2008 Woodie Awards
Shea Goodbye, folks
Mike Barrett
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Sports
In 1986, my dad told me that two of the greatest things in his life happened for him.
The second was the birth of yours truly, his first son, and number one was the New York Mets winning the World Series.
And at no point in my life have I thought that to be untrue. After all, my father has been a Mets fan since they became a team (roughly around his first birthday) and has been ever since.
Naturally, I have followed suit.
Ever since I was dressed in my Gary Carter baby outfit to now, I have literally bled orange and blue. And there has always been one place where I could go to be with the people who feel the same way.
Some say it's a dump.
An old stadium where one can barley hear the game over the planes landing at nearby LaGuardia airport.
But to me, Shea Stadium will be my own slice of heaven and the Mecca for all Met fans.
And after this year, it will be like it never existed. With the brand new Citi Field looming over its centerfield wall, Shea Stadium will host its last ever season for the New York Mets.
Opened in 1964, good ole' Shea has seen all of the most cherished moments in Mets history. It saw the "Miracle Mets" beat the Orioles in 1969 to win there first ever championship. In 1986, it was on Shea's first base path that the infamous Bill Buckner error occurred and the second championship for the Metropolitans.
But for me it will be the place that made me fall in love with baseball. At my first ever game at Shea, the Mets won on walk-off homerun by Dick Scofield. I witnessed Robin Ventura's grand slam single and a year later felt the stadium shake as the Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals to go to the World Series against the Yankees.
With opening day less than a week way, the Mets are primed to make their last season at Shea one for the record books. After last season's heartbreaking collapse, the Mets are picked as one of the favorites for the World Series. With new ace Johan Santana and a core of Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran, this could be the year for them.
And what a deserving end to an era it would be to see the Mets celebrate where they have for the past forty years. A place that has never been considered as historic as Fenway, Wrigley, or Yankee and not nearly as appealing as Safeco or PNC Park. But a place where memories were made and history was shared.
So for every time that the home run apple rises out of its hat for a home run this season, for every "Jose" chant, and for every time Billy Wagner enters in the ninth at Shea this year, it will be just another memory in the minds of the loyal fans that grace its stands.
Because as long as there are Met fans, they will always be able to look back and say:
"Shea may have been a dump, but it was our dump."
The second was the birth of yours truly, his first son, and number one was the New York Mets winning the World Series.
And at no point in my life have I thought that to be untrue. After all, my father has been a Mets fan since they became a team (roughly around his first birthday) and has been ever since.
Naturally, I have followed suit.
Ever since I was dressed in my Gary Carter baby outfit to now, I have literally bled orange and blue. And there has always been one place where I could go to be with the people who feel the same way.
Some say it's a dump.
An old stadium where one can barley hear the game over the planes landing at nearby LaGuardia airport.
But to me, Shea Stadium will be my own slice of heaven and the Mecca for all Met fans.
And after this year, it will be like it never existed. With the brand new Citi Field looming over its centerfield wall, Shea Stadium will host its last ever season for the New York Mets.
Opened in 1964, good ole' Shea has seen all of the most cherished moments in Mets history. It saw the "Miracle Mets" beat the Orioles in 1969 to win there first ever championship. In 1986, it was on Shea's first base path that the infamous Bill Buckner error occurred and the second championship for the Metropolitans.
But for me it will be the place that made me fall in love with baseball. At my first ever game at Shea, the Mets won on walk-off homerun by Dick Scofield. I witnessed Robin Ventura's grand slam single and a year later felt the stadium shake as the Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals to go to the World Series against the Yankees.
With opening day less than a week way, the Mets are primed to make their last season at Shea one for the record books. After last season's heartbreaking collapse, the Mets are picked as one of the favorites for the World Series. With new ace Johan Santana and a core of Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran, this could be the year for them.
And what a deserving end to an era it would be to see the Mets celebrate where they have for the past forty years. A place that has never been considered as historic as Fenway, Wrigley, or Yankee and not nearly as appealing as Safeco or PNC Park. But a place where memories were made and history was shared.
So for every time that the home run apple rises out of its hat for a home run this season, for every "Jose" chant, and for every time Billy Wagner enters in the ninth at Shea this year, it will be just another memory in the minds of the loyal fans that grace its stands.
Because as long as there are Met fans, they will always be able to look back and say:
"Shea may have been a dump, but it was our dump."
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