It's cliché, but you never really appreciate something until it's gone. I always thought I appreciated Shea, but seeing photos like this remind me that I should've done more somehow to soak it in.
Great job by Greg Goodman (@adventuresofagoodman) to capture this moment on the ramps. There are some ramps at Citi, but it's not the same. Not sure what it was exactly, but it'll never be duplicated. The echos, banging the aluminum signs, cheering LGM, high-fiving people as you round the corner... I loved it all.
Check out Greg's ODE TO SHEA STADIUM.
Maybe it was the way that last game ended. Getting your heart ripped out again on the final day of the season wasn't the way I envisioned my "Shea Goodbye" moment. It would have never been a happy occasion to let the old ballpark go, but watching the on-field ceremony afterwards was like attending a wake, and I couldn't wait to get out of there.
Side note: As far as ceremonies go, it was nice, but should've taken place before the game when everyone was still fired up. I guess you wouldn't have gotten that Piazza/Seaver moment, closing the outfield fence together, but whatever.
I wish I didn't rush, and I regret it. I probably hit 60 games in 2008, and not really sure how I could have done more to appreciate Shea's last season. Maybe there was no way to do more, and we all feel this way. I don't know what I'd do differently, but I wish I could have just one more game.
We'll be spending Opening Weekend in Houston! Hopefully you'll be one of the 1,300 Mets fans kicking the season off with us in Texas! The Astros didn't have enough availability to fit us for Opening Day, so we locked up 1,300 tickets to game 2 of the season on March 29th.
Darren Meenan
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