I'm glad I never bought anything from the 7 Line

[Centerfield]

And am absolutely positive I never will. What a joke.

There was no anger. No vitriol. None of the animosity seen on social media. Brodie Van Wagenen sat with Mets fans for the first half of Tuesday's 4-2 Subway Series victory over the Yankees, and was treated like a conquering hero.... At one point, Mets fans chanted “Brodie, Brodie, Brodie.” One told him he should run for mayor. Another said: “He's the MVP.”

https://nypost.com/2019/07/02/mets-fans-brodie-van-wagenen-had-balls-to-come-out-here/https://nypost.com/2019/07/02/mets-fans-brodie-van-wagenen-had-balls-to-come-out-here/



MVP? Not sure what planet these guys live on.

Edited July 3, 2019 by Guest

[Vic Sage]

serious sucking up.

there was a (very bad) word for slaves on a plantation who were pliant enough to work in the slave owner's house.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Tucks in his jersey, kinda dorky.



The "pinman" was up in our section last night (508).



I'm cool with the 7Line though I'm pretty sure there's a douche/Long island Trash element to it. I don't know the details but pretty sure I witnessed some reprehensible sexist online behavior by some dumb individuals who feel strengthened by their association with it; there's a gross calendar featuring skanky Long Island chix. I'm also not too impressed with the gear they sell, I like some of it but most not for me and of course the origin story is riddled with conflict, gathering support on SELL THE TEAM NOW then pivoting to a support org.

[Vic Sage]

section 508? is that section actually in the park or on a plane passing overhead?

[seawolf17]

I've bought a few shirts from them through the years -- notably, the Mookie/Game 6 boxscore one, which I still wear all the time -- and they got me into Game 5 of the World Series, so I can't be too mad at that.



A friend of mine is a full-on "member" and goes to all the games and some of the trips, and he's a really good dude, so whereas there may be a douchey element to it, I think that's just a generalized NYC/LI thing, not a 7 Line thing. They're a fuckton better than the Bleacher Creatures ever were. Darren, by all accounts, seems like a very good guy. He fully admits that he's not going to jeopardize his livelihood by being openly anti-Mets right now, and I don't blame him for that. And they did away with the "girls" calendar a few years back and it's all group photos now, IIRC, although to their credit, they did have Amanda, a fan who's in a wheelchair, as one of their models that year, so they do get a point or two for inclusivity.

[G-Fafif]

Some great merchandise, particularly the historical flair. Darren Meenan has paid more homage to the Mets Polo Grounds roots via t-shirts than the franchise has in any form these past forty years. The gross calendar is on hiatus.



Their crowd, based on my one evening out in center with them a couple of years ago, is 90-95% cool, with a touch of idiocy thrown in...though since it was directed at MFY fans, I couldn't fully condemn it. A greater middle-aged element than you'd suspect. There's a little too much "now is the time on Sprockets when we cheer" for my tastes, but I admire their enthusiasm and commitment from a distance. It's Mets fans rooting for the Mets while wearing orange. I don't know why they're supposed to pay their way into a game and then get angry.



As for Brodie's visit, starstruckedness will happen.

[Guest 41Forever]

I bought a really cool cap form the 7 Line. It has the NY logo over an apple shaped like the Unisphere.



Darren posted something recently responding to people who called on him to boycott and such. He said he's a fan through and through, thick and thin. I respected that.



I don't think there is value in vitriol. It's not like he caused the injuries or caused some of the players to have subpar seasons. He did what he could with what he had. I'll give him more than a half season before passing judgement.



I think it's neat that he wore a jersey and sat in the stands with fans.

Edited July 3, 2019 by Guest

[kcmets]

I've met Darren briefly a few times and seems awwhight. Many of us know

people who know him better and I've never really heard a bad word on him.



For those of us old enough to be around when sites were being served cease

and desist orders and shutdown threats for using a Met logo (GASP!!!) I guess

I'm a little bitter about complying and misreading the tidal wave that was coming

down the CAT-5 turnpike.



I have one shirt, but it was gift.



#lgm #ygb #ymdyf

[seawolf17]

=G-Fafif post_id=14964 time=1562166820 user_id=55]A greater middle-aged element than you'd suspect.

[Frayed Knot]

...

Edited July 3, 2019 by Guest

[Frayed Knot]

=Centerfield post_id=14952 time=1562164857 user_id=65]There was no anger. No vitriol. None of the animosity seen on social media. Brodie Van Wagenen sat with Mets fans for the first half of Tuesday's 4-2 Subway Series victory over the Yankees, and was treated like a conquering hero....



At one point, Mets fans chanted “Brodie, Brodie, Brodie.” One told him he should run for mayor. Another said: “He's the MVP.”

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

we gotta get metsc over here. He could be a knucklehead but there was a purity to it, his feuds with "Rich" were awesome fun

[Ceetar]

I mean, it's one thing to rant and rage online, quite another to encounter people and realize they are in fact, people. 99.9% of people, were they to encounter like, Tom Glavine or Oliver Perez in public, wouldn't scream at them.



I mean come on, the GM of the team came down and sat with fans. We're all, presumably, on the same side here. We want to have a good time at the ballpark. There is zero value in trying to grill Van Wagenen in the stands during a baseball game besides feeding your own rage.



Darren is a nice guy. He, and maybe The7Line as a whole, lean a little too bro-y for me at times, and I wished he hadn't given the Barstool trolls the time of day, but it's mostly a good group looking to have a good time in fandom. The % of assholes is probably less than if you took a random subset of 750 people in the stands. But I'm biased and count some of them as my friends, so *shrug*.

