Hear me!

 

They are selling the seats from Shea, as soon as the season is over.

 

I want to know something is this the last stadium in America that is named to honor someone?

 

The new stadium will be called Citifield, to honor Citibank. 

 

That should be enough for those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about to find out.

 

And if you are back from your googling, this is my plan.  I plan to buy three sets of two seats each (that will cost less than $2,700), then I’m going to build a platform of steps in my living room to put the seats on, so there will be three levels, and no one’s head will get in the way of anyone else’s.  I’m going to bolt the seats to the floor and to the platform and get a big screen TV to watch all Mets games from these seats.

 

Then I will paint on the walls a rendition of Shea and a sea of orange hats as if its orange hat day at Shea.  And on the ceiling I’m going to paint sky and a big airplane flying low as it takes off from LaGuardia.  Then I’m going to create a music file of planes taking off, and I’m going to play it on repeat while the game is on.

 

I’ll open the windows and cook Kahn's hot dogs, and then I’ll cry. (Ralph Kiner how could you let this happen!)

 

Goodbye Shea.  If the Mets get into the playoffs this year, I promise to come see you one last time.  We are the same age, you know.  I hope this doesn’t usher in my end as well.  It shouldn’t, not as long as I have your seats.

Getting my son interested in baseball.

I’m not a big fan of forcing my kids into things that I like.  So I don’t necessarily care if my son doesn’t like baseball – or rather I stand on principal that I shouldn’t force it, whether it bothers me or not.  The truth is, I like baseball because my father did, and he showed his enthusiasm which was contagious.  I, on the other hand, left the small town (NYC) where our team plays, and have since neglected what used to be a fanatic interest.  And so, my kids just don’t get to see it.  Nevertheless my oldest daughter is interested when its on, and if she didn’t believe it was too late to get started (she’s only 12), I think she would want to play (softball). 

My son, who is only 7, resists everything, and so its hard to tell what he would like.  I don’t want to let him do nothing, so I do force him into things, and overhearing him tell someone recently that he liked baseball better than soccer, we decided to sign him up for more baseball.  He does nothing but complain about having to go to practice, why do we always sign him up for things that he hates, etc. 

Last night we got invited to go to a Braves game, and so I decided that he could miss his own practice, in an attempt, by attending a game, to foster some enthusiasm, and his coach concurred.

I bought him a souvenir baseball for $9!!!.  I bought a program because I thought scoring the game might keep me (and him) focused on what was happening (they have a lot of distractions at the games nowadays.  As if baseball wasn't enough - times have changed).  In my day you could buy a score card cheep and separately from a “year book”, but not anymore – now you have to buy the “program” for $7!!! Just to get the scorecard that is an insert). 

It was $1 hotdog night.  Me:

“How much is a hotdog?”
“One dollar.”
“How much is a hamburger.”
“$13.95” (or some such thing).
“I’ll take a hotdog.”

And then later I bought him a huge amount of ice cream in an upside down mini baseball helmet.

And between all of this spending, I tried hard to make him see the game while he instead wanted to climb around the seats and not pay attention.

“Did you see that catch?”

“It’s two strikes, one more and we change sides again.”

“It’s ok to yell and make a lot of noise as long as you’re rooting for a team!”

“Look, that guy is a lefty, like Walt” (his friend)

“See how that guy waves his bat around?”

“You should try to look like that guy when you hit.”

It was hard work. 

And it made me wonder why I was doing it.

I’ll tell you, I think its like Church.

I know a lot of people who grew up going to church, then stopped, and then when they had kids they went to church again.  Why?  I think its because they want their kids to have the same foundation as they had. 

I didn’t grow up going to church, so I have no need to do that for my kids, but I did grow up in the church of the Mets, and I do feel like I wish they had a little of that.  Only I have fallen down on the job because I didn’t go back to baseball once I had them. 

Anyway, we get home.

“How was it?” my wife asks.
“hmm.”
“He didn’t have fun?”
“Oh he had lots of fun, he just didn’t pay much attention to the game.”
“Hey MOM!” he calls from the other room.
“What?”
“The Braves won!”
“Who were they playing?”
“I don’t know.”

It’s a start.