Not that I'm a huge fan of the Mets, but I'd be a fool to pass up a chance to watch a game when the stadium is just a stone's throw away and the $80 tickets are free! How did I get so lucky? I got friends with connections.Let's cut to the chase - it's the Mets vs. the Phillies. I 've no idea who the Phillies are, I can only tell them apart from the Mets by the color of their jerseys. Thanks to our friend Ces who used to be a die-hard Mets fan, I learned a few things today. First, that when a player on the Mets team hits a home run at Citi Field, the giant fiberglass apple rises from a 16-foot black top hat over the centerfield wall. And I thought the shiny red apple is just a New York fixture. Apparently this is a big deal to the fans. A petition was even signed in the fight to have the sweet home-run fruit moved to its new home at Citi Field after Shea was torn down.
Second, Ces said that the orange poles in the ball field are what they call foul poles. I knew that, but what I didn't know is that the term foul pole is a misnomer since they are in fair territory. Any batted ball that strikes the pole or its attached netting is a fair ball and is ruled a home run, and so forth and so on. I was totally confused I tuned her out after the first rule. So much for Foul 101 all I care about is for the home team to win.
The choices of eats are endless, the longest lines being at the Shake Shack concessions. We decided to join the crowd of carnivorous youngsters and some elders too who I suspect like us are doing this out of curiosity.But what a shock, the beverage list includes Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Holy cannoli, am I at the stadium? It turns out their burgers are overrated and don't measure up to the new kid on the block - Five Guys which has great burgers and perfect fries - Obama's pick.
So we took our seats section 139 near the left field and sat thru the third inning at which point the Mets hit a homer. The ceremonial red apple to my left rose out of hiding and the fans went nuts. And then there was the sounds of cow bells, more cow bells. Well, it's not the home run that gets the fans out of their seats - it's the apple! How weird New Yorkers are.
Bored and not quite pleased with our view (believe me we'd rather watch from the bleachers), we ventured and walked around the concourse and up to the Club level. Yup, I said Club, as in exclusive-to-fans-with-premium-seats lounge. We checked out the Promenade but stayed the rest of the game at the Caesar's Club lounging and watching from the big screens. The view from up there was stunning. The giant screen showing the ongoing match at the nearby Arthur Ashe Stadium was clearly visible. It's the men's finals too at the US Open.
After the home run there was little to cheer about but we stayed till finish. As usual the Mets scored lots of runs early, held the lead for some time then lost. What else is new, it ultimately ends in bitter disappointment.But we can't turn our backs on them, we love New York, the Mets and its apple. We love it to its core.
One home run - it's the most work the poor red apple did today. And it was worth watching.
