Posted on by Shannon Shark @metspolice

99 Banners and yours wasn’t one

marge simpson phoneWhere the hell were you?

Yeah, YOU.

I’m calling you out.  Marge Face Style.

You mean to tell me only 98 other families could be bothered to make a gosh-darn banner and show up on Saturday?

I heard every lame excuse in the book from “I was out late” to “my kid had a game” (MY kid had a game, he came to Banner Day.) to “monitoring the renovations” to “birthday party” to “had lunch” to something about rain.

Lame.

Here’s the problem.  99 Banners.

Last year the Mets had about 300.  This year, 99.

I can do math, that’s down 66%.

What the hell am I supposed to do if the Mets decide not bring Banner Day back in 2014?   What possible argument would I have?

But this goes beyond banners.  This is about a whole lot of Mets fans who need to accept something about themselves.  They are front-runners.

Yep, front-runners.

How many “Mets fans” do you know who say they are only going to watch when Harvey pitches. Or who mumble something about how they will be back when the team is good again.

These “big Mets fans” are front-runners.  By definition.  They only come out when they going is good.  When the going gets tough they can’t be bothered.

All you had to do was write Let’s Go Mets on a Dollar Store posterboard.  You couldn’t be bothered.

Don’t come bitching to me when this event doesn’t return.  Don’t ask me to campaign for Old Timers’ Day.  Don’t ask me to do anything.  I’ll write what I want to write.

To the other 98 families who give a hoot, thank you for taking part in a great day.  To the Mets, thank you for allowing me to make a memory with my son.  To the Mets, thank you for allowing Dan to make a memory with his dad.  The rest of you can show up for Game One of the NLDS some day.  We don’t need you to have a good time at the park.

banner day dtwohig and dad

 

64 Replies to “99 Banners and yours wasn’t one”

  1. As someone who watches pretty much every game, I can attest to the Mets of 2013 being pretty much unwatchable outside of a Harvey game. They are boring and play uninspired ball. TC being over protective of everyone and their pitch count including the bullpen catchers has grown tired. A team that doesn’t have the back of a teammate…I do remember Wright being pulled at the notion of being hit by the Brewers last year…yet he makes sure to call out Valdespin Friday so that the Pirates can see the Mets hate him too. ‘Spin isn’t the “C” but he IS a teammate. Gutless, uninspired dreck is what the Mets put on the field. A gm that loves to joke about his outfield and chides the fan base. Yet as a caregiver of a 95 year old, with a 5 yr. old child and a wife that works Saturdays, I’m a front runner or not fan enough because I didn’t show up to banner day? I went to the awful 11-2 drubbing. Spent money to go to the game and sat through more dreck. Been watching since ’83 and because I didn’t go to Banner day I’m not a real fan. I’m a front runner. Sure a 99 people turn out sucks compared to last year’s 300 but the blame isn’t all on the “fans”. The Mets are GARBAGE, even the lazy GM knows it and he laughs at us for caring. Next time there IS an NLDS again in Flushing I’m sure that caring ownership would have priced me out of a seat anyway. So in essence I won’t be around much when they are good because ownership will want to cash in, naturally. You can’t sit there and blame only the fans, many are sick and tired of the circus that is the Mets. I have a four pack because that’s all I can afford and I’ll go to all the games. But I’m just one of those fans that has every game on every day they’re on tv and gets called a front runner because I don’t show up to Banner day. I’m sure Banner day would be a lot bigger with the fan base if it was never taken away for years in the first place. The fan base isn’t respected and that’s my biggest beef with those that run the Mets. As for the name calling and no one is a real fan if someone else says so. Whatever. I’m happy the Mets had banner day and some were able to enjoy it. It should be around but if it’s too much for management to have something like this for the fans, why should we even care for this team? Oh that’s right, because they’re not in First place yet…is it 2014-15 yet?

