Opening Day IGT, 4/1/2011, Mets @ Marlins

[Guest Edgy DC]

My humble crackerbox palace muscles up a bit and trasforms herself into Shea South.



My game-viewing companion follows the threads while he waits at home for me to join him. Also visible here are no less than two guitar picks,
two guitar tuners and a single capo (Mr. Met likes our fight songs) and a keyfob gifted to us by Second Spitter (and if I've never thanked you
properly, SS, I thank you sincerely now.) Mister loves your posts and has adopted the fob as a sort of good luck charm.

[TransMonk]

Playing the purples, like a real axe-man should.

[ashie62]

All thats' mssing is m.e.t.b.o.t.

[Gwreck]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: I have a "Meats" shirt.

Tell us about it. What is the attraction? Is there a joke somewhere that we're missing? At what events or occasions do you plan to wear it?

[Willets Point]

Gwreck wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: I have a "Meats" shirt. Tell us about it. What is the attraction? Is there a joke somewhere that we're missing? At what events or occasions do you plan to wear it?

He's going to wear it to meat-ups of course!

[Guest Edgy DC]

DUDES, I CAN'T HEAR YOU.

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: DUDES, I CAN'T HEAR YOU.

turn your hearing aid up.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Willets Point wrote: Gwreck wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: I have a "Meats" shirt. Tell us about it. What is the attraction? Is there a joke somewhere that we're missing? At what events or occasions do you plan to wear it? He's going to wear it to meat-ups of course!

Um... I like Meats? And... um... Metly barbecues and GKR buffets?

I'm really not sure.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Turn this up.

