
bring your wife;
Guaranteed to have the time of your life
because the Mets are really sockin’ the ball; knocking those home runs over the wall!
East side,
West side,
everybody’d coming down
to meet the M-E-T-S Mets of New York town!
Oh, the butcher and the baker and the people on the streets,
where did they go? To MEET THE METS!
Oh, they’re hollerin’ and cheerin’ and they’re jumpin’ in their seats,
where did they go? To MEET THE METS!
All the fans are tru to the orange and blue,
so hurry up and come on down -
‘cause we’ve got ourselves a ball club,
The Mets of New York town!
Give ‘em a yell!
Give ‘em a hand!
And let ‘em know your rootin’ in the stand!
LETS GO METS!!!
As a relatively new DC resident who probably will spend of my life here, I am pretty excited about baseball coming back to the District. It is long overdue, and will be a welcome summer amusement. Moreover, the Nats play in the same division as the Mets, and therefore will play 9 or 10 games against them each year at RFK.
I actually will probably roots for the Nats - that is, when they're not playing the Mets. I usually don't root for the teams that play in the locations in which I live. Believe me, I took immense joy while at Emory in watching the Braves, Falcons, and Hawks lose. One of my fondest sports memories was watching the Knicks beat the Hawks in the 1999 playoffs at the Georgia Dome. There were more Knicks fans in attendance, and we pretty much had a fullout party after the game. Actually it was kind of sad. There is no way in hell an opposing teams' fans would be able to carry on like that in the Garden. But that's Atlanta sports for you.
Similarly, I detest the Redskins and take a great deal of amusement watching the Skins fans get all hopeful about the upcoming season, only to have their hopes dashed again and again and again. Though I must say that at least Redskins fans, unlike Atlanta sports fans in general, support their team through thick and thin, and for that they have earned my grudging respect.
But with the Nationals, I feel a little differently. I suppose it's because I already was living here when they arrived, and thus I feel like they are a little bit more my team.
But I can never truly be a Nationals fans. Being a Met fan is part of my identity. I have given enormous amounts of time and energy for this team. I have cried tears of sadness after crushing playoff defeats in 1999 and 2000, and have also been through the enormous joy of a world championship. I still get chills every time I walk into Shea Stadium, even if it is a dump. And, as always, I get to anticipate with great optimism a season that will no doubt end in failure.
This is the team that has given us Bobby Bonilla calling the press box from the dugout after being charged with an error. There was Vince Coleman, lobbing firecrackers at fans. Bobby V in disguise in the dugout after being tossed. Steve "Skill Sets" Phillips. Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano. Kenny Rogers walking in the winning run of the 1999 NLCS. Bernie Williams catching the final out in center in game five, and Yankee fans celebrating in our fucking stadium.
But then there's Mookie grounding one through Buckner. Orosco's glove. Mike Piazza blasting one into the night sky in the first home game after 9/11. Ventura's grand single. The Murph's happy recaps. Dwight Gooden's first two major league seasons. Strawberry's first eight. The Kid homering in his first game on opening day against the Cardinals. Dykstra and Backman getting their uniforms dirty every single game. And now Pedro and his midget.
For a very brief period I may have been slightly more devoted to the Rangers, but that ended the day after they won the Cup. Since then there has only been one team in all of sports that can cause as much pain, anguish and suffering within me as the New York Mets. It will be a cold day in hell before another team grabs my heart as they do.
So as another season approaches, it's time to break out the lyrics to this great song.
MEET THE METS,
MEET THE METS,
Step right up and greet the Mets!
Bring your kiddies,
bring your wife;
Guaranteed to have the time of your life
because the Mets are really sockin’ the ball; knocking those home runs over the wall!
East side,
West side,
everybody’d coming down
to meet the M-E-T-S Mets of New York town!
Oh, the butcher and the baker and the people on the streets,
where did they go? To MEET THE METS!
Oh, they’re hollerin’ and cheerin’ and they’re jumpin’ in their seats,
where did they go? To MEET THE METS!
All the fans are tru to the orange and blue,
so hurry up and come on down -
‘cause we’ve got ourselves a ball club,
The Mets of New York town!
Give ‘em a yell!
Give ‘em a hand!
And let ‘em know your rootin’ in the stand!
LETS GO METS!!!
# posted by Paul Zummo : 4:04 PM
