Mets Pop Culture Sightings 2012

[seawolf17]

Darren from The 7 Line says some of his shirts may be used in an upcoming episode of "30 Rock." Mr. Met's been on the show before, so there's definitely a Mets connection somewhere on that staff.

[G-Fafif]

In Mo� Better Blues (a 1990 feature shown on HBO Signature in the early hours of November 1, 2012), Spike Lee�s character, Giant, bets on the Pirates to sweep the Mets a doubleheader because �the Mets need to get some more black ballplayers.� Also takes a shot at Steinbrenner and salutes Frank Robinson in the same betting scene.

[Edgy MD]

Man, did Spike jump the shark halfway through his delivery of that line or what?

[Frayed Knot]

G-Fafif wrote: In Mo� Better Blues, a 1990 feature ... Spike Lee�s character, Giant, bets on the Pirates to sweep the Mets a doubleheader because �the Mets need to get some more black ballplayers.�

If I recall correctly the character of the bookie in that film was named Eli from Westchester.

[bmfc1]

Saturday Night Live, 11/3/12, at the end of the "Fox and Friends" segment, the crawl with the corrections from "the first two hours of the show" included "Mr. Met has never announced a preference for any religion over the other."

[Guest themetfairy]

bmfc1 wrote: Saturday Night Live, 11/3/12, at the end of the "Fox and Friends" segment, the crawl with the corrections from "the first two hours of the show" included "Mr. Met has never announced a preference for any religion over the other."

Thanks - we saw that a Mr. Met reference scrolled by, but didn't get a chance to read it through.

[G-Fafif]

In a childhood flashback sequence this week during one of his Back to Brooklyn shows, "young Jimmy Kimmel" wore a Mets shirt. Kimmel is a real-life Mets fan.

[G-Fafif]

Watched (or fast-forwarded through) Mo' Better Blues to get a fuller taste of the Metsiana.

Giant's (Spike Lee's) quote: �Pirates are playing the Mets in a doubleheader, gimme the Pirates in both games, the Mets some more black BALL-players.� Giant bets on the Mets the next day. (Doubleheader in question: September 29, 1989, at Three Rivers Stadium; Mets swept. Giant's looking at the Post as he places his bet.)

Also in Mo' Better Blues, Denzel Washington�s musician character, Bleek, in a childhood flashback, is called on to play ball by four other kids, two of whom are wearing Mets stuff (one a Mets cap, the other a Mets jacket; one of them is young Giant). While his mother says he has to finish his trumpet practice first, Bleek�s dad is watching Rod Gaspar batting against Bob Moose during Moose�s no-hitter on 9/20/1969. Bob Murphy is heard referring to Moose as �just 21 years old� and having grown up �within walking distance of Forbes Field.� Later in the movie, Denzel as Bleek is wearing a New York Giants cap and a Willie Mays NEW YORK road jersey as he plays catch with his now much older dad, who�s wearing a Pittsburgh Crawfords jersey. Bleek the adult trumpeter also wears the cap on stage during a performance.

[G-Fafif]

Spotted by Mrs. Fafif as she was getting random recordings watched from the DVR: In Moscow On The Hudson (1984), Soviet defector Robin Williams runs into the former KGB agent who had also defected in New York who is now a Mets cap-wearing hot dog vendor.

[Frayed Knot]

NY Times, Friday 11/16

47 ACROSS: BIG-HEADED BASEBALL MASCOT ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

[Ceetar]

NY Times, Friday 11/16 47 ACROSS: BIG-HEADED BASEBALL MASCOT ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

nice. Although that's not really a Friday level question in NY is it?


this one is from way back, it was a Wednesday in Newsday.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Flip Flop Fly Ball makes a good decision to abandon being a Yankees fan. He goes through a process of elimination to pick a new team. Does he make another good decision?

[G-Fafif]

A framed, matted portrait of Shea Stadium is quite visible on the wall of Dr. Danny Castellano's office on The Mindy Project, spotted in the episode that aired November 13, 2012, "Danny Castellano Is My Gynecologist".

[G-Fafif]

�Lenny Dykstra�s Prison Break� is one of the apps on Homer�s MyPad on �A Tree Grows In Springfield,� The Simpsons, November 25, 2012.

[dinosaur jesus]

Mets � Willets Point wrote: Flip Flop Fly Ball makes a good decision to abandon being a Yankees fan. He goes through a process of elimination to pick a new team. Does he make another good decision?

Not a bad decision. But good luck staying interested in his new team. There are teams I like fine, such as the Tigers, but somehow I can't be bothered to watch their games.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I can't imagine "picking a new team." Really caring about whether a group of strangers wins or loses is irrational. I follow the Mets because I've been doing it since I was eight years old, and I haven't let go of that. If I ever do, it will mean I'm no longer a baseball fan. At my age, I can't latch on to a team the same way I did when I was eight.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I think I could switch under the right circumstances. If for example I lived in another city and they had an admirable team. I would also root for the Mets but I'd only rule out the MFYs and Cardinals probably.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think I could switch under the right circumstances. If for example I lived in another city and they had an admirable team. I would also root for the Mets but I'd only rule out the MFYs and Cardinals probably.

