(okay, well, yes it is)....I figured I needed to get this post up about Opening Day at Citi field before I reached the 1 week mark, or the "oh wow, the mets haven't won a game in a week" mark and I might lose my early season, hopeful sparkle.
First, let me say that while this was my first Opening Day for the METS in New York...it came a week into the season, and after 2 pretty devastating losses against our hated rivals. I was a little down, I won't lie...and Bulldog and I were driving up in monsoonal rains so the whole day was kind of dreary to begin with. Bulldog, ever the optimist and desperately trying to appease my over-excited/roadtrip personality, made a dash ornament
Yes, that's scotch tape.
The closer we got to NYC, the less likely it was that we would go to Oceanside first and get the train and the more likely a sensible route straight to the ball park would happen. I don't know why Bulldog doesn't even like to get anywhere early and just enjoy the atomsphere...stand in line for whatever you want to do, etc...but on Opening Day, I shouldn't have had to beg so much. But, to his credit, he let me make the final decision...Early birds we would be!
My most favorite part of Shea was the Homerun apple...old,
beat up, kind of arts-n-craftsy, and definately old! in 4 previous trips to Citi, not once did we get there in time to go find the old Homerun apple..so I was NOT letting up this time. Plus, it's right in front of Citi now, so it's hard TO MISS IT...I literally thought Angels were singing when I saw it. It's much smaller than I thought, but it was still grand. And Bulldog took the PERFECT picture of me in front of TWO things that make me smile even when I shouldn't! I was in pre-game, holy optimistic bliss.
I know I'm descriptive (emotional), loud (born that way!) and easily frustrated (have you seen this team play?!)...but my outlet to channel my overflowing and angst ridden fandom is the gift of Twitter. Bulldog always says that he's happy I'm part of the Mets fan base on twitter because he couldn't possibly be as attentive to my irrational grumblings as tweeps are...A couple of years ago, my friend Scott told me about the blog Metsgrrl...and I remember reading it for the first time, and sending it to Bulldog who immediately replied "OMG, it's like there is a YOU IN NYC"....So, we are both HUGE fans of Metsgrrl's blog probably more so than we are of metsblog and she's my twitter hero so of course, I wanted to meet her if I could...Bulldog said "let's find her!"...so off we went...to the Promenade Club where I actually used the term "Hi, I'm swirlywand"...I met Metsgrrl, Julie Rubes!, and CoreyinNY....the funny thing is that everyone was exactly as I pictured...I hate I missed Metschick though... the funny thing is that 2 of them asked about how I ended up a Mets fan..which I thought everyone knew by now...but mostly, I was happy that Corey didn't think I had a southern accent! LOL 11 years, but finally someone from NYC doesn't think I have an accent...file that in things I NEVER thought would happen.
I wanted to be in our seats for the introduction of players. I felt the need to cheer extra loud for Murph of course, and Angel...but I wanted to hear the reaction to K-Rod....is it a bit schadenfreude-est to want to see someone in charge of CLOSING OUT wins for MY TEAM get boo'd without mercy? I should want everyone behind him...maybe that would help...but for a moment, even on Opening Day, I wanted to see him hear just how MUCH HE SCREWED UP when he beat up his girlfriend's father last year. I know it doesn't change anything, but after I got my BOO out, and captured it on video, I was ready to move on.
Our Opening Day game versus the Nationals was pretty much a set up for frustration from the beginning. The Nationals always play the mets tough, and they have this misguided notion that they are someone rivals of the Mets...but Mets fans don't see it that way because we like to think we're better than the Nationals. But, lately, we've been battling the Nationals for the cellar ranking more than the other 3 teams in our division for a piece of the pie. I just saw this game on the schedule and knew that we would not be lucky enough to win...
there were a few high points...but not on Opening Day....the best part of Opening Day besides meeting tweeps, enjoying ball park food, and not getting rained on WAS THE MR. MET BOBBLEHEAD promotion. And this is no cheap bobblehead..it's full ceramic , heavy, bobble bliss. He gets to keep me company at work, and even did a little FACETIME with our favorite Venezuelan baseball journalist!
Mr. Met now sits on the 2007 Mr. Met mousepad Bulldog brought me after I couldn't go with him to a game at Shea during the collapse. I should have burned it after that season....
So, we lost in grand "of course Pudge who hasn't had a hit all year would get one against the Mets" fashion. Unfortunately, my iphone was i-no-service during Opening Day...I couldn't even get a text through the system. But there was so much "this only happens to the mets" going on that I took out my trusty iphone and wrote out a list of "things I wanted to tweet" and emailed them to myself..So here they are..LOL...
here are a few photos from the weekend...
The beauty of Citi is that it has the same location and flight paths as Shea Stadium...I love love love watching planes fly from LaGuardia and JFK over the park. The big planes fly over the outfield and my lil turbo and RJs fly over the home plate area. I love watching and hearing the planes fly over.
