Always True to the Orange and Blue

Opening day 2011 for the New York Mets is upon us. I have been a long-suffering life-long fan of this organization. If it wasn’t for Mr. Met, the only happy constant in my turbulent life as a Mets fan, I would have jumped off the Whitestone Bridge.

I’m not ready to dial the suicide hotline yet. With my luck, I’d get a Yankee fan working the hotline and he or she would tell me to jump. I know what METS stands for – My Entire Team Sucks and all the other witty names for my beloved Queens team. The Mess, the Debts, yes I have heard them all.

It all began in 1969 for me. As a young girl living New Jersey, I was mesmerized by the Miracle Mets and what they accomplished. I was hooked. Having an obnoxious Yankee fan older brother definitely helped my blood to turn blue and orange for the team from Queens. (Sorry bro if you are reading this, but it is what it is. Still love you though!) Tom Seaver is my favorite Mets player. He is the only New York Mets player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Every time I am in Cooperstown, I visit his plaque and remember where this life-long allegiance began.

In 1973, I cried when the Mets lost to the Oakland A’s in the World Series. Not even in my teens yet and this team was already teaching me about heartache. Thirteen years later in 1986, now a married woman (to a Yankee fan, no less), I went to all three National League Championship series home games and then watched them win a dramatic Game 6 extra inning affair on television. They were going to the World Series. Facing almost certain elimination in Game 6, Mookie Wilson delivered the hit that saved the game and kept them alive. Heartache wasn’t in the cards this time. The Mets took Game 7 from the Red Sox and I was the happiest Mets fan alive.

Since 1986, there has been a NL East title in 1988 and 2006. Carlos Beltran looking at the third strike to end the 2006 NLCS is still burned in my memory. In 2000, the Mets won the NLCS and met their cross-town rivals in the World Series. I am happy that I had to fly to Florida the day the Mets lost. However, I had to attend a wedding with you guessed it, Yankees fans. I survived the epic collapse of 2007. With a seven-game lead on September 12, they lost 12 of their last 17 games and missed postseason action. The next three seasons were less than stellar.

We are now beginning the 2011 season with a new manager and general manager. Ownership is in turmoil with their legal problems, but hope springs eternal for the Mets fan. You never know when the next miracle will happen. No one can ever say that I am a fair weather fan. Let’s Go Mets!