All empires crumble.
You just have to wait long enough. Eventually the empire grows so large that it cannot sustain itself.
In 2009, the Yankees handed New York City over to the Mets for good.
Twice before New York has been Mets town.
In the late 60s and early 70s the Mets would well outdraw the Yanks. New Yorkers liked the home grown team and the friendly Shea Stadium atmosphere more than they liked the crumbling Yankee Stadium and the aging team that no longer won.
In the late 1980’s this was Mets town again. There were a lot of front runners who liked to pretend they were life long Mets fans (I remember in 1989 hearing one guy brag about how he’d had season tickets “sincd 87!”) but the team was more liked than the thousand managers Jack Clark, Dave Winfield, Rent A Pitcher Yankees .
Only Vince Coleman could screw things up and hand the fans back to Stump Merrill.
Here in 2009 we are at the passing of the torch,
What the Yankees always had was the legacy. Even in Yankee Stadium II you could lie to yourself and pretend that it was the same center field that DiMaggio patrolled, the same right field where Ruth stood.
Now the new place will be the stadium where Jeter played for four years when he was old and not as good.
All the memories are in the other building and the team is already 6.5 back.
You pick up a copy of Metro this morning and the headline is “Damn Yankees.” No it’s not about a loss, it’s a bout greed. The story with the Yankees these days is always money.
I work with two Yankees fans. Mr. Negative is done. He went to the new stadium once and didn’t like it. He’s been spotted at Citi Field a few times. Mr. Sunshine is having what I call “Atari Pac-Man” syndrome. he tries to convince me (and himself) every day that the stadium will grow on him, and that he’ll come to like it. His new seats “aren’t bad.”
Why do kids root for teams. 10% of them pick the team that’s close to them, like I did with the horrible 1977 Mets that were 10 minutes from my house. Most pick the winners, as evidenced by all the 40 year old and 20 year old Yankees fans, and all the 40 year old and 20 year old Cowboys fans.
Well this is going to be the 9th straight year without a World Series ring in the Bronx, so it’s a fair fight with the kids.
You see a kid with a Yankee shirt its always Jeter. Jeter will be gone soon.
Mets kids? Lots of Wright and lots of Reyes. Those two players have a lot of future left. Soon you’ll see Murphy shirts….and it’s very early but I think Santos might become a starter and a fan favorite.
You want to go to a game? Clearly Citi Field is the better option. Fan friendlier, especially if you read Mets Police and know which seats to avoid, or you can go to the Bronx and eat lame hot dogs in the windy upper deck that looks unfinished. (If you can afford seats downstairs I doubt you read my dopey blog).
Citi is easier to get to, and you don’t have to leave in the 7th inning to avoid the insane “scan your ticket on the way out” system. $19 to park in the Bronx is pre-planned to be $29 next year.
So stay home and watch the games on TV. SNY is the best in the business. YES is good, but they spend the entire home game showing you weird angles as they try to not-show the empty seats and to not show the game through a net.
The Mets are on their way to winning the division. Yeah the starting pitching is shaky, but the Phillies pitching is worse. The Yankees are on their way to another season of articles about payroll and greed and A-Rod and I bet a manager change before the leaves turn orange.
The kids will be Mets fans. The rich will be Yankees fans until they realize that the Yankees don’t win (see 1990s Knicks vs modern Knicks crowds to learn how that works).
The Mets will sell the ballpark, an advantage they haven’t had since 1975. The Yankees will sell memories which will contrast unfavorably with the cinderblock palace on the wrong side of the street.
Welcome to Mets Town. I hope you Yankees fans enjoyed your run.
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