Okay- Saturday night and the moon was out....and Bulldog and I bundled up with handwarmers leftover from the JETS season and off to Angel's outfield we went filled with hope and endless optimism. But for our good fortune on Friday with seats not next to someone who has never been to baseball game before ran out, and Saturday night we were seated next to the METS fans your parents warn you about....the d-bags, the assholes, and the guys who yell out inappropriate things in front of children.
After a couple of trips to the team store, and nachos grande line standing, and 2 mildly chocolate flavored hot waters, we walked down to the field level to see if KROD could in fact not suck. He's my team's closer...I have to WANT HIM to not suck...but as he walked a batter...and the crowd grew antsy.,..I found myself wanting him to fail....I am so conflicted about him. But, good Lord....what was this...a KROD save?
Mets won. I slept 9 hours. Back to Citi we went...
On Sunday we sat directly behind homeplate in the 400
section...and honestly, why wait in lines for food in the outfield when you can do everything but Shake Shack and the Tacqueria in the promenade! YES PLEASE! I'll take one of everything...and what is this fried dough thing I keep seeing? WITH POWDERED SUGAR- take me away. We do not have this in the "everything we cook can be fried" South...but we should. And cinnamon...Yes please!
Chris Young is a beast of a man. He looks like a giant from all the way up in the 400 section....I took a picture of what most Mets fans would have remembered before the Bullpen gave up his nice 1 hit lead....
HIS FREAKING 1000.00 BATTING AVERAGE TO START THE GAME! :-)
Seriously, I felt horrible for Young...as I do most of our starting pitchers...they pitch to their arm nearly falls off, and then our bullpen comes in and can't throw a strike or get a groundball out. It's pathetic and it's really souring how I feel about this team of really good players who are at the mercy of a HORRENDOUS pitching staff.
I'm not recapping the end of the Sunday game....if you are dying to know what happened, there are 400 other places you can read about that. But suffice to say my heart broke a little. I know that's dramatic....no one died, Bulldog and I arrived back in DC safe and sound...there are people around the world dealing with actual heartbreak, loss of life, nuclear blah blah blah....I'm so lucky that the source of my sadness is a team that in the grand scheme of things means nothing.
I know, of course, what happened the past two nights....but I'm not going torture myself with more bullpen follies.
The season is still young, and I still believe...
Yes, that's scotch tape.
The closer we got to NYC, the less likely it was that we would go to Oceanside first and get the train and the more likely a sensible route straight to the ball park would happen. I don't know why Bulldog doesn't even like to get anywhere early and just enjoy the atomsphere...stand in line for whatever you want to do, etc...but on Opening Day, I shouldn't have had to beg so much. But, to his credit, he let me make the final decision...Early birds we would be!
My most favorite part of Shea was the Homerun apple...old,
beat up, kind of arts-n-craftsy, and definately old! in 4 previous trips to Citi, not once did we get there in time to go find the old Homerun apple..so I was NOT letting up this time. Plus, it's right in front of Citi now, so it's hard TO MISS IT...I literally thought Angels were singing when I saw it. It's much smaller than I thought, but it was still grand. And Bulldog took the PERFECT picture of me in front of TWO things that make me smile even when I shouldn't! I was in pre-game, holy optimistic bliss.I know I'm descriptive (emotional), loud (born that way!) and easily frustrated (have you seen this team play?!)...but my outlet to channel my overflowing and angst ridden fandom is the gift of Twitter. Bulldog always says that he's happy I'm part of the Mets fan base on twitter because he couldn't possibly be as attentive to my irrational grumblings as tweeps are...A couple of years ago, my friend Scott told me about the blog Metsgrrl...and I remember reading it for the first time, and sending it to Bulldog who immediately replied "OMG, it's like there is a YOU IN NYC"....So, we are both HUGE fans of Metsgrrl's blog probably more so than we are of metsblog and she's my twitter hero so of course, I wanted to meet her if I could...Bulldog said "let's find her!"...so off we went...to the Promenade Club where I actually used the term "Hi, I'm swirlywand"...I met Metsgrrl, Julie Rubes!, and CoreyinNY....the funny thing is that everyone was exactly as I pictured...I hate I missed Metschick though... the funny thing is that 2 of them asked about how I ended up a Mets fan..which I thought everyone knew by now...but mostly, I was happy that Corey didn't think I had a southern accent! LOL 11 years, but finally someone from NYC doesn't think I have an accent...file that in things I NEVER thought would happen.
