Mets fans – Shea Stadium “Boo birds”
QUESTION – Why do you go to sporting events?
ANSWER – To support the team and players you love. And if you go for any other reason, then you shouldn’t go at all.
April 8, 2008. It’s the very last New York Mets home opener at Shea Stadium. They are playing against the Philadelphia Phillies. Shea stadium is packed with so many people, it is bursting at the seams. It is now the top of the seventh inning and Jorge Sosa gets Pedro Feliz to pop out to end the inning. The Mets are walking off the field to get up to bat and try to rally back and score some runs to win the game. As the Mets are headed to their dugout, and before SNY cuts to commercial, all I can hear out of my television are the boos pouring down from the crowd. Granted, I’m not happy either. After all, the Mets just lost their two run lead and now trail Philly 3 to 2. But lets get a grip here.
When did Mets fans become so spoiled anyway? The Mets haven’t won a world series since 1986. Have the Yankees and their fans rubbed off on Mets fans so much, that the Mets fans now feel like they should win EVERY game?
Wednesday, April 9, 2008. I turn on the Mets VS Phillies game after I finish watching the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils in game 1 of the NHL playoffs. It is the 6th inning and the Mets are up by the score of 7 to 2. Now this seems to be exactly what the fans at Shea were looking for yesterday. So they must be happy tonight. Right? Well, I scan the crowd to check their reaction, but there are hardly any fans in the stadium. The stadium is practically empty. It’s only the sixth inning and the Mets are beating up on the Phillies. But most of the fans have left. So, that begs the question. What do Mets fans want? The Mets fall behind by a run and they get booed. The Mets go up by five runs and the fans leave. Being a Mets fan who has grown tired of the Shea Stadium ”Boo birds”, I don’t understand this behavior.
When you are a true FAN, you need to rally behind your team, and show them some support. At least, that’s what good home crowds do. But unfortunately for the New York Mets, too many Mets fans have become too much like New York Jets fans. Jets fans have been voted one of the worst fans in all of sports. And with good reason. Jets fans are ruthless, rowdy, ignorant and consistently booing their home team. Bottom line. They are non-supportive. On September 10, 2007, Jets fans cheered when Chad Pennington got hurt against the Patriots and had to leave the game. When fans start behaving like this, home games become worse then road games. It is no wonder the Mets had a better road record than home record last year. It’s also the same reason the New York Jets play so poorly and haven’t won a superbowl since Joe Namath in superbowl III.
Anybody looking for a lesson on how fans should act, and want to see how supporting your team can change the play of your team. Go to Madison Square Garden and watch a New York Rangers hockey game. They seriously must be the best fans in all of sports. If the Rangers fall behind by a goal, you are not going to hear the Garden pouring down boos onto their team. You may hear a collective groan or even some curses. But the fans remain behind their team. They’ll start cheering. They’ll start getting loud. They’ll start chanting “Lets go Rangers”! The Garden will begin to rock. Electricity will fill the air. Then the players will begin to feel it and feed off the crowds energy. They’ll play their absolute best and give 110%. That is the advantage of playing at home. But unfortunately, the New York Mets do not seem to have that advantage. Instead they are coming off the field to a chorus of boos. Any athlete who has ever played competitive ball will tell you. It’s hard to feed off negativity from your home crowd and use it to mount a come back.
So remember “Boo birds”. You go to games to SUPPORT your team. So the next time you are having issues supporting your team, simply start to sing “take me out to the ball game”. And root, root, root for your home team…
And if you can’t do that, then just stay home.
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