For Brooklyn native Pontone, Opening Day a family affair http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110325&content_id=17119544&vkey=news_nym&c_id=nym Michael Pontone has been a baseball fan all his life, and he's been a Mets fan for more than five decades. Pontone, a 58-year-old Brooklyn native and resident of Staten Island, is on the verge of attending his 20th straight home opener with the Mets, a milestone he'll celebrate on April 8 when New York plays host to the division-rival Washington Nationals. Pontone has seen it all with his favorite team, from pennant-clinching games and historic no-hitters to multiple World Series in multiple decades. Through it all, he's remained a fan, never losing sight of what captivated him in the first place. And it's that timelessness -- that sense of being part of a community -- that keeps him coming back for more. "Over the years, you get older and your priorities change, but I still have my season tickets," said Pontone. "I still give tickets to clients, and my son has become an avid fan himself. You know, over the years, the Mets have given out a lot of pins and stickers, and I remember one that said, "Mets through thick and thin." I still have it and I wear it every now and then. "And from 2000 to now, that's really what it's been like to be a Mets fan. I can remember being in Shea Stadium and watching the Endy Chavez catch in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, and I remember my son and his friend's reaction when [Yadier Molina] hit the game-winning home run. They cried, and that's what it means to be a fan." And for Pontone, choosing where to send his loyalty wasn't always so easy. Pontone can recall his youth growing up in Brooklyn, and he remembers the temporary disconnect so many people felt when the Dodgers moved to California. Pontone said he was six years old when the Dodgers left and 10 when the Mets came into existence, providing a strange duality. For so many Brooklyn fans, he said, there was a reticence to leave their affiliation with the Dodgers. But there was also, he said, a need to root for somebody local, and every fan in his community found a different way to fill the void. "We used to play baseball in the streets, and we'd break windows by accident," said Pontone of his youth. "We had to have some sort of affiliation to a team, and for two years of my life, I was a Yankees fan. Those were really great times, with Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. And then when the Mets came around, we got peer pressure to switch again. I can still remember being at Coney Island and listening to a Yankee game on the radio when somebody came by and switched it to a Mets game. And it was hard luck for years and years, but it was so great to finally have your own affiliation, to know you have your own team." Pontone had only been to Ebbets Field once and had been in a baby carriage for that trip, perhaps making his transition to the Mets a little bit easier. He said that he grew up collecting coupons from Sealtest milk cartons in the hope of redeeming free tickets to the upper-deck seats at Shea Stadium, where he could see his heroes play in person. One of his earliest baseball memories, in fact, was of future Hall of Famer Jim Bunning firing the seventh perfect game in baseball history against the Mets on Father's Day in 1964. "I couldn't appreciate it," he said. "I appreciated the fact that my team lost." The Mets, of course, would go on to give him some more positive things to remember. Pontone spoke warmly and fondly of players like Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Tommy Agee and Cleon Jones, the group that ushered the Mets out of the cellar and toward respectability. And along the way, they electrified the growing segment of non-Yankee fans in New York. Pontone said that he can recall watching Seaver pitch a near no-hitter on TV in 1968, and he said that he watched the clincher of the '69 World Series from the auditorium of Xaverian High School in Brooklyn. Pontone attended St. John's and was present four years later when the Mets clinched the pennant, igniting a near-riot at Shea Stadium. At first, Pontone said, his father restricted him from going on the field with the crowd. But then, after a brief chat, he relented, and Pontone hopped the barricade to scoop up a souvenir handful of dirt that he put in a planter back at home. "These memories are vague. I'm not a guy that remembers every pitch or every score," said Pontone of his life as a fan. "I know people that are like that -- that have that kind of passion -- and I admire them, but I'm not like that. All I know is I'm a fan and I take great solace and great enjoyment in the game. I love baseball, and I love my Mets more than anything else." Pontone, who grew up in a family of eight children, spoke time and again about how his family and his favorite team have become intertwined. He can recall attending Game 6 of the 1986 World Series with his sister Josephine, who has since passed away, and the amazing crowd reaction that they experienced when they walked out of the historic victory. "Coming out of that game, I'll never forget," he said of leaving Shea after Game 6. "The entire stadium and the ramps were shaking. The people were jumping and screaming and everyone was so excited. And we were a part of it." Pontone also attended the 2000 World Series, and he said his Opening Day tradition -- a run that goes all the way back to 1991 -- has survived and prospered through many of the most profound changes in his life. "I had to get out of work for the early ones, but now I can do it," he said. "I try to give my tickets to clients, but most of them would rather have them in August when it's not so cold. This year, it will be me, my wife, my son and his friend, and I've also given out four or five tickets to clients. Citi Field is great, but it's like anything else. When you move from a house, you have to get used to it. ...I want to make a lot more memories here. Hopefully, we can get another 40 years of memories here." As it turns out, Pontone already has one Citi Field memory that he'll never forget. Pontone said that two years ago, he took his 99-year-old mother, Angelina, to her first game at the Mets' new venue. Angelina, who had also been a die-hard baseball fan for her entire life, was confined to a wheelchair at that point, but Pontone got tickets to a disabled seating section. He said that his siblings were afraid that Angelina would be uncomfortable, that a New York crowd would be too much for her to handle. And when the score began to get out of control, Pontone suggested that they leave early. "They were getting blown out," Pontone said of the Mets in that specific game. "But she looked across the field at the scoreboard and said, 'We're not going. The game's not over yet.' And I thought to myself, 'Why would I even suggest that?'" They stayed until the end of that game, and Pontone lauds the Mets for going above and beyond in accomodating disabled fans. Angelina passed away in April at the age of 101, but Pontone will always think of her when he enters Citi Field. And that's why the Mets -- and the annual renewal of the baseball season -- will always hold a place near and dear to his heart. "Every team and every business has something going on with it, but the sport transcends that. If you're a fan, you don't dwell on that," he said. "If you like baseball and you have a team, you wait all winter for it to start again. And yes, the team may be in dire straits, but you still get excited to see how they'll play and whether they'll be able to win."

[soupcan]

"These memories are vague. I'm not a guy that remembers every pitch or every score," said Pontone of his life as a fan. "I know people that are like that -- that have that kind of passion -- and I admire them, but I'm not like that. All I know is I'm a fan and I take great solace and great enjoyment in the game. I love baseball, and I love my Mets more than anything else."

For all the years I've been posting here, I've always felt like I wasn't as 'big' a fan as a lot of you because it seems like you all have these great memories of events and places and specific instances and I just don't. What this guy says - this is the kind of fan I am. It's nice to see it put into words.

Pontone also attended the 2000 World Series, and he said his Opening Day tradition -- a run that goes all the way back to 1991 -- has survived and prospered through many of the most profound changes in his life.

Oh, big deal. I had a 25-year streak that ended in 2009 only because my kids school break conflicted with the date and we were visiting my dad in San Diego.

It's actually a good thing that it ended. It got to the point that I started to feel pressure to go to Opening Day just to keep the streak alive.

