Comments on: Prelude, Playoffs & Postscript

By: To Suffer Mets Gladly « Faith and Fear in Flushing

To Suffer Mets Gladly « Faith and Fear in Flushing — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:13:22 +0000

[...] 2006 and 1988. The holy-ish grails can do a nice job of distracting you, particularly if there are 1999-style dramatics or a couple of rounds of victories as there were in 2000 before the shadow of defeat eclipsed every [...]

By: Courtesy of Tank « Faith and Fear in Flushing

Courtesy of Tank « Faith and Fear in Flushing — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:36:36 +0000

[...] Who We Are … the Faith and Fear Demographics Prelude, Playoffs & Postscript [...]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:46:17 +0000

I was there…and I missed it.
SarahH and I met in February of '99. In the blink of an eye, I knew with as much certainty exists, that this was the woman I would spend the rest of my breathing days & nights with. I proposed informally after 8 weeks of dating. I proposed officially on August 6, 1999.
To be clear, I had no confidence in the 1999 Mets. None, whatsoever. I was still reeeling from the horrid end of '98 — I thought I'd seen the mother of all collapses, it's funny & quaint to think now. There was the year-long Valentine circus. Was '99 the year of Wharton-gate, or was that 2000? I can't remember. There was the “next 55″ pledge, the purge of the coaches, the Billy Taylor trade (GAAAAAAAAAAK!), the chaotic final week, the divine providence of beating up on the Pirates (it WAS a ball)… No confidence.
So later in August, when my mother-in-law to be scheduled an engagement party for us at her house, I was fairly certain I wouldn't have any other plans that day. “Sure,” sez I, “Go for it!”
In the interests of time and familial serenity, my Dad & I left Shea Stadium after the bottom of the 8th.
I can say no more…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:10:56 +0000

I have and will probably always consider this game the best I've ever attended (You know, at least until I witness a World Series Championship firshand). I will never forget what almost felt like an out-of-body experience when Pratt's HR cleared the fence.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:03:08 +0000

Yet another reason to miss the old ballpark: “Sheaola”. Brilliant!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:13:43 +0000

Will there ever be a better time to be a Mets fan than this stretch? Reading great articles (like this one) about the '99 Mets reminds me of Ron Howard's Apollo 13: I already know how it ends, yet I'm on the edge of my seat every time I'm waiting for it.
Some thoughts/memories…
1. My natural instinct tells me Fonzie's Game 1 Grand Slam lives in the Top 5 all-time Met home runs. Granted I haven't been around as long as some of you so I could be wrong, but I just know that I've seen very few home runs that were bigger in my lifetime. Call me crazy, but I think it's bigger than Pratt's. That statement makes no logical sense, I know, but there was something in the air during Game 4 where I knew the Mets were going to win eventually, so while the home run was thrilling, I kind of knew that it–or something like it–was coming.
Fonzie's grand slam? Holy shit. After homering in Cincinnati and then earlier in the evening, I was thinking in the 9th, “there's no way he gets anything here. It would be asking too much of him. He's done enough already. Eh, maybe he'll get a single or something, but a grand slam is absolutely out of the question.”
And something about the Grand Slam that nobody ever talks about: HE FUCKING ANNIHILATED IT!!! Am I fucking seeing things or did it almost go OVER the foul pole?!
2. Getting home from college hours before Game 4 so I could dye my hair half blue and half orange.
3. Waiting on line at Shea for tickets to go on sale the following February, an appearance from Cookie Rojas sparked multiple “FAIR BALL, COOKIE!” shouts from the crowd. On my all-time Mets team, he's the third base coach. I still don't know why we got rid of him.
4. Random Game 4 10th inning memory: you know you're in a GREAT crowd when “Lets Go Mets” chants change to “JOHN-ny FRANC-co!!!”, and then after Franco's next 2 pitches land out of the strike zone the chant goes back to “Let's Go Mets!” If an entire section is that superstitious, you know all the phonies either went to the Bronx or stayed home.
What a time, man. What a time.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:41:16 +0000

Wow – that was epic!
I always love descriptions and accounts of the Pratt game. I missed it because I was stuck in the Rosemont Convention Center outside of Chicago at the time. I learned about the win on a commandeered laptop, and didn't find out the details until much later.
Thank you for the enlightenment, especially through the lens of your personal experience.