I hate the New York Mets. Back in 2006, 2007, and 2008, I would have called Jose Reyes just shy of a war criminal, I hated them so bad. Reyes, Beltran, Lo Duca, and Wright all were the enemy. As Santana and K-Rod and the whole group kept coming, I only hated them worse. They were an easy group to hate.
But damn, were those games fun.
I used to love the Mets games. I used to love their loathsome fans showing up in Philly. I loved going up to their park, and still do, but it's different. I remember yelling at my car radio in tight 9th inning games with them, and yelling at my laptop in my office on the last day of the 2007 season, with both games on each laptop. The rivalry we actually had then, not the made up wannabe rivalry with the Nationals today, was priceless. It was intense, but it was fun as a fan.
For this reason, I am thrilled to see the Mets sign Granderson to their largest contract in several years. I have literally no idea how he will do, but the hated Mets are spending money again, and coming out of an organizational coma again. With their young pitchers arriving, and apparently some money again, as well as the massive oncoming development at Willets Point, there's a shot that the Mets are on their way back.
I hope they are, actually. Sports are about rivalries, and while I hate the Mets, you can't have a rivalry with yourself, and New York is just less pathetic than DC. They're a long way away yet, and we may have a dark period oncoming, but the good news is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel again, and we could have some future big games with the Mets in the making, one can hope.
