The New York Mets released their end-of-season survey earlier this week. One of the questions was how strongly I agree (or disagree) with the statement, “I root for the Mets even when they are losing”.
Amongst all the other questions about the team, Citi Field, management, etc, that question lingered with me. Why would the team ask that? I root for the team. Winning and losing are both inevitable. I root for the team to be relevant; to have meaning. I root for them despite their win-loss record. I root for the team to make winning decisions.
As an organization, I believe the Mets are heading in the right direction. It’s a question of degrees though; their minor league system is better situated now and is showing signs of vigor. Because the Mets are fairing so poorly at the major league level this year, they are poised to be in line to draft a significant player at next year’s amateur draft. At the time of this article, the Mets are 7th in reverse standings, one game “behind” the Milwaukee Brewers. A few weeks ago, the Mets were not in the bottom ten. The key is that they need to handle this circumstance correctly and use this opportunity to improve.
Another point to consider about “rooting and losing” relates to the team’s on-field management. It seems more and more likely that the Mets will open the 2014 season with Terry Collins at the helm. This could lead to Wally Backman leaving. I consider this a significant loss to the organization and although I will still root for the team, it’s a loss that is in their power to avoid.
The 2014 schedules have been published and the Mets don’t look to have an easy go of it during the first month. Seventeen of their first twenty-six games are against the Washington Nationals, the Cincinnati Reds, the Atlanta Braves, and the St. Louis Cardinals. They are facing a harsh 9 game road trip during the second week of the season with games against the Braves, the Angels, and the Diamondbacks. By May, the Mets could already be facing an uphill climb in the standings.
So the Mets are likely to head into 2014 with a minor league system improving but not quite ready to feed offensive talent on a regular basis to the major league team, with Collins as the manager and Backman with another organization, and a difficult early season schedule.
Despite all that, I will still root for the Mets even when they are losing.
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You’d think seeing <5k people at a game would be enough of a survey result. Keep in mind, that means there is about 15,000 people with paid tix that chose NOT to come despite paying already. What more do you need to know???
It’s an interesting question. Was it meant to gauge who actually “roots” for the team when they lose or (as Chris suggests above) to gauge how many people will go to the ballpark when the team is bad. I root for the team whether they win or lose. Whether or not I go spend significant amounts of money at the ballpark multiple times per year to watch an awful team is another story…
There were several questions about Citi Field too in the survey so that’s a possible interpretation. Maybe the Mets have already figured out that they will play poorly again next year.