    Have you heard the in fighting of the fan base? Some Mets fan groups on Facebook are ridiculous. The last thing we should be doing is tearing each other apart. There is such a divide and here we have more name calling. I’m just saying, the atmosphere is toxic and the empty seats and 99 people at banner day only prove that something’s amiss in Flushing and it shouldn’t always start with the fans. The Mets are their business to run (Management) and they should cater to their fans and respect them a smidge more. All of this is just my opinion, I’m just tired of the fan base turning on itself.

  2. I don’t get what the issue is and I don’t get who this is directed at. Is it directed at everyone who reads this site and didn’t show up? I’m a big fan if this site. Does that mean I have to be a fan of Banner Day?

    I went to banner day as a kid. I didn’t like it. I still don’t like it. When Banner Day came back, not one ounce of personal excitement went through my veins. (I was happy for the people who wanted it and got it because guys like you get the Mets to listen to the fans) Am I still supposed to go to Banner Day?

    I just had a baby on Wednesday. My first child. Mommy and baby just came home on Friday. Am I still supposed to go to Banner Day on Saturday?

    I don’t like weekend day games. I’m a night person. I work nights. I get home late and I sleep in. So after working a shift at night of actually being the real police, an I still supposed to go to Banner Day? (Didn’t work this week because of the baby, so this applies to any other weekend day game that banner day could have been on, because I still wasn’t going)

    I went to about 15 games a year every year from when I was about 10 years old until now. (I’m 32). I pump money into the Metsconomy. I watch at least a piece of every game on TV or listen on the radio or monitor it on my phone. I’m as big a fan as they come, ever since I’m a kid. But I think Banner Day sucks. I think I have more important things to do than go to Banner Day. And other people out there might have more important stuff to do than go to Banner Day. And you don’t need to tell people that Banner Day is more important than something else they like to do with their kid, just because your son skipped his ball game. Your anger is completely misdirected here, bro.

  3. To link Banner Day participation with overall Met fandome is insane insulting.

    I have been a Mets fan since 1964 … I am now 58 years old …. for 12 years I had a sason ticket plan for me an my son — great quality time for father and son to sit at a baseball game …. now, he’s 26 and I split my time between NY and Florida …. I watch every game (thanks DirecTV) or listen via MLB.com (I have an iphone app that makes my phone a transistor radio).

    I will not go to CitiField on principal as long as the Wilpons own the team. I will not provide financial support toownership that puts an inferior product on the field. I do, however, love traveling to see them on the road — I go to see the Mets in Miami, I go to see the Mets in Atlanta, I am going to see the Mets in Los Angeles and San Diego in August (building my vacation around the Mets road schedule in Augiust). In fact, over the last several years I have seen the Mets play in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago (Wrigley), Houston, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay …. over the years I have also been to Boston, Baltimore, Arizona, Colorado and Seattle. I realize the Met ownership reaps some benefit from this, but until they sell the team, I just donlt want to be a visitior in their house. That is MY perogative, isn’t it? Or does that make me a front runner?

    You like Banner Day — great — glad they brought it back for you. Personally, I could care less about it. Even if I did not have my self-imposed ban on going to CitiField t support the Wilpons, I would not have made a banner and either attended Saturday’s game or participated in banner day. For the record, I promise not to go bitching to you when Banner Day do not return and I will not ask you to campaign for Old Timers’ Day. Franklly, doesn’t it tell you something that one 100 or so people found it important? Things change. No-one brings home-made banners to games anymore …. what was thought to be neat and entertaining 30 years ago is just not anymore. What’s next, campaign to bring back Jane Jarvis-like and organ music between innings? I’d prefer that to the music the blast but it ain’t happening.

    I guess in your view, that makes me a front runner.

    I think your site is amusing and entertaining at times (less all the self-promotion of your ebook) ….. however, you are out of your league taking your frustrations out on Mets fans who do not share your enthusiasm over Banner Day. Franlky, you were considerably more objective before the Mets invited you to the food fest for writers a few years ago ….. that wine and dine along with your relatinshi with Dave Howard made you go soft.

