Or I suppose the better question is, what made you a Mets fan?
I was thinking about this recently, trying to quantify exactly what were the root causes that made me want to wear blue and orange.
In most areas of the country this is an easy question. You grow up in Boston, you are a Red Sox fan, no question. Same with Philly, Detroit, Minneapolis, St. Louis, etc. Sure, you could point to Chicago, and to a lesser extent LA, but neither of those cities has the unique situation we have. On one side of town is the most successful franchise in all of sports; on the other are the Mets. Really, the odds are stacked against you.
So, what confluence of factors led me here today? It comes down to 3:
- Timing: I was 2 1/2 when the Mets won the World Series in 1969 and 6 1/2 when they went back in 1973. Now of course I don’t remember the 69 series. However, the Mets were the hot team and so when relatives would buy me baseball things, they would be Mets related. I have pictures of me at 2 wearing a blue Mets helmet. By the time 73 rolled around, while I don’t remember the series per se, I do remember cheering on the Mets and I remember the excitement of going to see Willie Mays and Ya Gotta Believe. The point is these were very formative years and I naturally gravitated towards the tam that was winning.
- Geography: I was born in Brooklyn – Flatbush to be exact - in 1967, just 12 years after the last Dodger season. The memories of the Dodgers were still very fresh in the minds of just about every adult in my neighborhood. That in and of itself would have been enough to influence my fandom. Link that though with the period. The Mets played in Queens, the next borough over and an easy ride on the special Shea Stadium bus that left from “the junction” (the intersection of Flatbush and Nostrand Aves). meanwhile the Yankees played in the Bronx – a long subway ride through Manhattan and into the bowels of a crumbling neighborhood and city. The subways in the 70’s were your worst nightmare. Given the choice between taking a clean bus to a stadium nearby vs. taking the dirty, graffiti covered, crime ridden subway to an old and decaying stadium further away, my parents made the easy choice. So we went to Mets games. As it was I didn’t set foot in Yankee Stadium til 1984.
- Family: Obviously your family history and the influence of your parents will have some influence on who you root for – but the reasons behind that influence may be different. For me, I got the Mets bug from both parents but for very different reasons. My Dad gre up in Brooklyn a die hard Dodger fan, and growing up we heard all the stories of Ebbets Field, the Knothole Gang, you name it. However, unlike many Dodger fans, my Dad did not transfer his allegiance to the Mets. He never rooted for them. But as children he didn’t dissuade us from that path, or in his words “I don’t care who you root for, as long as you don’t root for the Yankees.” Well, that left us with ether the Mets or rooting for an out of town team – which in the days before cable and the internet was just not going to happen. (Inexplicably later in life my Dad started rooting for the Yankees). My mother on the other hand was a Mets fan. She was raised in Ireland and knew nothing about baseball – but in 1966 when her boss at a Wall St. investment firm started giving her tickets to the Mets, who was she to turn them down. Turns out the seats were next to the Payson family. Even though she may not have understood the game, she understood good manners and started rooting for the mets. She eventually came to love the team as longtime MetsPolice readers know. So my Dad steered us clear of the Yankees, and my Mom steered us towards the mets.
So there you have it – timing, geography, and family. If any of these had been different (say my formative years were in the mid-70’s for example), I might be writing for the Yankees police right now instead of here.
What made you a Mets fan? Any of these reasons? Something else?
I was born and raised in Queens, but my first baseball game was actually a Yankee game. My dad wasn’t into sports at all, but his job got some free tickets so he took me and my older brother. I was six. I was hooked on baseball and followed the Yankees for a short time until I realized there was a team in my backyard. A team from Queens. A team that as I got a little older, I could take the B58 bus to go see. The fact that it dropped me off in front of the Lemon Ice King of Corona only made it that much better. Three dollar “sit where you want” seats in the Upper Deck made Shea Stadium feel like my home away from home. Guys like Doc and Straw gave me heroes. The Mets, in part, made me psyched I was from Queens.
the 80’s were my ‘formative’ years. But it’s as simple as my parents being Mets fans. And from there it’s just something that sticks with you. You can change no more than you can change if you like pizza.
No one makes a decision based on a fair evaluation of the available options, and those that do are almost always crappy bandwagon fans. Sometimes it just takes something to draw you in. A good moment by the team, an awesome player, and then you’re linked forever.
I was born in ’82 in Queens. My grandfather was the biggest Dodger fan so that trickled to my mom when they left and the Mets came around. My dad grew up a Yankee fan and switched allegiance to the Mets while the Bronx Zoo was going down (he had enough of George treating Billy Martin like crap) so my family was a huge influence.
Although I was 4 I remember ’86. Vaguely but I remember going to games and watching the WS with my aunts as the Mets won. I remember being front row at the parade and even have tape of my family on Fox 5 newscast behind Rosanna Scotto reporting from the parade.
Over time I have realized that my love for the Mets is more than just rooting for a baseball team. It is a philosophy on life. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth and although and I identify more with the struggle and fight to succeed just like the team does. You go to war each day with what you have and you fight to make it work and to ultimately win.
This feeling I think describes the core of the Met fanbase. Yes World Series are awesome but in reality what is more important to us is knowing that this team killed themselves trying to succeed and get the job done.
BTW I recently went to a sports marketing event that had a panel of some of the smarted marketers in sports and 1 of the panelist said something that when I think about it is very true.
Husbands and wives may come and go but my team is for life.
BPALM, I always say that my team is the girl that is always there when you need her and she never leaves you.
I agree with timing, family and geography. I was in elementary school when the Mets won the 1969 World Series. My father and grandfather lived in Nassau County and the Bronx was considered “upstate” … and a toll away.
My reasons always suck compared to the die-hard fans. I grew up in Scotland, shared a flat at uni with a guy who supported the Yankees, so when I visited him in New York I thought “Hey, I need a team I can root for who are underdogs, who don’t just win because of the money. Ahah!”
Since then, I’ve been there for the Mets. Now they’re my team come what may.
The Mets were the most exciting team to watch when I first really started following MLB in junior high school, but what really hooked me on them was the run during the 2nd half of the ’87 season, when they climbed out of a 15-or-so game hole and still had a shot to win the division with about a week’s worth of games remaining. We all know how that turned out, but it was a wild ride nonetheless. That was the start of what became my permanent attraction: the Mets are never boring. Whether they’re winning or losing, they do both in fascinating fashion. Unfortunately, the current level of interest centers around incompetence and disappointment instead of success, but it’s interesting nonetheless. One way or the other, the Mets keep you on your toes as a fan.
I grew up in central New Jersey, so my choices were the Mets and the Yankees. When I was old enough to start understanding baseball, the Mets were in the middle of their late 1980s run.
They had Doc & Darryl, and I always had the sense that they might do something special every time they stepped on the field. They had Gary Carter, who was always smiling and looking like he was having the time of his life. They had Roger McDowell, with all his crazy masks and practical jokes.
The Yankees had Don Mattingly and a bunch of old guys. Pretty easy decision. The amazing part is that I stuck around through the Buddy Harrelson, Jeff Torborg and Dallas Green eras.
Family is the biggest reason for me to be a Mets fan. My mom was a huuuuuge Dodgers fan and wouldn’t allow me to root for the Yuckees. (My dad was actually a Giants fan – he’s really more of a baseball fan. Now that he’s in Arizona he’s a Sanke fan). Growing up in Huntington it was easier to get to Shea for the family (as a 4 year old I was with them in the upper deck on the day in 1969 the Mets swept the Expos in that double-header that put them in 1st for the first time in their history!)