Lets Go Mets!

I’ve waited twenty years for this October. Or at least I hope I’ve waited twenty years for this October. That’s how long it’s been since the Mets won the World Series. They’ve gone back, just once back in 2000, when I was able to witness my first Subway Series. But they came up short when the Yankees ran over them. And they made the playoffs in 1999. It’s not as if Met fans have been as tortured as Cub fans or even Royal fans. But that’s not my problem. This isn’t about sympathy. This is about the Mets going into the playoffs tied with the Yankees for the best record in baseball, and the fact that I might get to see the title return to Flushing.

Earlier in the year the Mets invited the entire ’86 team back to Shea to honor them, sadly there was one fan favorite missing due to his incarceration. Not as if we need to help remembering that team, ask any Met fan who was alive then and you’ll hear an encyclopedia of useless info about the team. The roster, more stats quoted to you in Anna Nicole Smiths biography and a favorite memory. So am I excited? Hell yes. But it wouldn’t be my style to be overly confident. I have am trying out what is referred to as, guarded optimism.

I know we have as good of a shot as any team left, except maybe the Yankees. But I also see a lot of reasons why we could get bounced in the first round by the Dodgers. And you’d think I would be hoping for a Subway Series right? Normally I would, whatever is best for the city is what I want. Except this year, the Detroit Tigers are also in the playoffs and for the first time since 1987. It’s not as if I’m some big Tiger fan but, I have cousins who were raised in Detroit and they are. They also now live in Los Angeles, so beating the Tigers would accomplish two things. For one, I’d get to talk some serious trash to them throughout the World Series. And secondly, anytime I get these guys to acknowledge New York as the best at anything, well that’s just good fun.

So my fingers are crossed, and I’ll be spending a lot of hours in front of a television this week and hopefully throughout the month. You would think I couldn’t be happier. And you’d be wrong. See, there’s one thing that’s bothering me. The fact that suddenly I’m noticing more Met hats around. And they aren’t well worn hats; no you can tell they are brand new. I’m pretty sure it’s the same people who just a few years ago ran out and got their Red Sox hats. Can I just tell you how much I hate bandwagon jumpers? I don’t care what bandwagon they’re jumping on. Could be season five and they just started watching the Sopranos and they want to act as if they were big fans since season one or they could be the people who became huge Tupac fans after he died, and try it to tell you they had his first CD.

Bandwagon jumpers are just sad individuals. Part of me understands the draw of wanting to be on board. You see a group of people who have some connection, they totally bond over some thing as silly as a baseball team or what have you. But that bond doesn’t just come from wearing a hat, or knowing usless trivia about Tony Soprano. It comes from being there from the beginning, through the ups and the downs. But what I don’t understand about those jumping on this bandwagon is, they don’t see a lot of Met fans around here. We aren’t the Red Sox with 80 some odd years of misery. I understood getting on that bandwagon because, that was just something great to see and I imagine amazing to be a part of. I could understand people around here going for the Cards, using the fact that they are from Missouri and it’s almost a home team. Cheering for the Tigers or Twins, since they play in the same division as the Royals. I don’t agree with that reasoning but I understand it. And they don’t have the best record, jumping on board with the team with the best record is the equivalent as picking Maxims Sexiest Woman of the Year as the #1 spot on your laminated list. It’s the same as waiting for the critics to pick their favorite for Best Picture, then claiming that as your favorite movie of the year. Bandwagon jumpers have no souls. They are even worse then Yankee fans.

I’ve lived in Kansas City for almost 18 years now (HOLY CRAP!). And I see maybe two or three Met hats a year. If I’m lucky enough to have one of mine on at the time, there’s always a tip of the brim to the other Met fan. Often there’s a brief conversation. Have I told you how awful I am when it comes to talking with strangers? But put a blue hat with an orange NY, and we’re long lost friends. Without hesitation I’ll break out the Dwight Gooden rookie card I carry around in my wallet, and only they’ll think it’s cool. Yesterday I walked down to McDonalds for my dinner, walking past Tony Gonzalez on the way which was pretty cool, and in that 2 block walk I saw two new Met hats. I still had to tip my brim, and give an approving smile but, I wanted to just snatch the hats off their heads.

Anyway, what’s important is the Mets play the Dodgers Tuesday afternoon. I hope there’s more and more jumping on the bandwagon throughout the month, I hope it gets nice and full. Don’t need to worry too much about it becaus real fans don’t ride on the bandwagon so they can’t crowd me.