  4. i was excited when banner day came back last season. i had always wanted to go as a kid but never went. last year, me, my wife and kids were excited to walk on the field and display our banner. we met a bunch of fellow ‘die hards’ on the line last year, including you.

    this year i had it penciled in on my calendar (both dates lol), purchased two extra tickets for my wife and daughter, because my 40 game season plan didn’t have the saturday game. then when my sons little league schedule was released, we had a game on may 11 and i am the manager. am i supposed to cancel a game for 5 yr olds to prove i am a die hard fan?

    trust me, i dont take your column personal. i actually see where you are coming from. i hate the front running fans as much as you seem to. they never rooted for mackey sasser or jeff innis. they never sit throuw a wally whitehurst outing or have to see richard hidalgo or josas manzanilla in mets jerseys lol but we do/did!

    as i tweeted to you at thursday nights game when i went and said it looked like there were more vendors than fans in the stadium. to me it bothers me A LOT more that on beautiful mid-week nights when they sell $5 tickets, people still don’t show.

    stay calm mets police. front runners will be front runners. the only upside of the front runner is that when we see them coming, that means OUR METS are climbing back to the top of the baseball world. we know who the die hards are. we are there in april and may, the cold nights and windy days. if some of the traditions need to die out because the mass of fans don’t show. i hate to say it but so be it. but don’t make it an assault on the fans who didn’t go to banner day on a rainy morning in may.

    as always – LETS GO METS!

  5. I’m not sure you understand what a front runner is. In order to actually be a front runner, we as fans would have abandoned the Mets completely for a winning team. All of us that frequent your site, or Metsblog, watch the games from the comfort of our couch, and occasionally go to the stadium. The fact is, the team is painfully bad right now, and it’s fairly expensive to go to a game at CitiField (especially if you have a full family to bring).

    Banner day is an outdated and somewhat silly tradition, and you’re taking your frustration with the decreasing popularity of the event out on your readership and the Mets’ fanbase.

    You should really redirect your anger on the team’s management which makes it almost impossible to get affordable seats anywhere outside of nose bleeds and the outfield. The same management which doesn’t allow fans to go down to field level for batting practice, and forces us to pay insulting prices to get a hotdog or chicken fingers and fries. It’s not fun being a Mets fan right now, and posts calling the frustrated, yet faithful fanbase “front runners” is insulting and childish.

    1. One thing that has changed a bit this year – with the team as terrible as it is, it’s not hard to find $5-7 tickets on a regular basis, through the team’s website. Even with a family of 4 and including some fees, you’re looking at $35 for tickets. That’s probably the cheapest it’s been to take the family to a game since the mid-90s.

  6. Shannon, I agree with you. I couldn’t attend because I live 400 miles away in Western PA (Yes, Pirates Country. Don’t think I’m not hearing it today from my friends and co-workers) and was working my station.

    Why do I feel I should agree with you since I wasn’t in attendance? Because my family and I are sacrificing our usual multiple roadtrips to Citi this year because I have recently bought and paid for my week at Mets Fantasy Camp in 2014. We will probably show up to Citi later this year but as for now i must make choices to pay for (and have time to work out for) my bucket list indulgence of Fantasy Camp.

    It’s easy to cry and whine on the computer, but nobody is putting their money where their mouth is. Now is the time for true fans to stand up and I believe I have. Hopefully next year I can attend Banner Day and support that but for now the money must go to Fantasy Camp.

  7. My comments basically heap onto Ron’s. I watch every game, but am absolutely turned off by this team. I think we all know that better days are ahead but this is just painful right now. I don’t blame any fan for not showing up and not waving a banner at this moribund corpse of a team.

  8. Shannon, I agree with you. I couldn’t attend because I live 400 miles away in Western PA (Yes, Pirates Country. Don’t think I’m not hearing it today from my friends and co-workers) and was working my station.