I wanted to be in our seats for the introduction of players. I felt the need to cheer extra loud for Murph of course, and Angel...but I wanted to hear the reaction to K-Rod....is it a bit schadenfreude-est to want to see someone in charge of CLOSING OUT wins for MY TEAM get boo'd without mercy? I should want everyone behind him...maybe that would help...but for a moment, even on Opening Day, I wanted to see him hear just how MUCH HE SCREWED UP when he beat up his girlfriend's father last year. I know it doesn't change anything, but after I got my BOO out, and captured it on video, I was ready to move on.
Our Opening Day game versus the Nationals was pretty much a set up for frustration from the beginning. The Nationals always play the mets tough, and they have this misguided notion that they are someone rivals of the Mets...but Mets fans don't see it that way because we like to think we're better than the Nationals. But, lately, we've been battling the Nationals for the cellar ranking more than the other 3 teams in our division for a piece of the pie. I just saw this game on the schedule and knew that we would not be lucky enough to win...
there were a few high points...but not on Opening Day....the best part of Opening Day besides meeting tweeps, enjoying ball park food, and not getting rained on WAS THE MR. MET BOBBLEHEAD promotion. And this is no cheap bobblehead..it's full ceramic , heavy, bobble bliss. He gets to keep me company at work, and even did a little FACETIME with our favorite Venezuelan baseball journalist!
Mr. Met now sits on the 2007 Mr. Met mousepad Bulldog brought me after I couldn't go with him to a game at Shea during the collapse. I should have burned it after that season....So, we lost in grand "of course Pudge who hasn't had a hit all year would get one against the Mets" fashion. Unfortunately, my iphone was i-no-service during Opening Day...I couldn't even get a text through the system. But there was so much "this only happens to the mets" going on that I took out my trusty iphone and wrote out a list of "things I wanted to tweet" and emailed them to myself..So here they are..LOL...
After fucking pudge gets first hit of the year... It occurred to me that the only pitcher left for mets is KROD (YIKES!)
OH AND APPARENTLY NO ONE CAN THROW STRIKES
AND JAYSON WERTHLESS CONES UP TO bat.. I think OF COURSE... OF COURSE IT IS HIS UGLY ASS ....
Just fucking finish me off mets... Bring KROD in to just to make this perfectly sucky
I did not boo Bobby Parnell
We are staying til bitter end BULLDOG...don't even think it!
Did they put murph in just to torture me? (Editor's note from 4/13- I thought that having Murph come in just to then be the last batter of the game was torture)
here are a few photos from the weekend...
The beauty of Citi is that it has the same location and flight paths as Shea Stadium...I love love love watching planes fly from LaGuardia and JFK over the park. The big planes fly over the outfield and my lil turbo and RJs fly over the home plate area. I love watching and hearing the planes fly over.
Okay- Saturday night and the moon was out....and Bulldog and I bundled up with handwarmers leftover from the JETS season and off to Angel's outfield we went filled with hope and endless optimism. But for our good fortune on Friday with seats not next to someone who has never been to baseball game before ran out, and Saturday night we were seated next to the METS fans your parents warn you about....the d-bags, the assholes, and the guys who yell out inappropriate things in front of children.After a couple of trips to the team store, and nachos grande line standing, and 2 mildly chocolate flavored hot waters, we walked down to the field level to see if KROD could in fact not suck. He's my team's closer...I have to WANT HIM to not suck...but as he walked a batter...and the crowd grew antsy.,..I found myself wanting him to fail....I am so conflicted about him. But, good Lord....what was this...a KROD save?
Mets won. I slept 9 hours. Back to Citi we went...
On Sunday we sat directly behind homeplate in the 400
section...and honestly, why wait in lines for food in the outfield when you can do everything but Shake Shack and the Tacqueria in the promenade! YES PLEASE! I'll take one of everything...and what is this fried dough thing I keep seeing? WITH POWDERED SUGAR- take me away. We do not have this in the "everything we cook can be fried" South...but we should. And cinnamon...Yes please!
Chris Young is a beast of a man. He looks like a giant from all the way up in the 400 section....I took a picture of what most Mets fans would have remembered before the Bullpen gave up his nice 1 hit lead....HIS FREAKING 1000.00 BATTING AVERAGE TO START THE GAME! :-)
Seriously, I felt horrible for Young...as I do most of our starting pitchers...they pitch to their arm nearly falls off, and then our bullpen comes in and can't throw a strike or get a groundball out. It's pathetic and it's really souring how I feel about this team of really good players who are at the mercy of a HORRENDOUS pitching staff.
I'm not recapping the end of the Sunday game....if you are dying to know what happened, there are 400 other places you can read about that. But suffice to say my heart broke a little. I know that's dramatic....no one died, Bulldog and I arrived back in DC safe and sound...there are people around the world dealing with actual heartbreak, loss of life, nuclear blah blah blah....I'm so lucky that the source of my sadness is a team that in the grand scheme of things means nothing.
I know, of course, what happened the past two nights....but I'm not going torture myself with more bullpen follies.
The season is still young, and I still believe...
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