[bmfc1]

Darren has a license with MLB to sell Mets clothing and has a kiosk at CitiField so he's not going to jeopardize his business by creating a "FIRE MICKEY" tee shirt. He's pissed about the team--I follow him on Twitter and listen to his weekly podcast--but his business is all Mets (no other team-related products) so T7L is about positivity, fun, and comradery, even the team sucks.

[Edgy MD]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: we gotta get metsc over here. He could be a knucklehead but there was a purity to it, his feuds with "Rich" were awesome fun

He hated any hitter who wasn't hot at the time, but loved-loved Rey, who was hot none of the time.

[Edgy MD]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: there's a gross calendar featuring skanky Long Island chix.

I'm not sure, but I think they've been putting out these cheesecake calendars since 2014, and it feels like the next person of color they include will be the first.

[Vic Sage]

There is zero value in trying to grill Van Wagenen in the stands during a baseball game besides feeding your own rage.

why zero value? Sometimes rage needs to be fed.

[Centerfield]

No one is saying you have to curse the man out. But to parade him down the Canyon of Heros is a little much.

[Centerfield]

And I've met people I don't care for in person many times. I don't curse them out, or even say anything.



In those situations, a disapproving look is enough to send the message.



I know who you are. I'm not saying anything. By my expression, I am voicing my displeasure.

[Ceetar]

Vic Sage wrote: There is zero value in trying to grill Van Wagenen in the stands during a baseball game besides feeding your own rage. why zero value? Sometimes rage needs to be fed.

i did say besides right?



but that's an unhealthy way to live. It's the same as showing up at the game just to boo your own starting pitcher. Sure, he's part of the entertainment package and not everyone consumes everything the same way, but damn, it's angry and aggressive, and ultimately you DO (though I'm not sure everyone does) want everything he goes going forward to be a rousing success.

[Centerfield]

There is a huge difference between booing a starting pitcher, who is trying his hardest to play a difficult game at the highest level, and expressing your discontent at a snake oil salesman who lies through his teeth and provides cover for crooked ownership.

[Ceetar]

=Centerfield post_id=14993 time=1562178628 user_id=65]
There is a huge difference between booing a starting pitcher, who is trying his hardest to play a difficult game at the highest level, and expressing your discontent at a snake oil salesman who lies through his teeth and provides cover for crooked ownership.

[Centerfield]

=Ceetar post_id=14997 time=1562182699 user_id=102]
=Centerfield post_id=14993 time=1562178628 user_id=65]
There is a huge difference between booing a starting pitcher, who is trying his hardest to play a difficult game at the highest level, and expressing your discontent at a snake oil salesman who lies through his teeth and provides cover for crooked ownership.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I'da probably been nice to Brodie too. But I'd also be trying to subtly interrogate him.



So, Brodie, when Fred said "trade for Cano," you were on board immediately?

[Frayed Knot]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: we gotta get metsc over here. He could be a knucklehead but there was a purity to it, his feuds with "Rich" were awesome fun

And, in truth, those were mostly RK's fault. SC annoyed the hell out of him but it was Rick's overreactions to SC's occasional knuckleheadedness which started the (mostly one-way) feud.



For a time there I was looking for an opportunity to invite RK out on a bike ride. He and I were both regular riders in those days and he lived just a few towns away and right on my way

to the Jones Beach bikeway. He clearly had a lot of anger issues, although none of them were at me, and I thought he needed to vent. Never got around to it though. Pity.

[Guest 41Forever]

a snake oil salesman who lies through his teeth and provides cover for crooked ownership.

I would disagree with this. I've never met the man, so I have no idea. He seems to have left a very, very, very lucrative career because this was a job he really, really wanted. I have to think he went into the job with the right intentions and is probably just as disappointed at the team's performance as the rest of us, and probably more so.



I can't think of a motive for taking the job to be a snake oil salesman.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Aka "rkSlow" looolllloll. Bestowing his enemies with nicknames normal people would consider not clever enough was in it's own way, genius

[Edgy MD]

I negotiated a half truce between those two. I might have done it just to see if I could.



RK apologized. METSSC ("Metsy" to KC) rejected it though, citing a whole lot of shit he had taken. RK, to his credit, agreed, saying that even though he was sincere in his apology, Metsy had no obligation to pretend he hadn't ripped him to shreds just an hour before.



I'm not sure where it went from there. They're probably either BFFs now or their beef has spilled over onto multiple platforms and is bigger than ever.



But, while nostalgia is fun, I'd be (pleasantly) surprised if Metsy wasn't a #MAGA troll these days. https://twitter.com/metsscThink this is him?

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: https://twitter.com/metsscThink this is him?

Hell yes. That there's a St Johns hoops entry in there merely seals the deal.

[stevejrogers]

I'm still wondering why he felt the need to keep his promise to do it.



The only scenario where it would have been appropriate to keep, and not look like a tone deaf douchebag (never mind the idea of dealing with either trolls or sycophants in the sections) would have been if the Mets were comfortably in first, and no major injuries in several weeks. In other words, a perfect scenario where there are no pressing major league roster concerns, or need to add a piece or send off pieces to contenders.



Yeah I know on a Tuesday evening in early July you probably aren't going to be getting much work done that couldn't be done or followed up on Wednesday morning, but still it probably would have looked better if he was back in his usual suite watching the game, and giving off the impression that he was still at work fixing the roster, etc.



Hanging with the fanbase (say they had an outing to watch a road game at Foley's) is one thing, doing in it in a situation where it looks like you aren't doing your job isn't another.