The Crane Pool Forum

THAT'S ALMORA!
Newsday, April 26, 2021.
Winner of Round 1.09
Winner of Round 3.02
Winner of Round 4.01




LET'S FINALLY GET MAD
New York Daily News, August 10, 2021.
Winner of Round 1.18
Winner of Round 3.08
Winner of Round 4.04

This matchup here is the real final.

Upset brewing.

I was totally on the fence here (no pun intended), thinking from the beginning that my vote could swing the match, and right now, my vote is swinging the match. I may change my position before the day is done.

Don't change your mind, Edgy!

I like both of 'em, but I expected a landslide here

Let’s Finally Get Mad would sell papers if back pages still did that. It would drive conversation, too.
That’s Almora would look very nice framed in Albert Jr.’s rumpus room. I hope he got a copy.

If you’re looking for a veritable work of art, that’s That’s Almora.
If you’re looking for your tabloid to lay on the line what the hell’s going on with the Mets — a team whose kneejerk “we’re staying positive” response to its deepening futility illustrated the frustration of a season slowly slipping away — LFGM.

Almora’s back page deftly captures a fleeting April moment that otherwise goes completely forgotten in the course of the season (from a player whose only other highlight was getting hurt not making a similar play).
LFGM takes me back to what I felt building for weeks in 2021 and articulated it. BAM! There haven’t been many back pages since we’ve been doing this that grabbed the zeitgeist by the throat and splashed it on the newsstand for all to see. This one did just that.

Mission accomplished, Daily News. Ya did what I theoretically lay down my quarter for.

Everything that Greg likes about LFGM is why I hate it. There's an entire sports news industry out there committed to the idea that we all most be absolutely FURIOUS and OUTRAGED and just plain ANGRY about sports all the time. The cover is the equivalent of a split-screen on Sports Center where six different middle-aged white guys in six different places are each yelling louder and louder than the other to prove that they are they are the most virulently ANGRY. Because if you're not constantly ANGRY and OUTRAGED, you don't really care do you? I don't think its healthy and its certainly not what draws me to sports. I'll take the fleeting moment of beauty in Almora's catch any time, although there were a number of better covers that were eliminated earlier while the LFGM RAGE MACHINE chugged it's way into the semifinals.

Not all the time, just when merited.

You 2 each make strong arguments
I'm going with the one that better encapsulates the mayhem of the season

Almora all the way. That's a thing of beauty. There's enough pissed off ugly rage in this country that I refuse to vote for, in any voting of any sort.

It's interesting that some of us have different interpretations about what makes the best cover, either the moment itself or what the moment represents. I voted for the Almora cover which tells you my opinion.

I'm with Greg on this one. I like how LFGM represents the overall tone of the season. It got my vote.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ↑Thu Feb 03, 2022 9:40 am I'm with Greg on this one. I like how LFGM represents the overall tone of the season. It got my vote.

Conflict of interest!

It is funny that THAT'S ALMORA! represents its story almost perfectly, but in doing so, represented a moment that represented almost nothing more than itself.

That said, the Mets were in "A Different Hero Every Day" mode, and while that's almost always an unsustainable mode, it's almost always a gas to see your team in it.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: ↑Thu Feb 03, 2022 9:40 am I'm with Greg on this one. I like how LFGM represents the overall tone of the season. It got my vote.

Yup.

Ok. Truth be told. That’s a really nice photo of Almora. And it relates to the Mets 2021 season about as much as our Christmas card.

For those who interpret this contest as casting votes for covers that are more representative of the season, then why is "Squirrel" trouncing "Frantastic" in the other semi-final match? If we're doing this, and we don't have to (to me, it's about the cover itself and not the significance of the cover), the McNeil cover is akin to "Almora" as it's a great cover from a great game that meant nothing in the scheme of things. "Frantastic" is meaningful to the season (and Mets history) as it was from the day that Steve gave Lindor a long-term contract.

I saw FRANTASTIC and assumed it was about Fran Healy so I panicked and voted against it.

Almora

Frayed Knot wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 11:48 am I saw FRANTASTIC and assumed it was about Fran Healy so I panicked and voted against it.

Oh I would have voted for Fran, hubba hubba!