When Lupica wasn't being a legendary jerk, he could be worth the hype. Here he was in the aftermath of June 16, 1997, the night Mlicki shut out the MFYs. The Mets and their fans had waited so long for innings like these. Waited through all these dreary losing seasons, one after another, six in a row. Really, this was the biggest game the Mets had played since the late 1980s, when they could still win 100 games and feel as if they owned New York and make the playoffs. They had lost their fans and watched the Yankees build themselves back into champions. They had watched the children of the city go back to wearing Yankee caps after all the years in the 80s when you walked down the street and saw more Mets caps. Sometimes the Mets felt like they were the kind of sports afterthought that the Islanders have become, that the Nets have always been in basketball. Now they had the stage again. The most famous stage. And were hearing "Let's go, Mets!"