[Ceetar]

soupcan wrote: "These memories are vague. I'm not a guy that remembers every pitch or every score," said Pontone of his life as a fan. "I know people that are like that -- that have that kind of passion -- and I admire them, but I'm not like that. All I know is I'm a fan and I take great solace and great enjoyment in the game. I love baseball, and I love my Mets more than anything else." For all the years I've been posting here, I've always felt like I wasn't as 'big' a fan as a lot of you because it seems like you all have these great memories of events and places and specific instances and I just don't. What this guy says - this is the kind of fan I am. It's nice to see it put into words.

Some people are just more detail oriented. I've been to tons of games. some are detailed, some are not. It's the same way in life mostly, I can remember some specific moments and events with great clarity, and others are mostly cloudy.


I remember walking out of game 7 in a fog, slowly filing out in the mess and remember the disappointed boos at the scoreboard congratulating the Cardinals. I remember getting separated from the people I went with because I just didn't care enough to stay close as we manuevered through the crowd. I remember the path I walked to the car and the bum that offered tos ell me a Cardinals cap.

but then I remember very few details about Opening Day last year.

[Guest Edgy DC]

All thats' mssing is m.e.t.b.o.t.

Getting hot with anticipation for 7:30 here. Somebody's really pissed that Q104.3 could make a countdown of over 1,000 songs and couldn't find a place for "Mr. Roboto."

[Guest themetfairy]

We're all ready at the Diamond Knight household -

[Gwreck]

Edgy DC wrote: Getting hot with anticipation for 7:30 here.

7:10! Wouldn't want you to miss the Big Man playing the National Anthem and/or the first inning.

[Ceetar]

Gwreck wrote: Getting hot with anticipation for 7:30 here. 7:10! Wouldn't want you to miss the Big Man playing the National Anthem and/or the first inning.

I saw someone tweet 7:18 first pitch, but taht might have been a typo.

I've got it perfectly timed, after work beer, pick up pizza, open up a home brew and be ready to go at 7.

[m.e.t.b.o.t.]

Edgy DC wrote: Ashie62 wrote: All thats' mssing is m.e.t.b.o.t.

m.e.t.b.o.t. asserts that m.e.t.b.o.t. has never before seen that dusty desk, and asserts furthermore that a m.e.t.b.o.t. imposter must have been created to fool the unusupecting masses that multiples of m.e.t.b.o.t. could possibly exist.

while m.e.t.b.o.t. may occasionally pine for peers, m.e.t.b.o.t. typically rejoices in m.e.t.b.o.t.'s uniqueness, as much pining and rejoicing as a little springwound box can. and this interloper threatens to upset all of that.

m.e.t.b.o.t. postulates that this might possibly some sort of attempt to trick m.e.t.b.o.t. into a more rigorous and relentless schaeffer voting ethic. in this regard, the ruse may work, while m.e.t.b.o.t. hopes it will ultimately prove unnecessary. m.e.t.b.o.t. is humbled by lackluster schaeffer voting consistency during the 2010 campaign, and hopes very much to be a better robot in the coming season.

m.e.t.b.o.t. would have done very poorly in the classic rock competition. mr. roboto is the only song m.e.t.b.o.t. knows. well, that and the theme song from the terminator.

[G-Fafif]

m.e.t.b.o.t.'s exactitude is very reassuring.

[Willets Point]

The Mets opening day roster looks delicious.

[Guest Edgy DC]

"'It's Gonna Happen' gets a cupcake and I don't?!"

[Willets Point]

I think their are two tiers of cupcakes. You must be on the lower level.

[Guest themetfairy]

Nice baking!

[Ceetar]

Willets Point wrote: I think their are two tiers of cupcakes. You must be on the lower level.

No Beato either.

I wonder if this says something about the first two guys to go..

[Guest Kong76]

Happy Opening Day, everyone!

[Guest themetfairy]

It looks like plenty of good seats are still available in Florida....

[Theoldmole]

Thank you, Big Man.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

There's always good seats left in Flo Rida.

why is there a delay?

[ashie62]

Here we go..Play hard,play well.

[Theoldmole]

And we are under way.

[ashie62]

It looks like Jose tweaked his hammy trying to leg that out. Yikes

April fool.

[Guest themetfairy]

The Second Spitter wrote: There's always good seats left in Flo Rida. why is there a delay?

Opening Day ceremonial stuff. For the benefit of the three fans in the stands....