The Mets Are Missing Something In 2011: Their Fight Song

Oh, the butcher and the baker and the people on the streets,
Where did they go? To MEET THE METS!
Oh, they're hollerin' and cheerin' and they're jumpin' in their seats,
Where did they go? To MEET THE METS!
All the fans are true to the orange and blue,
So hurry up and come on down -
'cause we've got ourselves a ball club,
The Mets of New York town!

This isn't the team of fat cats, spoiled by winning. These fans go nuts when something good happens for their team. True enough. My experience at Shea Stadium and Citi Field suggest that these fans are among the best that Major League Baseball has to offer. It would have been easier for them to switch to the Yankees at any point of their lives. And yet they soldier on, this butcher and this baker and these street people. Beyond all sense, all evidence to the contrary, they come each night to the park thinking the Mets have a shot to win.

There have been attempts to update the song a few times, but the song as recorded all the way back when the club was just a whisper of a hope that National League Baseball would return to New York. It was a promise paid for in heartbreak and hope. And in getting away from the group performances of it at Citi Field, perhaps this group of current baseball players inhabiting those uniforms have forgotten their connection to the fans. The butchers, the bakers, the people on the street. I sat through almost eight hours of baseball on Thursday. And at no point in the practically empty Citi Field did Mets' management make an announcement like this "Everyone from the upper decks please move down closer to the game, you've earned it. Everyone just come on down and cheer for these Mets." Maybe that kind of goodwill would have inspired the team to win a game that Thursday. Seeing the Butchers, the Bakers, The People on the Street cheering for the Mets. Instead the game ended with chants of "Sell This Team!"

via www.theawl.com

Wonderful post by Jim Berhle at The Awl. The Awl is the new The New Yorker... so. much. text. but once in a while you read something that you can't imagine having missed, you can't even remember what life was like before you read it. Like the story in The New Yorker about the murdered Guatamalen lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg, thanks Jason!.

Which is all to say I agree so strongly about the fight song. I have primordial memories of my Dad teaching me that song, I need to sing it at the ball park!

Comments

[Khoi Vinh]

I find this whole idea of 'true' fandom being indistinguishable from masochism to be really curious. In general, fandom is very curious, of course, but it just seems odd to me that so much can be made of futility, almost like it's a winning character trait. It strikes me as the most trivial kind of martyrdom one can indulge in, if you ask me. Yes, fine, the Mets fans who are sticking by the Mets are of fine character and strong resolve. But for goodness sake, rooting for a Bad News Bears team should not be cause for lionization.

Signed,
Arrogant Yankees Fan

[David Jacobs]

I think the allusion to masochism is often, unfortunately, presented as interchangeable with "character" - is that what you're reacting to?

This has been true for all of NYC's NL teams - not just the Mets, but of course the old Giants and (especially) the Brooklyn Dodgers. But it shouldn't be mistaken with the roots of true fandom, usually family history & geography. I think this is more pronounced in basketball,
football and soccer. Did you see this story about Turkish soccer fans?
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/03/07/110307fa_fact_batuman

This old Woody Allen quote is also wonderful: "You see, life consists of giving yourself these problems that can be dealt with."
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/backissues/2011/04/woody-allen-the-knicks.html

[Adriana]

I like the idea of bringing back "Meet the Mets" (and "Daydream Believer" while they're at it) I'd teach Lev how to sing it!

xo,
A Mets and Rays Fan