    Why do I feel I should agree with you since I wasn’t in attendance? Because my family and I are sacrificing our usual multiple roadtrips to Citi this year because I have recently bought and paid for my week at Mets Fantasy Camp in 2014. We will probably show up to Citi later this year but as for now i must make choices to pay for (and have time to work out for) my bucket list indulgence of Fantasy Camp.

    It’s easy to cry and whine on the computer, but nobody is putting their money where their mouth is. Now is the time for true fans to stand up and I believe I have. Hopefully next year I can attend Banner Day and support that but, for now, the money must go to Fantasy Camp.

  9. Shannon, I think you have it backwards. Obviously, 200 people/families came out with banners last year that decided not to come back. Were they front-runners a year ago? Were the Mets potential world champions then? Obviously not.

    So why wasn’t Banner day fun for them? Well, maybe if they met players, maybe if the judges were people who they would be thrilled to see up close, like Keith Hernandez or Mike Piazza for instance, maybe if the Mets gave everyone who attended an autographed baseball, people would have enjoyed it more, felt better about it and come back.

    Banner day is an experience for the fans who come. If the Mets can’t bother to make it a great experience, then fewer people will come. Same goes for every game.

  10. I think it’s great that you’re so diehard and omniscient that you know who is watching and who isn’t. I work about 80 hours a week. Own my own business and can’t make it to the park bc generally if i get a day off it’s monday. But it’s good bc someday I’ll have worked hard enough to afford those NLDS tickets to game one and I’ll be there loud and proud, because I forget to mention it’s a bar I own and i get to watch everygame.

    Also, make a note that it’s NBA and NHL playoff time.

    Just bc you think you’re metspolice doesn’t mean you are.

    Grow up banner idiot

    1. I work 90 hrs a week and still attend games. So the hours are no excuse.

  11. My comments basically heap onto Ron’s above comments. I watch every game, but am absolutely turned off by this team. I think we all know that better days are ahead but this is just painful right now. I don’t blame any fan for not showing up and not waving a banner at this moribund corpse of a team.

  13. This is the most asinine post I have ever read on your blog. What the hell does not making a banner have to do with being a front-runner? Just because people don’t feel the need to make a corny poster and walk around the field all of a sudden we aren’t real fans? You have got to be kidding me.

    I am 25 and have been a met fan my whole life, but obviously I am too young to remember the original banner days. When the mets said they were bringing it back I didn’t see the big deal (honestly I thought it was just another tacky way to try and promote tickets being sold, much like minor league teams do). Just because you see some importance to one day instead of others doesn’t make you a better fan. The only thing I care about on the field is the actual team.

  14. Are you serious? Simply because I didn’t show up at the park with a “dollar store posterboard” doesn’t give you permission to pass judgement on me or anyone else who didn’t come to the park – whatever the reason may be. I haven’t been to Citi in over 3 years, but it doesn’t make me a “front runner.” I may not sit in a seat or have season tickets but I watch pretty close to every game on TV.

    Look, I’m glad you had fun with your son – but I don’t need to be at the park or get anyone’s acknowledgment to KNOW I’m a good Mets fan or enjoy the Mets with my kids. My Mets memories come everytime my daugter squeals “Mr. Met!” when I wear a Met’s shirt or at night when I teach my son about baseball as we watch the game together. You can keep your posterboard, your blog, and your judgment of other Mets fans. I’ll keep my Mets memories and keep watching my team. And you know what maybe, just maybe, that makes me a better fan than you.

  15. Stupid post, do some research first. Sunday May 27th 2012 announced attendance= 28,361. Sunday May 12th 2013 announced attendance=28,404. More people were at this years banner day than last years, even with this years on Mother’s Day.

