As we approach Opening Day-whether you’re an optimist or pessimist-the slate has been wiped clean and from there anything can happen. Am I right?
With a Mets’ squad looking in great shape-at least physically-there is a palpable sense of goodwill among the players as the Mets prepare to open another season. Anything can happen in any given season. I mean, who thought the Arizona Diamondbacks would be a playoff team last season?
But can any semblance of a good season trump the vitriol that Mets’ fans have for the Wilpon’s for the way they have (mis) managed the club.
If you ever visit Facebook when MetsBlog.com, SNY and WFAN post any news on the Mets (even if it has nothing to do with ownership and their financial issues) it is always met with apathy, malaise and disgust.
Here is a sampling of the remarks that can be found there:
- Mets will never get back to the Playoffs, until Wilpons sell the team!
- It should have been Reyes but the f*** Wilpons didn’t want to spend money. If they don’t want to lose money SELL THE TEAM already (In replay to who should bat leadoff)
- How about addressing the issue of not re-signing Reyes because of the Wilpons’ $ issues. You really kicked the fans in the head with that one and didn’t even bother going after anyone. Reyes brought fans into the seats ~~ this year get used to fans disguised as empty seats.
- No Murph will be fine! The Liability is in the Owner’s Box! Sell Wilponzi! Sell Now! Boycott until we have new owners. (On Daniel Murphy’s supposed liabilities in the field)
As you can see many fans have trouble with the Wilpons in charge and until they are gone, some will have a hard time trying to support the Mets. There are numerous calls for boycotts, walk outs, etc. that will, of course, drive away countless fans.
But what about that magic elixir called winning?
Yes, winning for the Mets this year could be yeoman’s work, but if you talk to the Mets, they seem like a team brimming with confidence. The players have adapted an us against the world mentality.
Unfortunately, Fred Wilpon has capitalized on this by distributing t-shirts to the Mets with the classic “Underdog” cartoon logo on the front. Such a move has been labeled as blasphemous by most fans. You know, how dare he? Even David Wright objected.
Wright said the t-shirts feed into the negativity that surrounds the team and that they should feel like they are favorites despite what popular opinion is outside the clubhouse.
So, let me just play devil’s advocate for a moment and say the Mets stay healthy, get strong contributions from the starting staff, get solid bullpen help and the offense takes advantage of the new Citi Field dimensions all the while challenging for a playoff berth. Would Mets fans still stay away as a matter of principle?
In full disclosure, I’m the last person to be called a Wilpon apologist and I would absolutely love for him to sell this team. However, my love for the Mets will not stop me from wanting this team to win and succeed. I don’t care who’s in charge, I want my team to win and will go to games and cheer on my team.
I realize it’s hard to support a team with owners that have lost the faith of the fanbase, but winning is still all that matters, right?
It is for me at least.
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The Wilpon’s are not going anywhere unless they lose the Madoff case to the tune of 383M. As a fan, I was insulted by his 22 minute interview the other day where he tried to spin the team budget on Alderson. There were too many good, inexpensive value contracts available to have me believe Alderson deliberately passed them up this winter. If he had the money he would have spent it. I hope the Mets win in spite of the Wilpon’s. I agree with you Dan “I don’t care who’s in charge, I want my team to win and will go to games and cheer on my team.” It is only a game, played by millionaire boys, owned and run by the 1% in their own exclusive private club.Therefore,like Charles Dickens did in his day, we the fans can satirize and poke fun at this elite class.
Agree! I will root for Murph to play 2B well, Bay to hit with power again, Torres to make a comeback, Duda and Davis to hit 30 HRs each or more, Wright to be the “David of old,” and RA to baffle the opposition, but I will never like the Wilponzis—even if they do manage to hang on to the team—MY team.
I think the only affect we can have as fans is to boycott the team and not support the wilpons till they are forced to sell. Otherwise, this bunch of bull we are fed will just continue. The Wilpons have shown they have no respect for the trademark or fan-base with the type of commentary that is basically nothing but an insult to anyone’s intelligence.
Great topic! The fact remains that winning cures everything. As much as we hate the Wilpons for running the team into the ground, at the end of the day, if the Mets start winning, all will be forgiven.
No doubt that should the Mets turn things around in the short term, it will ne due to a Super-Human managerial job by Terry Collins and not the work of the Wilpons. But should the Mets do the impossible and play winning baseball this year, fans will turn out. The economy seems to be turning the corner, so there is some more discretionary income around now. So, the potential for higher attendance is there… now it’s up to the team to show that they are worth watching.
Your correct, what your hoping for IS the impossible. So, lets send the correct message to Fifth Ave Freddy…boycott and make them sell.
Memo to Fifth Ave Freddy
From life long Met fans,
Ive been a Met fan my entire life, and the Wilpons have basically put the fork in this team. They have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and have made a mockery out of a feeble club that shares a city with the Yankees. Talk about polar opposites. I hope the remaining Met fans boycott the team, dont go to games or provide the Wilpons not one penny. Maybe then they will get the hell out of the baseball business and us long suffering Met fans may get an ownership group that can appreciate the fact that there is still such a thing as Met fan. Its been an unreal ride, where they can take such an important moment for Met fans, such as saying goodbye to Shea, opening up a brand new ballpark and making it a shrine to a team that left New York City in the 50s. I love and admire what Jackie Robinson did for baseball, and what that poor man endured, but he was not and will never be a Met. The fact that there is nothing for Gil Hodges thou, shocks me. The team plays in Queens, not Brooklyn…etc. Please Bud, make them sell the team while theres something left of a fanbase.
I think it is near impossible for me to not think negatively about the Wilpons. That being said, I won’t be thinking about those negative thoughts if the Mets are winning. I would call it winning IN SPITE of the owners, but any winning will be appreciated.
In the end I just don’t want to sit through another off season where the Mets are forced below the Major Market Poverty Line ($100 Mil Payroll).
I’m with you, Dan. I just want to win, and win consistently. I’d like to have owners who share that desire, but apparently that’s a pipe dream. If the Mets cam win in spite of the Wilpons, I’d love it — it would be a bigger miracle than ’69, but I’d love it!