Meeting The Mets

Maybe I??m a sports bigamist. Maybe I??m a disloyal traitor. Maybe I just want someone to root for this October.
The parallels are similar- rabid, hungry, overly competitive and passionate fan base, superstars in the present and in the making, a boiling hatred of the Yankees- it??s only right that I adopt this team for the stretch run this fall. Oh yeah, they also own my favorite baseball player of all-time. The New York Metropolitans can be labeled as the underdog in New York to those intimidating and more popular Yankees, even while the Mets payroll and ability to purchase high-priced free agents has driven skyward the last few seasons. The Queens is electric with pursuit of a World Series birth that is all but guaranteed in the stunningly weak National League, the first World Series birth since 2000 when they lost to the rival Yankees. A Subway series in 2006 is extremely likely, which gives me another opportunity to root passionately against the Yankees.

I attended the Mets-Cardinals game last Tuesday at Shea Stadium, and I have to admit, it was love at first sight. The fans are itching to finally overtake the Yankees as the prominent back-page team in New York. It??s easy to tell the fans have an idea that this year might be something special. The game itself just attested to that idea- a thrilling Pujols grand slam to give the Cards a 7-1 lead, a Delgado grand slam to cut the lead to 7-5, and finally a walkoff 2-run homer from resident MVP Carlos Beltran off Isringhausen in the ninth that sent the crowd into a complete and utter frenzy. The Mets lead all of baseball in walkoff hits this season. Even after the Pujols salami, the overall feeling in the stadium was that a comeback was inevitable. The fact Jeff Weaver was pitching helped, but the feeling and cockiness is overwhelming that this team will end up on top.
Sitting behind me was a Mets fan since childhood. He had a strong New York accent and was sporting an orange David Wright shirt (Wright trumped Pedro, Beltran or any other player in terms of unis), and also had the earphones on to listen to the radio broadcast. When they announced Shawn Green was coming to the Mets, his first reaction: ?