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What's all the booing about?

metirish Jul 23 2006 06:08 PM

Wally Matthews has some thoughts on Mets fans. ] What's booing about? July 23, 2006 The Mets might be running away with the NL East, but they still have a long way to go before they catch the Yankees. The Yankees have 26 world championships, the Mets two. The Yankees have retired 15 numbers, the Mets three, and two of those Mets were managers, And one was an ex-Yankee manager who won seven of those Yankees championships. But there is one category in which the Mets are about to pull even with the Yankees: fan arrogance. It began on Opening Day, when Carlos Beltran was booed for producing less than expected last season. At other times, Mets fans have booed Kaz Matsui (well-deserved), Victor Zambrano (understandable but misdirected) and Billy Wagner (goes with his territory). But when the crowd at yesterday's Mets-Astros game booed Orlando Hernandez as he left the mound after a first inning in which he allowed home runs to Lance Berkman and Preston Wilson, it plumbed new depths of stupidity. It seemed even more stupid six innings later, when they were cheering El Duque, who wound up giving them the kind of game they will need to play deep into October. But even if he hadn't, what is there to boo about at Shea Stadium these days? Going into yesterday, the Mets had a 13-game lead over their nearest competitors, the Braves and the Phillies. Their 58-38 record was the best in the National League, and better than all but three teams in the American. Better even than the Yankees. This team is enjoying its best season in two decades, as the Mets continually, and perhaps unwittingly, remind everyone with their silly "celebration" of the 1986 Mets, the last Mets team to win a world championship. Up in the Bronx, of course, such a thing would not be a cause for celebration, but of mass firings. Who ever heard of going 20 years without a World Series share? By comparison, Mets fans have been remarkably patient, even docile. Not anymore. Right now, Shea Stadium should supplant Disneyland as "the happiest place on Earth." Instead, it is like the Roman Colosseum when the Christians are winning. Or Yankee Stadium when the Yankees are losing. Here was an essentially meaningless game, less than 15 minutes old, and the starting pitcher who is likely to be an important person in this town come October, was being booed after one inning of work as if he were still a Yankee. "Who? They boo for me?" El Duque said, wide-eyed, when asked after the game for his reaction. "Well, congratulations to the fans. That was a good thing for them." Even in his second language, there was no missing the sarcasm. What more can these people want? Granted, with the price of tickets to baseball games these days, there are no more casual days at the ballpark. The Amazin' Mets, losers of 120 games in 120 comical ways, were cute and funny in 1962. They would need bodyguards to leave the park today. That's what happens when a ballgame costs as much as a night at the opera. Yet, there is something disturbing about a fan base with such a sense of entitlement that anything less than total domination of the opponent from the first pitch is greeted with anger and scorn. That is the kind of thing we have come to expect at Yankee Stadium, where fans are spoiled by the history of excellence and whose sense of entitlement still runs second to that of the owner, George Steinbrenner. It's annoying but at some level understandable. But at industrial, noisy, smelly Shea Stadium, with all the charm of the garbage dump it was built on and the chop shops it rubs up against, it boggles the imagination. This might well be the Mets' year, but so far this team, as the manager, the GM and most of the players are quick to point out, hasn't won anything yet. They are so far ahead that no one game will make a difference in the standings, nor will any one week. Everything they do from this point on is best viewed through the prism of October, which is where they are headed for one of the comparatively few times in their 44-year history. For the fans, this should be a time to be savored, not agonized over. This is the team they should be celebrating, not the team that won so long ago the films have turned sepia. So far, the 2006 Mets have been a pretty good ride, with plenty of reason to think it will get even better. What is there to boo about? "I don't think they were booing [Duque], I think they were booing what was going on," Wagner said. "They're just competitive, I guess. They expect you to win every inning." Instead, they have to endure the hardship of winning only two out of every three games.

KC Jul 23 2006 06:28 PM

WM: >>>industrial, noisy, smelly Shea Stadium, with all the charm of the garbage dump it was built on and the chop shops it rubs up against, it boggles the imagination<<< Shea smells worse than Yankee Stadium? I don't think so.

Zvon Jul 23 2006 06:39 PM

See---I dont think these fans they are referring to are really fans of the Mets, or the game. They may think they are, but they are not. Because they dont know what it means to support your players and team. They only know they have been givin a name by the media, what they may wrongly construe as a sense of celebrity. "Boo-Birds." IMO they are for the birds. Hope they all fly south early this year.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 23 2006 06:57 PM

Wally Matthews can go f--k himself. He's an agenda-driven troll.

KC Jul 23 2006 07:00 PM

He reads this board, and while I don't echo the sentiment exactly -- i cer- tainly slap his head with a fist full of wet noodles.

Nymr83 Jul 23 2006 07:21 PM

]Shea smells worse than Yankee Stadium? I don't think so. ever been inside, or even near, a yankee stadium bathroom, especially in the bleachers? that place smells like a latrine at a scout camp. ]The Mets might be running away with the NL East, but they still have a long way to go before they catch the Yankees. catch the yankees? are they in the NL now? are we fighting them for homefield? no? ok, nevermind then. ]The Yankees have 26 world championships, the Mets two. The Yankees have retired 15 numbers, the Mets three, and two of those Mets were managers, And one was an ex-Yankee manager who won seven of those Yankees championships. only frontrunners who call themselves fans care. also, if george ran the mets they'd have retired Koosman, Kingman, Strwaberry, Gooden, Carter, Hernandez, and god knows who else. ] But there is one category in which the Mets are about to pull even with the Yankees: fan arrogance. we aren't even close, maybe if we win this year the bandwagoners will come on board and give us the same bad rep they gave yankee fans after '96, but i doubt that even then they'll be AS bad.

seawolf17 Jul 23 2006 07:28 PM

What Scarlet said. And newspapers wonder why I don't subscribe.

metirish Jul 23 2006 07:31 PM

I think a lot of these feature writers for the local papers get pissed when the MFY's are on the road, I'm sure Wally would rather be in the Bronx writing about Jeter than having to write about the stinking Mets.