That's basically what happened to me when I moved to Boston and adopted the Sox as my AL team.

The Flip Flop Fly Ball guy grew up in England and now lives in Mexico and never saw a baseball game until he was in his thirties so he's coming at this from an entirely different mindset than most of us. I like the infographics on his website even if he strung me along thinking he was going to become a Mets' fan until the last cull.

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I can't imagine "picking a new team."

I can.
And did.
Y'see, my "old" team played in Brooklyn...

Later

[Edgy MD]

As noted this morning, News Corp and the New York Yankees are now awfully cosy. This news does not sit well with all Yankees fans, most notably our own Craig Robinson.

99% of Yankee fans: "What's News Corp?"
0.99% of Yankee fans: "I don't give a shit."
Craig Robinson: "I need a new team."

[Edgy MD]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think I could switch under the right circumstances. If for example I lived in another city and they had an admirable team. I would also root for the Mets but I'd only rule out the MFYs and Cardinals probably.

I intend to root for the O's. But I'm not sure how much I'll actually care. I think it's different when you have kids.

[seawolf17]

Edgy MD wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think I could switch under the right circumstances. If for example I lived in another city and they had an admirable team. I would also root for the Mets but I'd only rule out the MFYs and Cardinals probably. I intend to root for the O's. But I'm not sure how much I'll actually care. I think it's different when you have kids.

YOU WILL ROOT FOR THE METS.

One of my best friends lives outside Philly; his daughters are becoming Phillies fans by osmosis, as hard as he tries to fight it.

[Benjamin Grimm]

MFS62 wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: I can't imagine "picking a new team." I can. And did. Y'see, my "old" team played in Brooklyn... Later

Yeah, but you weren't 49 years old when you picked that new team, were you?

[Benjamin Grimm]

seawolf17 wrote: One of my best friends lives outside Philly; his daughters are becoming Phillies fans by osmosis, as hard as he tries to fight it.

I guess I've been lucky. Both of my kids disdain the Phillies.

[Ceetar]

Edgy MD wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I think I could switch under the right circumstances. If for example I lived in another city and they had an admirable team. I would also root for the Mets but I'd only rule out the MFYs and Cardinals probably. I intend to root for the O's. But I'm not sure how much I'll actually care. I think it's different when you have kids.

not only kids, it's different if you have someone to root with or go to games with. Say you move to a new city with a new job and make friends with some people that go to 10 games a year and are real fans. It's hard not to get swept up in that if you love the sport anyway. (and they're not evil scum of the earth Phillies or something) Sharing the fan experience is half the deal.

[metirish]

I think if I lived in say Phoenix I would go to D-Backs games, but I doubt I would care enough to go see the Marlins if I lived in Miami, unless of course the Mets were in town......I don;t think I could ever get into going to see an AL team if I lived in such a city......


Back to the OP, Murdoch and the MFY's are a perfect match for each other.

[Edgy MD]

seawolf17 wrote: I think I could switch under the right circumstances. If for example I lived in another city and they had an admirable team. I would also root for the Mets but I'd only rule out the MFYs and Cardinals probably. I intend to root for the O's. But I'm not sure how much I'll actually care. I think it's different when you have kids. YOU WILL ROOT FOR THE METS. One of my best friends lives outside Philly; his daughters are becoming Phillies fans by osmosis, as hard as he tries to fight it.

Yeah, I think folks who move to say, Pittsburgh, claim to maintain Mets fandom, but start leaning toward the Pirates when their kid starts living a breathing Buccaneerness, did two things:
1) Kept their fandom on the shelf way too long, continuing to file as a Met fan at the end of the year, but otherwise being passive except for an occasional "are they doing any good?" peek at the standings.
2) Failed to do the heavy lifting of indoctrination during the child's formative years.

I have to say, nothing is cooler than being that kid in class who loves an out-of-town team. You may not agree with them, but you respect them. (Unless it's the Yankees.)

[G-Fafif]

Pop Culture alert: The 7 Line's t-shirts will appear in Thursday night's ep of 30 Rock.

[TransMonk]

Edgy MD wrote: I have to say, nothing is cooler than being that kid in class who loves an out-of-town team.

This. When I grew up in Central Illinois in the late eighties, half the kids loved the Cardinals, half the kids loved the Cubs and I was the mysterious Mets fan. It was fun when they were all in the NL East with the Cubs winning in 1984 and 1989, the Cards in 1985 and 1987 and the Mets winning in 1986 and 1988.

I don't identify much with Philly or Atlanta geographically. And the Brewers/Mets is not much of a rivalry at all. I miss the competetion with the local teams.

I can't imagine ever switching teams. If I did (probably over Wilpon hate), I would wait for an expansion/relocated team to start from scratch.

[Edgy MD]

Our sandlot crew had about a dozen kids --- eight Met fans, two YLDBs, an Orioles fan and a Red Sox fan. Nobody talked shit to the last two. If Butch Hobson turned into a disaster at third or Earl Weaver got his ass suspended, we felt their pain, even if we disagreed with them. They were pure, somehow.