Today is the first home game for the Mets, their Home Opener. They have 80 more home games this season, but the Opener's always a special occasion. Back in the 1980s I made it a ritual to skip class and head to Shea Stadium for Opening Day. During the early 80s they practically gave away tickets to Opening Day, but by 1986 it was a tough ticket.
Today is Shea's last Opener. April 2009 will see the grand opening of the contemptibly named CitiField, which promises to be a more pleasant (and expensive) experience. I'm sure I'll get to like it.
Met fans have mixed emotions about this because the Shea is not lovable other than it's ours. It's our home. We all have our own memories of our times in the ball park watching the Mets (I also saw the Jets there & the Beatles played there too). And, of course, we all remember the great and sometimes strange things happened there. A miracle occurred there in 1969.
The long good-bye starts this afternoon.
