I did something tonight that I almost never do. I decided to go to a
Mets game instead of stay home and watch my Yankees on TV. Usually, I would prefer staying at home and enjoy the thrill of rooting for my favorite team as opposed to attending a sporting event for which the outcome has ultimately little meaning to me. However, with Johan Santana starting and the co-first place
Phillies in town; I figured I would go out to Shea with my dad. Although I found the first 8 innings rather dull, the 9
th inning more than made up for it. Billy, "my pussy hurts" Wagner decided he needed a night off to rest his weary arm (I don't recall Mo ever needing a night off due to injury during a pennant race) and he left the closing duties in the "capable" hands of
Duaner Sanchez, Pedro
Feliciano and Joe Smith. Wow did they suck! 5 runs were allowed by this bumbling
triumvirate before a single out had been recorded. The inning was highlighted by a huge bases loaded 2 run double by
Soooooooo Taguuchi and another 2 run double by Rollins to plate the 7
th and deciding run of the contest. This game though was more interesting to me in terms of the psychology of my
fandom.
First of all, what compels a
die-hard Yankee fan like myself to go to a
Mets game when the Yankees are playing at home on the same night? I guess it comes down tot the fact that the real reason I grew to love sports, like many of you I would guess, is because of the bonding with my dad. I know it sounds
cheesy, but I guess I decided I would rather spend time with my dad while watching a game, even if it is at the disgrace of a ballpark in flushing, as opposed to spending it in front of my TV watching the Yanks at home. Simply put, I chose spending time with family over the Yankees; a choice I will always make I think. Secondly, I had not seen Johan pitch this year live and I figured this was the only time I would be willing too do so considering the magnitude of this contest vs Philly. Finally, I was convinced that
Ranser would get lit up by the Twinkies and knew I"d be annoyed at myself if I sat at home tonight just to watch that. Although this fear was not realized and the Yanks won 8-2, I stand by my fear of Daryl
Rasner getting lit up whenever it arises. Maybe a Yankee fan should never go to Shea when his/her team is playing at the same time in the Bronx, but I think my reasoning is sound and that I am free from criticism as such. But fellow die-hard sports fans; you decide.
I know that nobody really gives a crap what team I was pulling for or what my experience was like at this game as a Yankees fan. However, a few thoughts. Firstly,
Phillies fans are unbelievably obnoxious. More than
Sox fans or even Cowboy fans,
Phillies fans acted like Shea was in fact their stadium. They mockingly clapped their hands in front of
Mets players when they returned to the dugout after the
conclusion of the top of the 9
th and they walked
across the
entrance to gate D with a 2007 division champions banner (Hey assholes, you might want to be a bit more humble since your city has not crowned a champion since the 1983
Sixers;
btw NYC has 10 titles since then, just saying).
Furthermore, I found myself rooting for the
Mets as soon as the
Phillies inched to within 5-3 with 0 outs and the bases full in the 9
th. This is normally unfathomable for me, a guy who has no love for the
Mets or most of their fans.However, being a fanatical life long Giants fan, I have a true disdain for Philadelphia Eagles fans. They conduct
themselves like wretched animals at Giants Stadium and they comported themselves no better at Shea. On the subway, I made sure to walk
directly in front of all the
Phillies fans just to make sure they saw my Giants t-shirt. Oh and a final note, props to
Mets fans for fully filling out your building and being incredibly loud the entire game. I have often found Shea to be pretty listless and empty even for big games but tonight I was impressed. Too bad your awful bullpen choked away a game against the hooligans' from Philly's favorite baseball team.
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