(Sunday Paper, Year VII, Issue 42)

Well, they did it again.

Or, more accurately I guess, they didn’t do it again.

The Mets brought me yet more heartache last week, losing in the Wild Card round of the playoffs in one of the more disappointing endings to a season….and there have been plenty.

I actually had the thought this week, “What if I just stopped following baseball?”

I could do it - plenty of people do.

I would be so much happier - or, at least, I wouldn’t get so sad when the season comes to an unsatisfying ending.

But I decided that just wouldn’t be me.

If I had to pinpoint my Mets fandom, I would say 1985. (A little league coach put me in catcher’s gear, told me I looked like Gary Carter, and - boom - I had a favorite player and a favorite team.)

That great 1985 team came up just short of the playoffs because a Cardinals team was slightly better in the regular season. There was no wild card back then…but I wish 7-year-old me had been a little more in tune with the fact that this was a harbinger of things to come.

Instead, I fell even more in love with the 1986 version of the team - the one that produced the best season in team history and won the World Series.

Since then, it’s been a few flashes of brilliance…but no World Series championships to show for them. Hardly any World Series appearances, in fact.

For those keeping score, that’s a total of 38 seasons I’ve been a Mets fan - 37 of which ended in disappointment.

Sometimes that disappointment comes in October, like this year. More often it’s in the middle of the summer, or early September.

I know there are fans who have suffered longer - whether that’s with the Mets or a team that hasn’t won in many more years…but I can only speak for myself.

This year felt different…at least, for the first five months. Something changed in the last month and it landed with a thud. One hit in an elimination game isn’t what you want to see as a fan.

Its very frustrating - mostly because it is something over which I have no control.

That’s one of the nice things about my running - at least I don’t have to worry about anyone else.

Just me.

And - back to baseball - all I can think about is how hard it is to get through a regular season and make the playoffs. At least for the Mets it is rare - there’s no guarantee they’ll get back to this point.

I’ve handled this disappointment better than other seasons - maybe it’s because you could feel it coming for a month.

But why, you might be wondering (if you’re not a sports fan), would I subject myself to this year after year? Why don’t I just stop following baseball?

I really did think about it. It might bring me peace of mind.

But I have a bond with the Mets unlike anything else in my life.

I can’t say I love the Mets more than certain people in my life.

But I have definitely loved them for longer.

They’re a part of me that I don’t think I can separate myself from.

And…besides…this time…I don’t know it feels different.

Maybe next year will be the year.

What I’ve Been Enjoying

“Coal Miner’s Daughter” - Loretta Lynn
“Room On Fire” - The Strokes
“Show Your Bones” - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Ocean’s Eleven
Brave
The Silence of the Lambs
Fantastic Four
Up In The Air

Lots of horror found its way into the algorithm this week. Not sure if it’s because of Silence of the Lambs or just because of Halloween…but I think I need to clear the palette a little and watch something comedy-ish.

Also, been watching a lot of George Clooney lately. Good actor.

Notes

*This week’s title is borrowed from a song by The Strokes - the lead singer is a Mets fan and he wrote that song after the Mets lost the 2016 wild card game. It’s on the band’s most recent album, and if it sounds familiar to you, I did mention it a year ago after it was used at the end of the Netflix Mets documentary.

*The blow gets softened just a little bit by the fun start to the season the Jets are having. A fun team to watch - never have I seen the Jets have multiple impactful rookies on offense (and defense…though that’s slightly more common) as they have in Breece Hall and my new favorite Jet, Garrett Wilson. Hopefully they keep it up. The Jets have never broken my heart, so they’re unlikely to disappoint me this year! (Eye roll emoji)

*While I was looking for a picture that would work for this post, I found that one at the top from a game in 2019 and figured it would work. But I also found the picture at the right, which made me laugh. It was from that game, in August of 2019. Back on my birthday in 2018, when Kathy invited a bunch of people to a Mets game for my 40th, she was supposed to have a birthday message for me but it didn’t make it to the board. So they offered us a makeup message and we thought it would be funny to put my brother up there. It was.

*There’s also a great picture from this game from like the 12th or 13th inning of a game that went, I think, 14? It’s my brother with his head down just hoping the game would end already. Also funny.

*I really did get over this Mets playoff loss pretty quickly. I think, like I said earlier, it helped that the Mets gave indications things would go south this past month. Running has helped. And I coped by not watching any baseball until Friday…and even then just a few innings at a time.

*I told you Atlanta couldn’t keep up that pace. I really don’t know who I’m rooting for the rest of the way…but it sure as heck won’t be Philadelphia.

*The social media links are below. Been posting pretty regularly at the running Instagram…and races are coming up quick so that’ll continue. Thanks for following along!