Its Time To Know "When To Say When" With Tributes
In Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, the Danny Aiello character owned a pizzeria in an African-American neighborhood. When a local customer asked him why he "didn't have any pictures of brothers on the wall", Aiello boldly replied - "This is MY pizzeria. When you get your own pizzeria then you can hang your own pictures..."
That's how I feel when I go to Citi Field - the new home of the New York Mets.
There is very little to remind us that this is the home of the Mets, and wayyy too many reminders that Fred Wilpon - the Mets' owner - was a huge Brooklyn Dodger fan.
The exterior motif is strikingly resemblant to that of the Dodgers' beloved Brooklyn home - Ebbets Field. The main entrance even houses a facsimile of the Ebbets Field rotunda. To take Freddy's blast-into-the-past fantasy one step further, the rotunda is a living, breathing tribute to Dodger Hall-of-Famer Jackie Robinson.
Hey, I think the place looks great. I love it. But I have a few problems....
First, the Mets have been around for 48 years. This is THEIR ballpark. The city did not agree to let Wilpon bulid a Brooklyn Dodger museum, they agreed to build a new ballpark for the Mets. Yet, I see nothing that says 'Mets' anywhere, except on the face of that stupid Home Run Apple in center field.
There is nothing commemorating the lovable '62 Mets, the Miracle Mets of 1969 and the World Championship team of 1986. No pictures of Tommie Agee, Bud Harrelson, Tug McGraw, Jerry Koosman, Ron Swoboda, Jerry Grote, Cleon Jones, Rusty Staub, John Milner, Jon Matlack, Lee Mazzilli, Mookie Wilson, Wally Backman, Lenny Dykstra, David Cone, Howard Johnson, Jesse Orosco, Robin Ventura, Edgardo Alfonso, Gary Carter or Ron Darling.
There is no statue of The Franchise - Tom Seaver. There is no sign of four other great Mets players that MUST have their numbers retired - and soon: Dwight Gooden (16), Darryl Strawberry (18), Keith Hernandez (17) and Mike Piazza (31). What the hell are the Mets waiting for? God knows they made Freddy plenty of dough over the years.
There is also no sign that the two longest-serving Mets - Ed Kranepool and John Franco - ever played an inning in Flushing.
Second, the Dodgers were only one-half of the National League's presence in New York. The New York Giants played for nearly 60 years in the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan. Their history matches - and even surpasses - the Dodgers when it comes to success. They won 15 NL pennants and 5 World Series where as the Dodgers won 12 pennants and only 1 World Series. Plus, the Giants were the team that inserted the dagger into the hearts of Dodger fans in 1951.
Yet, Fred Wilpon has completely ignored the New York Giants. There is nothing in Citi Field to honor their memory, either. There might be an upside-down Bobby Thompson jersey in some storage room or a plaque of Willie Mays in one of the upper-deck men's rooms - I haven't checked......My father was a NY Giants fan. He is now a Mets fan. I am going with him to Citi Field at the end of the month. He will not be pleased with the Dodger-esque style, I'm sure.
Now, for Robinson. To start, let me say I know more baseball and American history than most of the general population. I know the significance of Jackie Robinson's feat, its origins and its legacy. I know what he means to many Americans. I agree there should be a Jackie Robinson Day - which is today, by the way. I like the fact that his number is universally retired, but to be fair to him and all the other players before and since, I believe we need to temper our praise of Robinson.
There is no need for this rotunda to be named in his honor. It has only been done so to appease the fantasies of the Mets owner. Jackie Robinson did not play for the Mets. Anyone that knows baseball history agrees that Robinson has been treated fairly and rightly placed in the pantheon of American heroes.
We don't need to be continuously told. We got it.
Now get some Mets markings up in Citi Field and retire those numbers!!!!
Original Story:
http://www.ddmetsfanblog.com/2009/04/...
