The last 35,014 Mets fans

I was there today.

I was hoping to do a long post about how great today was but there are a few problems.

Problem number 1: today wasn’t great. The 1986 team showed up but the 2010 team did.

Problem number 2: my trusty laptop caught a real deal virus so I need to get that fixed before I can process multimedia files. I hope to post some video before bedtime. In the mean time I have text capability so I will just write.

Lets start with the good. A nice ceremony. I’m glad I got to cheer Frank Cashen because I don’t know how often he’ll becoming around in the future.

Davey was great, and thanked radio callers for telling him how to manage. Don’t forget that sports talk was a new concept in 1986. Back then there was a young guy named Howie Rose who used to tick the ownership off in the post-game. One year there was even a rule that Howie couldn’t come on until half an hour after the game. Really.

Doc looks good. He made light of how big his family is as he took his time to introduce his children.

Darryl seems like a leader. Mature. Comfortable in his own shoes. Would love to see him at Wally’s side come April.

It was good to see Buddy get a hand.

I missed Seaver. Tom, you gotta be at these. (Rusty has nothing to do with 1986 either but he was there.)

I think the 2010 season is gone. Maybe if they go 6-0 against Atlanta and Philly I will believe again but tonight the Mets are one game over .500. Another wasted season. We can be mad about that tomorrow. Tonight something else is bugging me.

35,014 was a lousy crowd. I’m sick of arguing about the price of tickets on this one. Much like Seaver, you shoulda been there.

Now that today is over you can go ahead and take out your frustrations on the franchise. Don’t show up if you don’t want to or if tickets cost too much.

Now you can take it out on the 2010 Mets, the 2011 Mets or the Mercury Mets. You shouldn’t have taken it out on the 1986 Mets.

Shut up about team history, traditions, Banner Day or most of all Old Timer’s Day. Gone. Forever. There’s no reason for Dave Howard to bring them back, and what a crappy time you guys took to “show the Wilpons” – on the eve of the 50th season you showed it’s just not important to you.

I’m one of the 35,014. I’m glad I was there. I’m mad at the rest of you. I know this post will make some of you mad at me. Thats ok. I always speak my mind. This time it’s not Dave Howard that I am mad at.

21 Replies to “The last 35,014 Mets fans”

  1. Well put. I was wondering where Seaver was, too. Good to see the others looking good. I just wish I’d gotten a photo of the giant Gooden billboard that was on the screen during Gary’s recorded highlights package.

  2. I was there. $60 for a seat in the outfield which cannot see the scoreboards at all. Shea used to discount that. To me, it looked like 40,000 and not 35,014. But maybe I don’t know how to count the fans at Citi Field. I don’t think Citi Field is capable of housing any more that 35,000 with limited views and over-priced seats. There ceremony was good. I think the 2010 season ended during the game today. It’s over. The fans that were there showed their love for Mr. Cashen, Davey, Doc, and Darryl. Even though 1986 was the championship team, it’s about these 4 people who were the foundation for the teams of the 1980s. Rusty was part of that, and he’s in the Mets HOF, along with the others there. No Seaver. He, and some others in the Mets HOF, were not part of the Mets of the mid-late 1980s.

    1. Shea didn’t discount for that. You couldn’t see the scoreboard in what, the last 5-6 sections of the Uppers RF? same price as behind home plate. Less sections obscured in LF uppers, but still scoreboard issues.
      They only discounted for the last two rows of the loge and mezzanine. but the 4-5 rows in front of those were plenty obstructed as well.

  3. One thing I want to add.

    On a day both Davey and Gooden made light of how they felt about the 2-strike clapping thing, Mets fans were very lackluster in their enthusiasm. The scoreboard tried to get us to clap along at the appropriate time, but most were having none of it. (Granted, they should’ve put up a clip of Gooden clapping I guess..)

    So go ahead and criticize the team for “not being in it” but the crowd wasn’t in to the team either. They’ve been pretty poor in general this season. Their seem to be more fans that would rather Perez come in and fail than to see Castillo come through in a big spot. (which he typically has as a Met, btw.) The crowd today was pathetic in that regard. Asleep while Niese was cruising, and then joyously angry when Oliver got in the game.

  4. The next time 35000 fans attend Citi field will be opening day 2011.If they go 2 for 6 0n this road trip figure about 14500 for August and September .No money to spend for next year because attendance was down in 2010 what a joke this team is

  5. There was a time I would have agreed with what you’re saying. But that was truly a different time.

    Met fans weren’t there today for a variety of reasons, many of which are even hard to articulate for lifelong fans like myself who used to routinely go to 15-25 games a year. It’s like a family argument between the real fans and the organization; outsiders will never understand it.

    Go to Citi Field. Enjoy it. It’s wonderful to feel like you do right now.

  6. A good number of the cheapest seats in the house, Promenade Reserved in LF, were empty so price is not an excuse.

    Aside from a few games this season, the fans have been horrible. People don’t clap for strikeouts or cheer “Lets Go Mets” unless prompted by the scoreboard…unless of course, they are cheering themselves for doing the stupid f’n wave.

  7. fans aren’t going for a number of reaosns, and calling them out is your right but I disagree.