  16. Shannon, you owe the entire fanbase an apology for your high horse, short sighted message. Just go read the comments above mine and on MetsBlog where Cerrone posted this and you’ll see how short sighted you are (sift though all the garbage ones that just curse at things and read the thoughtful ones). You are only alienating yourself and making yourself out to be some cynical god of mets fans who whatever he says is right. The owners are a joke and the product on the field is a joke, and this is coming from someone who just paid to see them anyway on Friday night. You know why? Because I’m a die hard Mets fan. You don’t have to go to every game or smile when the team is a mess to be a die hard fan. The people you call front runners are far from it. They just don’t want their money going into the Wilpons’ pockets. Plain and simple. Especailly when most people’s funds are limited these days combined with the cost of going to a game. Shame on you Shannon. You write and do a lot of good but this was incredibly short sighted.

  18. Shannon,

    I was wondering if you can enlighten us with the rules of being a true big Mets fan versus just a typical front running “big Mets fan”. Obviously the #1 commandment is “Thou shall participate in Banner Day without excuses.” What are the rest of your true Mets fan commandments?

    Sincerly,
    “Front Running Big Mets Fan” Smelvin Mora

  19. Front runners? Do you know the meaning of the word? If we were front runners wouldn’t we all be Yankee fans? Perhaps the fans are sick and tired of seeing ownership do nothing to improve this club. Sure the prospects are nice, but until the play in the majors we have no idea what they will be.

    Who have the Mets signed that’s here for,the long run? Wright doesn’t count since he re-signed. Why should I or any fans pay the prices,of going to,a game when we get AAA caliber at best?

    The worst fans are the ones like you that support this garbage thus allowing the Wilpons to,continue to do nothing. They’re worse than Madoff.

  21. The reckless-spending Mets are at it again …. let’s see what lipstick Shannon can put on this pig to show us how big a Met fan he is. A move like this — all but ensuring a trip to the World Series — should warrant another chapter in his book. I wish I was as big a fan as him – someday, maybe someday.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The Mets and free agent Rick Ankiel are discussing a deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

    Ankiel, 33, was released by the Astros last week after hitting .194 with a .231 OBP in 25 games for the Astros. Ankiel hit five home runs and drove in 11, but struck out 35 times in 65 plate appearances and walked only three times.

    The Mets outfield currently ranks 24th best in baseball in OPS, and 29th over the last week, according to Heyman.

    Heyman didn’t note if any other teams are looking at Ankiel.

  22. Shannon, while I salute your passion, your rant is more about you and your self-indulgence than Banner Day.

    Your crankiness is much more clearly about why people aren’t helping make YOUR CAMPAIGN for Banner Day a rousing success. It’s not about you, you say? Then, defend this line from your attack memo: “What the hell am I supposed to do if the Mets decide not bring Banner Day back in 2014? What possible argument would I have?”

    It ain’t about you, bub.

    I have a 15-game pack. Cost: $1,200. I’ve spent $900 so far this year on souvenirs. I spent $1,000 on all-star-game tickets. I’ve had season tix for a few years — another several thousand dollars. I drive 90 miles from the Hudson Valley, one way, to get to a game, paying gas and tolls. I have 40 years of Mets memorabilia — a lot of it rare, a lot of it bought at significant expense and saved from when I was a kid — in a special room in my house.

    Yes, I have Mazzilli stuff you’d drool over.

    I live through “Summer of Aggravation” with this team every year. My wife can gauge by mood by looking up the score of a game in progress. She dreads crappy Mets seasons.

    I give the Mets a boatload of time every day and night, even in the offseason. But I have other priorities, too. Life is full.

    And I don’t make money off of my fandom, like you do from this website.

    In other words, I’m not a Mets fan for popularity, recognition or money.

    I’m glad you, your son and your family enjoyed the game and the event. But don’t judge others based on how you live your life.

    It ain’t about you, your website or your hashtag, bub.

