Great piece! I am 'long-suffering' due to the futility of all of the teams I support, with the very recent exception of Liverpool Football Club. But it fascinates me how different clubs deal with it in different way (and admittedly tough to compare across different sports). In the English football context, there was a sense of momentum that built over time--new owners, the right manager, key players...there was a sense of hope and almost inevitability. I even look at the Islanders and see a general sense of enthusiasm and energy--again, new arena, new manager, key acquisitions. But the Mets are a different vibe. Yes, the new owner has come in but I don't get the sense that the fans have much faith in the front office (both because they all seem to be horrible humans and because of their decision-making), the manager, or even the players. That distrust also has historical dimensions because it is as much an ongoing saga that dates back 30+ years as it is a yearly or seasonal affliction. I don't think it needs to be this way or that it will stay this way, necessarily. But Cohen and Co. will need to put their stamp on the team to undo the sense of hopelessness that pervades so much of Mets fandom. If it happens it will be slow and incremental. Not that we the fans are going anywhere of course!
I feel like I'm one of the more optimistic Mets fans out there, but even I stopped watching them in early August. I knew they needed to beat the Marlins and the Phillies going into that big west coast swing, and then they were shut out by Wheeler. I was actually in the car for the whole thing, and that game was brutal. Not because Wheeler isn't good, but the Mets never showed up after losing the previous 3 games. Figured that was about it for the team, even though they were still technically over .500.
How'd they lose the fight? Easy to blame the pitching (Walker should have been rested, for one) but the lineup construction was poor, the on field decisions were questionable, and the hitting was abysmal. This team is not yet built for success, and the first half turned out to be a mirage. The coaching staff (maybe excepting the pitching coaches) all need to go along with the entire front office, the day after the World Series.
Great piece! I am 'long-suffering' due to the futility of all of the teams I support, with the very recent exception of Liverpool Football Club. But it fascinates me how different clubs deal with it in different way (and admittedly tough to compare across different sports). In the English football context, there was a sense of momentum that built over time--new owners, the right manager, key players...there was a sense of hope and almost inevitability. I even look at the Islanders and see a general sense of enthusiasm and energy--again, new arena, new manager, key acquisitions. But the Mets are a different vibe. Yes, the new owner has come in but I don't get the sense that the fans have much faith in the front office (both because they all seem to be horrible humans and because of their decision-making), the manager, or even the players. That distrust also has historical dimensions because it is as much an ongoing saga that dates back 30+ years as it is a yearly or seasonal affliction. I don't think it needs to be this way or that it will stay this way, necessarily. But Cohen and Co. will need to put their stamp on the team to undo the sense of hopelessness that pervades so much of Mets fandom. If it happens it will be slow and incremental. Not that we the fans are going anywhere of course!
I feel like I'm one of the more optimistic Mets fans out there, but even I stopped watching them in early August. I knew they needed to beat the Marlins and the Phillies going into that big west coast swing, and then they were shut out by Wheeler. I was actually in the car for the whole thing, and that game was brutal. Not because Wheeler isn't good, but the Mets never showed up after losing the previous 3 games. Figured that was about it for the team, even though they were still technically over .500.
How'd they lose the fight? Easy to blame the pitching (Walker should have been rested, for one) but the lineup construction was poor, the on field decisions were questionable, and the hitting was abysmal. This team is not yet built for success, and the first half turned out to be a mirage. The coaching staff (maybe excepting the pitching coaches) all need to go along with the entire front office, the day after the World Series.