Frayed Knot Jul 23 2006 07:36 PM

I pretty much agree with Mathews here. He's painting with too broad a brush - as do most articles that purport to describe what one type of fan is like tend to do - but he's not wrong in that there's a certain pct of fans who spend their time actively looking for targets (things/players/situations) for their venting.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 23 2006 07:39 PM

I base my impression of Wally Matthews (I do not care whether he reads this board or not. If he can't handle the truth, f--k him!) based on a hatchet job he did on Turk Wendell (yes - Turk is one of my personal favorites, so I'm not necessarily objective. But, then again, a hatchet job is a hatchet job) back around 2001 accusing Turk of racism based on the fact that Turk expressed surprise at the time that Danny Almonte (before we knew about his real age), a player on the Little League championship team from the Bronx, didn't speak English. It was bullshit. It was agenda-driven. And it was flat-out wrong. After that pile of nonsense, I do not give credence to anything that Wally reports.

metirish Jul 23 2006 07:41 PM

I agree with Wally that booing Hernandez was stupid, I felt that when watching the game.

ScarletKnight41 Jul 23 2006 07:49 PM

In searching the old pool for Wallly Matthews stuff, I actually found something which shows that he's not beyond showing integrity on occasion - [url]http://p079.ezboard.com/fthecranepoolforumfrm11.showMessage?topicID=140.topic[/url]

metirish Jul 23 2006 07:54 PM

I like Edgy DC's reply........

Edgy DC Jul 23 2006 08:33 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 23 2006 08:35 PM

Zvon wrote: See---I dont think these fans they are referring to are really fans of the Mets, or the game. They may think they are, but they are not. Because they dont know what it means to support your players and team. They only know they have been givin a name by the media, what they may wrongly construe as a sense of celebrity. "Boo-Birds." IMO they are for the birds. Hope they all fly south early this year. Well, how do you discourage them from beating up on my team and embarassing me?

SteveJRogers Jul 23 2006 08:34 PM

]This team is enjoying its best season in two decades, as the Mets continually, and perhaps unwittingly, remind everyone with their silly "celebration" of the 1986 Mets, the last Mets team to win a world championship. Up in the Bronx, of course, such a thing would not be a cause for celebration, but of mass firings. Who ever heard of going 20 years without a World Series share? Gee I remember a nice celebration of 10 year anniversary of the great '78 comeback. Ditto 20th and I do believe the 25th anniversary was duly noted and celebrated. Difference is the Yankees have an organized OTG to channel the celebratory pomp and circumstance. Sure the 61 and 62 teams were highlighted at such dates prior to 76 as well What the Mets should give a big F'U to those players and fans who would grumble (and there have been quite vocal about a lack of connection with that era as prior to last few years the connect was more the 1960's) about a lack of celebration? Matthews would be first in line if the Mets decided to do nothing this year in celebration, especially considering how the Mets have treated the 1969 team over the years

A Boy Named Seo Jul 23 2006 09:02 PM

Bring back the cranes.

Zvon Jul 23 2006 10:30 PM

Edgy DC wrote: Well, how do you discourage them from beating up on my team and embarassing me? Good question. Personally Id start by everytime I hear an innappropriate boo (there are appropriate times to boo, even boo your team), leaping out of my seat and chanting LETS GO METS at the top of my lungs. Its hard to ignore em, so I say drown em out.

silverdsl Jul 24 2006 07:17 AM

="Frayed Knot"]I pretty much agree with Mathews here. He's painting with too broad a brush - as do most articles that purport to describe what one type of fan is like tend to do - but he's not wrong in that there's a certain pct of fans who spend their time actively looking for targets (things/players/situations) for their venting. I agree. I find it a little disturbing sometimes that there seems to be a segment of fans, in all sports, who take more enjoyment out of booing and hating players on their own team that they supposedly are a fan of, than they seem to in cheering for their team or the players on the team. I understand why some fans feel the need to boo, but it seems to me that as the years go on, fans are a lot quicker to boo than they ever were.

Benjamin Grimm Jul 24 2006 07:17 AM

Who does Wally Matthews write for? I don't think I've ever heard of him. (I thought he was an actor or a character on Leave it to Beaver.)

metirish Jul 24 2006 07:21 AM

Wally writes for Newsday, used to write for the Post and the NY Sun.

Willets Point Jul 24 2006 07:24 AM

What's all the booing about? Perhaps some insights here: Boo! Booooooooooo! Hisss!!! You Bum! We could start a whole booing sub-forum.

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 08:57 AM

The stuff we put together in those threads as a forum is much more comprehensive and meaningful than any blurb that Klapisch could hope to write. I doubt there will ever be a new way of viewing the "boo or not to boo" argument, for either side, that hasn't already been discussed here.