  23. big fan of the mets, big fan of the site, go to lots of games, just dont care about banner day to be honest. maybe being a little younger i missed the excitement the first time around? maybe i just dont get the thrill? i was at the game saturday, showed up after the banners were gone. just didnt hold my interest. some fans like it, some dont.

  24. I have been reading thru this thread on and off thru the day and it amazes me that Shannon has elected to ignore all the comments of REAL Mets fans by pulling a no-show act.

    He’s online ….

    He posted this “Self-thoughts about MetsPolice.com” which again, is all about him and seems to be a justification for his unfair characterization of a good portion of the fan base as front runners.

    I thought we might see an apology …. I guess that was it.

    1. I, like you, have been checking back to see if he responded. I really only care because I’ve interacted with Shannon before and really up until now thought he was a solid dude.

      After thinking about it, he doesn’t owe us an apology. It’s his blog. It’s his opinion. He can say whatever he wants. And we can let him know that he is being the dick that he is.

      Shannon doesn’t care what we think. His silence speaks loudly about that. For the past few years, he’s been the “voice” of Mets fans. And he did a pretty good job. But he’s no longer my voice. He’s turned his blog that was all about being an advocate for the fan into a business. Let him sell his ad space and tickets and ebooks. I’m done. Many of you can be done to if you want. Just like some of you choose to not go to games, we can choose to not come to this site. I’m done with it after about 4 years of reading it almost every day. And I’m wearing my black and blue hybrid hat too.

    2. Hi Ron.

      I was online all day, via my phone. I can easily access twitter via my phone, and I can semi-easily approve comments via phone. Unfortunately, the mobile WordPress apps do not make it easy to participate in comments.

      As I mentioned on twitter the “self-thoughts…” were written earlier in the day after I read UniWatch. Then around 7 I wrote the 99 Banners post and then tweaked the self-thoughts.

      I often write things and move things around. Right now I have a piece about the Shea bridge scheduled for tomorrow but I am going to move it to Wednesday because @verceman wrote something he wanted me to publish.

      That 3pm was not intended to be an apology.

    3. You do know we can schedule posts on here and not be on online right? Just checking.

      1. Was unaware of the ability to schedule posts. Based on the tone here, can I assume that also makes me less of a Mets fan?

  25. Shannon,

    All due respect, but this is not about “fair weather” fans (there haven’t been enough fair weather seasons since 1962 to keep a fan base intact). This is about true Mets fans boycotting the Wilpons and their almost wilful destruction of the franchise. In their greed, they deliberately chose to cut out 12,000 seats in moving from Shea to Citifield, allowing them to dramatically increase ticket prices. So, let’s not talk about loyalty. This is a family of real estate devloper hacks who bankrolled the team with the Ponzi money that Bernie funnelled to them. Now that’s gone, and they have just enough money to hold on but not enough to compete at the MLB level. So, the only banners that should be displayed on Banner Day should be aimed at driving them out of town: “WILPONS SUCK!” etc. As long as they own the team, we have to watch the pathetic excuse for an MLB franchise that Ferdy and the Idiot Son have wrought.

  26. Ron, I agree 100%. It’s clear from the posts that he is way off base (no pun intended) on this one. Seems clear to me that he feels foolish making a big deal with Mets management over Banner Day, only to find out not too many (99 to be exact) share his passion for it. That doesn’t make the rest of us front runners. A big man would issue a mea culpa. We’ll see.

  27. Tom, thanks for the reply …. re: ” … after thinking about it, he doesn’t owe us an apology. It’s his blog. It’s his opinion. He can say whatever he wants …”

    I agree in part …. it is his blog and he can say what he wants …. but to indict most pf the fan base as “front-runners” is an opinion you need to take responsibility for … especially given all the loyalty the fan base has shown this organization over the excessive periods of non-competitiveness.

    He has taken personally the fact that most fans could care less about an antiquated tradition vs. challenge the ownership over putting an inferior product on the field.

