I Just Sent This Guy an Invitation

[MFS62]

to the pool.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-a-new-york-transplant-picked-the-mets-1437002453

He'd be a welcome addition.

Later

[Lefty Specialist]

What he says is true. The Yankees have become generic. Nobody says anything to another guy wearing a Yankees cap. Criminals wear Yankee caps to blend in and disappear, because nobody thinks anything of someone wearing one. But when two people wearing Met hats pass on the street, there's often a nod of acknowledgement.

We root for one of the most difficult-to-root-for teams. Think about it; sharing a city with, well, the most successful sports franchise of all time. At the same time, we have quite possibly the worst owners in sports. Our expectations are low, because we've had our nuts crushed so many times we could make a jar of Skippy. So we're bound together by our pain. There aren't a lot of bandwagon fans here- the ones who stick it out are the true diehards. It'll make it all the sweeter when they finally win. I just hope it happens before I die.

[Edgy MD]

My expectations aren't low.

The thing is that the tragic song of heartbreaking losses and owners who don't give a shit is sung by fans in virtually every town and of virtually every professional sport.

Agree most otherwise.

[nymr83]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Criminals wear Yankee caps to blend in and disappear, because nobody thinks anything of someone wearing one.

Doesn't wearing a Yankees cap just help you blend in with other criminals?

[Ceetar]

Nymr83 wrote: Lefty Specialist wrote: Criminals wear Yankee caps to blend in and disappear, because nobody thinks anything of someone wearing one. Doesn't wearing a Yankees cap just help you blend in with other criminals?

worked for Jeter.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't agree about the pain part. If rooting for the Mets brought me more pain than pleasure I wouldn't do it.

[Edgy MD]

'greed.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Edgy MD wrote: 'greed.

Me three.

I'm trying to interpret the image. The guy walking in-between Jerry Seinfeld and Keith Hernandez w/Matt Harvey and Mr. Met behind him, is that someone I should recognize or is supposed to be the author of the article? The Yankee at the top of the steps is Ruth, but I don't know who the other two are supposed to be.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Yeah, I'm not sure who that guy is... Roger McDowell? That would
kind of go with the Seinfelidan/Hernandez theme but other than that
I'm drawing a blank.

OE: I like some of that illustrators other stuff...
http://www.workbook.com/portfolios/macpherson

[seawolf17]

d'Kong76 wrote: Yeah, I'm not sure who that guy is... Roger McDowell? That would kind of go with the Seinfelidan/Hernandez theme but other than that I'm drawing a blank. OE: I like some of that illustrators other stuff... http://www.workbook.com/portfolios/macpherson

That's supposed to be the author, being shepherded down the street.

[dinosaur jesus]

I think the Yankee at the bottom of the steps is Hideki Irabu, squatting like a fat pussy toad.

[batmagadanleadoff]

[fimg=655:2p368ga9]http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OL-AB698_SP_FAN_NS_20150715191647.jpg[/fimg:2p368ga9]

He looks like David Cone to me. I didn't think it was Cone, though, given the context. Maybe if this was 20 years ago ...

[Edgy MD]

Mr. Met looks like a smarmy dick.

Not sure I trust this guy.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Does look like Cone some.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Cone was my first thought, then the author.

[Farmer Ted]

Wore my Cyclones hat the other day and got a "LGM!" from a passerby on the street. I live 4 hours from the GWB. That's love right there, buddy.

[ashie62]

That was a fun read.

To be a Yankee fan is generic.

To be a Mets fan is a gift.

[MFS62]

So, would he be welcome in the 'pool?
New blood is good.

Later

[Guest d'Kong76]

You answered your own question before you asked it.

MFS62 wrote: He'd be a welcome addition.

MFS62 wrote: So, would he be welcome in the 'pool? New blood is good.

[MFS62]

Yes, but nobody directly answered the question.
I take your response as a "yes".

Later

[Guest d'Kong76]

You're making it more than it is. Registration is open to the
public by clicking on the 'register' link in the upper right hand
corner.

Tell him to invite the illustrator along too so we can find out
who is between Mex and Jerry!

[MFS62]

I thought he seems to be a passionate fan and might not know of the Pool and would enjoy it.
B'sides, it might to be kewl to get mention in the WSJ some day.
Who knows?
Then a movie.
Then a TV series.
Well be fam ... , er, never mind.

Later

[A Boy Named Seo]

The Mets were on WWOR in New Mexico when I was a boy of 8, so, I chose 'em (over the Cubs on WGN and the Braves on WTBS), but not like this guy did. Did anyone here pick between the Mets and Yankees (or other)?

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

My parents were always "I root for New York teams" types and took my sister and I to both Mets & Yankees games. Over time I learned that my Brooklyn-born Dad was more of a Mets fan and my Bronx-born Mom was more a Yankees fan, despite they're declarations otherwise. I had a natural affinity toward the underdogs, so I started leaning toward the Mets. And when I started seriously following baseball in 1985, I was Mets all the way.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I feel ya, that was a magical time. '83 I fell for Straw, then Doc the next, and I had the orange-tinted lenses on for good. Certainly helped my 'choice' having those guys, and that team to watch. I think if we didn't have TV as a kid, I might be a passive Dodger fan today, based on growing up near the Albuquerque Dukes, my current geography, and Vin Scully. But if I moved out of CA, I can't say I'd continue following them, but I'd watch the game still. Anyway, I'm glad I picked right back in the day. Good job, lil me.

[Fman99]

I have a long and checked history on this topic.

My father grew up in Flushing in the 1950's, as a Yankee fan, because they were good, and Queens did not have a team, and he had a uncle just 15 years his senior, my great Uncle Boomie, that used to take him to the Bronx for baseball. He maintained his Yankee allegiance through the 1960's, though, after Shea opened, he probably attended far more Mets games than Yankee games due to convenience (my grandparents lived on 141st and 70th Ave, just 15 blocks or so from the stadium).

My folks moved upstate after getting married, though my grandparents remained in Queens.

I was born in 1973. As a kid, living in the Hudson Valley, we were far outnumbered locally in our neighborhood by Yankee fans, much as my kids are now. And the MFY's were the big deal, due to Reggie and Billy and the "Bronx Zoo." There wasn't all that much cause, as a kid where I lived, to be a Mets fan.

My father, ultimately, turned on the MFY's when Steinbrenner bought the team. He was not a fan. As the 1970's progressed, and the part of the Bronx where they played got worse (in his estimation), he switched his allegiance to the Mets. It didn't hurt that my grandparents continued to live in the neighborhood. We made dual purpose visits to Flushing -- dinner with my grandparents and then a game, or, a matinee followed by dinner. As a very young child those trips included my brother and mom, neither of whom was or is a baseball fan, but ultimately, those games were just trips for Fdad and I.

My grandparents are not alive any more to visit, but Fboy and I continue the family tradition that Fdad and I started all those years ago.