I'm Disgusted Too, But My Goal Remains The Same

by Darren Meenan June 30, 2019 0 Comments

I’ve been doing what I do for 11 seasons now. Making Mets stuff, and putting together fun experiences for fans that are in to the group aspect of The 7 Line Army. That’s been the goal. If you like the stuff, buy it. If you don’t, that’s cool too. Luckily for me, Mets fans are one of the most passionate fan bases in all of sports, and a lot of you have supported The 7 Line in one way or another since 2009.

After building up the brand for the first 5 seasons, I caught the attention of the league, and inked a licensing deal in 2014. Now, some Mets fans and T7L fans misconstrue what this means. A licensing deal does not mean I am an employee of the Mets, nor do they pay me. That’s not what a licensing agreement is. What it is, however, is a business decision I made after the 2013 season that took The 7 Line to the next level.

That decision has allowed me to pursue my passion full time, financially support my wife and daughter, and expand T7L and our "Army" to a size I never dreamed possible. Just like each and every one of you - I’m disgusted with the losing, I’m deeply disappointed that the moves made this offseason have backfired, and I don’t always agree with the philosophy or strategy ownership puts in place.

I understand the Mets fan base is angry, and in turn many of these fans feel like T7L has grown to a point where we are now obligated to create t-shirts or slogans that bash the franchise. You may also feel like T7L is large enough and influential enough that we should be attacking the organization. But think about it. The very reason we have grown this large and this influential is because of the licensing agreements we made with MLB and the relationships we established with the team.

I cannot jeopardize our entire operation...I cannot jeopardize my entire livelihood and my family’s future... As I said, I am just as disgusted with the performance of this team, but if you expect me to still be that same brash, loud mouth idiot from 11 years ago now that we have an entire company and an "Army's" reputation to uphold, that's just not happening.

If you don’t want to spend money on this or that because of your distaste for the team, or distaste for the way I run this company, do you. Not trying to change anyone’s mind here. If you think I’m going to throw it all away now because the team is severely underperforming, you’re just ignorant.

I totally get the fans displeasure, and I’m right there with you, but my goal remains the same. To provide Mets fans with merchandise and fan experiences to make rooting for this baseball team as fun as it can be. That means making it bearable when they are losing like this season, and that means making it unforgettable when they are winning like in 2015.

See ya at Citi, or not. That’s cool too.