    My opinion on this is that once the Mets invited him to their food tasting event at Citi Field and once he engaged in dialogue with Dave Howard, he could no longer provide a subjective voice and became more a proponent for the organization.

    I spend a small fortune on this team — I just will not spend a dime in Citi Field …. does that make me any less a fan than one who has a blog, campaigns for uniform changes and fights to return out-dated traditions? You think it’s easy going into Philly wearing a Mets uniform? Or into Yankee Stadium wearing a Mets uniform? ….

    By the way, I never had a problem with the black uniforms and own several …. as well as road greys and home pinstripes (never cared for the snow-white unis) …. when I buy them, I pick the number of the players I like and have MY NAME on the back …. I guess those are actions of a front-runner.

    I’ll be in Miami at the end of May, in LA and San Diego in August …. I have taken his ridiculous comments personally and would like to see some comment from him on this. Either way, my days of reading his stuff are pretty much over.

    1. I feel you Ron. He start rubbing elbows and getting perks and did not coincidentally became a Mets apologist last season. He didn’t go back to being the Mets “Police” until people started calling him out on it. He should now change the blog name to “Mets Fan Police”

        1. You can write what you feel. No problem there. The issue is you can’t, and shouldn’t try to, legislate what others feel. I’m the problem because I chose not to march a banner? I’m inferior because I chose not to march a banner? My decades of passion for this team doesn’t measure up to yours because I didn’t make a pretty placard? I don’t think so — and I resent the implication. Or should I take a moment to criticize your juvenile Simpsons, Smurfs and Star Wars affectations? People didn’t come to this blog because of you. They came due to the shared emotion about a ball team. It’s not that we didn’t like your post. It’s that you suddenly got on a high horse, donned a crown and crapped on those who had beem your comrades. And if you don’t immediately know who Amado Samuel is, you should turn in your Mets cap and stay away. What? You don’t like such domineering talk? Why not? It’s exactly your tone in the original post you put up.

  28. Hey Shannon, why don’t you call out the 7 Line “Army”? You gave them much praise for putting together that group outing on opening day but where have they been since? Not that I care for them anyway, but just curious, where is your outrage towards them?

  29. I was at Banner Day, and had a blast. And I was saddened to see the number of participants fall from 300 to 99 (I was #35, for the record). While I don’t think it’s *solely* responsible for such a severe drop in participants, the weather situation cannot, in my opinion, be overlooked. I came from CT. It was raining when I left, started pouring on the way down there, and while the sun peeked out for a teensy bit around the NY-CT border, it was solid cloudcover by the time we got to Citi Field. It looked like it could rain at any moment. And the weathermen had been predicting rain for Saturday all week. If anyone went to Banner Day last year, they’d recall there was a lot of standing around. Maybe they didn’t want to make a banner only to see it get soaked? Maybe they didn’t want to get soaked themselves? Maybe they were thinking if it was raining Banner Day — and perhaps the game itself — would be canceled?

    Last year, the weather was completely different. It was beautiful; not a cloud in the sky, and very warm temperatures. (Banner Day was on Memorial Day weekend last year — a great weekend for it; the unofficial start of summer, fans are ready to swarm the ballpark anyway.) It was completely different from Saturday’s rather chilly scene.

    Like I said, was weather *completely* responsible for the drop from 300 to 99. Probably not — but I think it played a larger role than you’re giving it credit for. I hope the Mets keep this in mind when deciding whether to bring it back next season. (I also hope they hold it later in the season. I know it’s been an unusually lousy April and May weather-wise, but still, late May or perhaps even June or July might be ideal.)

