NEW YORK, NY – Over the past few seasons I’ve had a lot of bad things to say about my Mets on this site. My venom is usually directed at the organization as a whole but sometimes I come down hard on the players themselves. This year I see some things that have me optimistic for the future. They might seem very small to an outsider looking in, but as a lifelong Mets fan I find them endearing. Here are a couple of things that I feel have the Mets moving in the right direction.
This past Friday, Adam Yauch, aka MCA, from the Beastie Boys lost his battle with cancer. The Mets players felt they should pay tribute to this Rock n Roll Hall of Famer in some fashion. Showing leadership that has been all but invisible in the past few years, Justin Turner and Scott Hairston thought every Met should be introduced by a Beastie Boys song. David Wright was all over the idea himself, seeing he usually strides to the plate to the Beastie’s Sabatoge. Quickly the Mets threw together a set of music that honored a New York legend and warmed some fans hearts at the same time.
Here is the starting lineup:
Ruben Tejada: “Intergalactic”
Daniel Murphy: “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”
David Wright: “Brass Monkey”
Lucas Duda: “The New Style”
Scott Hairston: “Root Down”
Ike Davis: “Fight For Your Right (To Party)”
Andres Torres: “So What’cha Want”
Josh Thole: “Make Some Noise”
Dillon Gee: “Body Movin.’”
Earlier in the year, the Mets front office showed some leadership by bringing back a great promotion of yore for Mets fans. They decided in this 50th anniversary season to reincarnate Banner Day. This day originated in 1963 at the Polo Grounds and continued until 1996. The front office has to know that many Met fans will use this opportunity to show their displeasure with current ownership. I’m glad the Wilpon’s are acting like big boys and giving the fans the chance to voice themselves on bedsheets that will be paraded around CitiField on Sunday May 27th.
Luckily for Angry Ward and myself there was no banner day in 1997. We would have had to pay off a losing bet by marching with a banner penned by two buddies (one being The Public Professor himself). It was in the middle of the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization’s (known as ILGO) fight to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade . When they finally lost their court case they disrupted the parade but were not allowed to march. This gave our buddies the opportunity to come up with our banner which was to read:
We Can’t March In The St. Paddy’s Parade But We Can March Here. ILGO Mets.
So, in that vein I was hoping to get our cracked group of contributors to come up with suggestions for banners that The Matts should parade around CitiField with on May 27th. Here are some of my suggestions and can’t wait to see some of yours.
Take Me Out To The Bald Game
Banner Day: The Twitter Of The Stone Age
No Bedbugs Were Harmed In The Making Of This Banner
We’ve Been Mathematically Eliminated By Our Friends
We’re Gettin’ Too Old For This Sheet
Play Bald
Lost: Our Dignity. $500 Reward. Contact Meet The Matts.com With Info.
Stay tuned tomorrow for a man who never lost his dignity, Angry Ward.