    Maybe the place would have been filled if the Wilpons didn’t further alienate fans by tacking on worthless “plus” games to ticket plans

    maybe the place would have been filled had the Mets not flooded the market with deep discounts and half off offers last year, basically insulting anyone who purcheased tickets ahead of time

    Also, and this is out of the Mets control, I think many Mets fans see Doc and Darryl and think of what might have been. They drank, snorted, partied and overslept there way through NY, turning what should have been a dynasty into only 1 championship. They then go across town and the rings started coming again. Maybe they simply did not want to honor these two players, if I recall the team celebration drew a sellout to Shea

  8. Shannon, I agree about the crowd size. Heck, I could make it there with my Met fan blogging partner, and I’m a Yankee fan. But I wanted to see history (and former Mets – and Yankees – Darryl and Dwight)!

    And you’re right. When fans don’t show up to things like this (the Mets drew, what, 2000 more than their average attendance for today), it’s really easy for the Mets to not want to spend the money and do such events again.

  9. Those left field seats are obstructed view. I had them last year and they sucked…needless to say, I don’t own them again last year as the Mets felt I was wrong and they were right.

    The Mets moved the true fans to the upper decks, or out of the stadium, and just like the Yankee Stadium, that causes a big change in the atmosphere at games. Your diehards are nowhere near the field, your corporations are.

    The Mets went for the corporate push, starting with Citifield and here is your outcome. Business geniuses they ain’t (I mean, hey they did invest with Madoff, so that says about all you need to know about their business acumen).

  10. Asleep while Niese was cruising what for a nine out no hitter.And then they battered around not once but twice with the opposing pitcher getting his first ever hit/rbi. Give me a break Mets had 2 hits in the first inning and not another till what the 9th. Lets face it the mets mailed this one in

  11. Remember we lost 5 of 6 games to the the worst team in the National league. you want fans in the seats put a good product on the field

  12. Metsblog is reporting that there MAYBE were 1/3 of the seats full. So someone says 40,000 and someone else says 1/3. Which was it?

  13. As someone who was there when Jesse threw his glove in the air, let me say that was a lifetime ago!! In the meantime, the owners have spent billions but made billions more and got basically a free stadium. During that time, we all have spent probably tens of thousands of dollars on being a fan. And per your replies, they have booted you to the upper decks or obstructed views, so Jerry and Goldman Sachs can have great seats. You all have the mentality of a battered wife, ‘ they will change, I will be there for it’ Would you change your restaurant if you charged 10 bucks for a 1 dollar burger and you sold 25,000 a night? But everyone complained in Zagat’s? Hell NO. Keep buying your season tix, they will keep paying Jason Bay’s 11m per with it. When I want to enjoy a day in the park, I will go on StubHub and buy one of your angry seats for 3 dollars and go to enjoy the day. When they change their management plan, I will change my attendance plan. I understand the ‘fan mentality’ but Jesse’s glove hit the ground almost 25 years ago.

  14. I, too, was disappointed with the turnout and response. However, I could not be there to add my voice to the crowd – sometimes, there are days when it is just not possible to do what you want to, but rather what you have to. Maybe this doesn’t make me a Mets fan in some eyes, but the emotions I felt watching the ceremony (in my old, tight fitting ’87 Straw jersey) tell me that I am.

    So, yes, I resented some of your statements, Shannon, but, hey, it’s a free country and I’m still here reading your site (and will continue to) so fair play to you on that.

    I don’t think it’s easy one to boil it all down to a simple explanation as to just what is happening. Yes, times change. Yes, the crowds are different today. Yes, there is lingering resentment for the prices and the product the Wilpons and Omar have put on the field. I know that I sometimes still feel irked at ticket prices when I’m able to take in a game (sadly, not nearly as often as I used to) because of what I used to pay, when we had shots at an affordable field level seats – field level doesn’t feel affordable to me right now. Again, times and the economy changes. I think everyone has fair points above, and, okay, maybe a few unfair ones …

    My opinion, beyond Sunday’s turnout, is if the organizational model is strong, from top to bottom, front office to the scouts, and a hard-playing team is out there to win, there will be full houses (yes, the bandwagon plays a part in attendance, like it or not). The Mets have some gamers and some exciting up-and-comers. However, I think the chaos of the last few years has created some doubts about the Mets plan to win, to the point that some wonder what exactly that plan might be. There are strong prospects to be excited about and I’m glad they weren’t traded for a rent-a-player run. But there are too many instances of soap operatic drama in the front office, some busts on the roster, general questions about overall direction and no matter how much rallying one tries to do, you could have William Wallace leading the war-cry and the response would still, unfortunately, be tepid (maybe a Mel Gibson reference wasn’t the best). One can point to the Red Sox model – at least the 2003-2007 model – as an organization with a plan that extended to appreciating the fan base (yes, I was very glad to see what the Mets are doing to that end this year, and positively love that Hall of Fame). The Fenway sellouts started under the Henry regime’s watch and continues. Yes, it’s a smaller house, the tickets are kinda expensive. But the house became full when the team started to win. I feel that there’s too much inconsistency with the Mets. They get on a roll and then hit the lowest of skids. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

    I think I’ve gotten off on tangent and sorry to take up so much space. The Mets are a family member, I love them and they can also make me positively insane. But I want nothing more to see them succeed, have a formidable, take-no-prisoners team and organization, and also have a shot at a decent seat for a decent price to cheer them on. And yes, I’m sorry it couldn’t have been Sunday for me. But I still feel like a fan.

  15. Shannon those seats you had for Sunday are terible would have just stood behind field level sec 113, and not made the trip up to those seats .As far as im concerned best seats for the money are promenade infied reserve between sec 510 and 518 third to twelth rows

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