  30. I think most of the comments are spot on. The problem with Shannon and his buddy Darren at The 7 Line is that they are under the dillusion they represent all Mets fans. Why else would he make the incredibly arrogant statement that he called all but 99 of us out? In reality, they represent a very small faction of fans. Like many of you, I have no desire to parade around the infield with a sign. I was at the game and was eating with my family at the time of the event. In Shannon’s eyes that makes me a frontrunner. I’ve been a season ticket holder (full season) since 1998 and attend as many games in bad seasons as I do in good ones. To label me or any other fan who remains loyal to the team through thick and thin (and who he’s never even met, by the way) just goes to show you how this whole thing has gone to his head. And for those of you who mentioned that Shannon and Darren have both modified their stance over the past couple of years after rubbing elbows with Mets management, you are 100% correct. They will never admit but it’s obvious to the most casual observers.

    1. Tom, you are so far off about us here at Metspolice modifying our stance on what the Mets do. Go look back at what our mission statement is.Also if you are a long time reader, Shannon would have said the same exact thing four years ago. But if that’s what you want to think go ahead. Oh and by the way Darren is actually my buddy and not Shannon’s and has not re printed some of his older tee shirts because they don’t sell as well as they used to. But I guess a businessman can’t make adjustments to his business to keep making money and support himself.

  31. This is ridiculous. I saw the post over at Metsblog and have not disagreed with something more wholeheartedly than this is a while.

    I am not a die hard because a rather save my money to spend on a Knicks playoff game? Or save the 150 it costs to go to a game (30 tickets, two beers each, transportation and maybe a snack) to take my girlfriend out to dinner? According to you I can’t choose how to spend my money and if I choose to take it elsewhere I am less of a fan?

    Please – this team sucks. There are about 5 guys that are good and the brand of baseball they play is brutal. I have been twice this year and the only time I would ever think of going to another game is if Harvey pitches. I will follow every result, tune in on TV, read about the team, but I will NOT spend my hard-earned cash on an inferior product.

    And on top of all this die hard crap, you fail to mention the massive thunderstorms that rolled through NJ (where I live) during the day and the generally crappy weather. I was planning on heading to the game, not cause of banner day but because my mom had never been and we were celebrating mother’s day. I figured we could go, watch some of the game, show her McFadden’s where I bartended for a few years and she would head back to CT and I would go take in the Knicks game in Hoboken. We didn’t go to the game because it was raining when we woke up, and she said let’s just go to lunch. Clearly, that makes me less of a fan because I ultimately planned my Mom’s Day Saturday around what my mom wanted to do.

    Ughh. Gimme a break.

  32. Media Goon,

    I wouldn’t expect you to say any different. You guys all kiss each other’s butts. As for your buddy Darren, that’s fine if the old shirts don’t sell anymore, but why do all the new shirts have a much different tone than the old ones? The real answer is that he sold out and everyone knows it. Frankly, I was never a fan of the negative ones but no one is fooled by change in tone. Like I said, you guys think you represent all Mets fans. Take a look at the responses to Shannon’s article. You clearly don’t. You and Shannon can say what you want but so can the rest of us. But if you’re going to stay in this business you need to grow up and be more receptive to criticism, especially when you guys do something as stupid as this.

    1. What business are we in? These are our thoughts on this site. I didn’t know this was a business. If one person reads or no people read, we would still write what we do.

  33. EarlTSB I don’t see it as supporting him. It’s about the team. But I can see how people perceive it as that.

  34. DonCheech It was just a dumb thing to write and I lost all respect for him after he wrote it along with the twitter rant.

  37. DonCheech EarlTSB he’s not talking about the team. The whole thing is “I”

  38. DonCheech It could have been more of a “why didn’t you go”? as opposed to an “I’m better than you” article.

  39. EarlTSB if anyone tried telling me to my face I’m not a “real Mets fan” I’d knock them out. Nobody can question my fandom, dudes a flake

  41. EarlTSB hahaha well yeah that’s an exaggeration but the point remains the same lol

  45. jameskann i dont mind ripping other fans for being delusional out player/front office move, but “fandom”? GTFO

  47. Hey_its_Don there is a HUGE difference between being a front runner and not supporting team due to incompetencey of front office

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