Staying With This Team Through Thick And Thin: A Review Of Mathematically Alive, A Story Of Fandom

A few years ago I heard about an interesting documentary about devout Mets fans like myself. My first thought was INTERVIEW MEEEEEEEEE! But my second thought was WHERE CAN I SEE THIS FILM?

Luckily for me I knew someone who knew the filmmaker and VOILA- I now own the DVD.

The interviews in Mathematically Alive - A Story of Fandom were conducted by filmmakers Joseph Coburn and Katherine Foronjy during the 2005-2006 seasons when it seemed like the Mets were going to take it all the way. And boy oh boy what an emotional time that was for myself and all Mets fans around the world! Throughout the award-winning film (it won Best Documentary at the 2007 New Jersey Film Festival), Coburn and Foronjy encounter die-hard collectors, fans who travel to away games, fans that wait by the players' entrance to speak to their favorite player and a shrink to help explain the insanity of it all.



"We are very social creatures," explains Dr. Daniel Wann, sports psychologist at Murray State University, "and it's very important to us to identify with something larger than the self." Dr. Wann also added that with social aspects of life like family and attending religious institutions on the decline, it only makes sense that sports has crept in to fill that void for many. And trust that no fans are as tightly knit as Mets fans... we're each others' support systems in the bad times and each others' cheerleaders in the good.

Not only did I find this documentary hella-informative, I must recommend it to one and all if for no other reason than to experience the CRAZINESS that is a real, true-orange-and-blue New York Mets fan. For example:

• The collectors who devote entire rooms in their homes to Mets memorabilia
• The guy in Port St. Lucie that painted his house blue and orange
• The chick who dumped her sister's ashes in left field at Shea Stadium
• The ladies that followed Mike Piazza EVERYWHERE he went (in their defense they weren't technically stalkers; most times it was Piazza inviting them!)
• The dude who has the Mets logo ON HIS TOOTH and named his son SEAVER... #iCan't

The film also includes such gems like the guy who exclaimed, "We'd rather be Republicans than Yankee fans," and the other who, after the Mets tanked in the playoffs versus the Cardinals in 2006, said he'd need counseling in the off-season. I cannot make this stuff up!

Dr. Wann makes it a point to say that many of these fans are addicted to their teams similar to how a junkie is addicted to crack. I mean, he didn't use those terms but that's what he was getting at. I think he's right, especially with regards to Mets fan. What else can explain our allegiance to a team that lets us down more often than not? Hell- I'm not afraid to admit it: I'm Jaded and I'm addicted to the New York Mets! But I'm not going to rehab so don't even bother...

Back to the documentary... one thing I noticed that was rather troubling, was how even the super devout fanatics began to doubt and poo-poo the team as soon as they performed poorly. After Game 3 against the Cardinals the interviewees were already walking away defeated. IT WAS ONLY GAME THREE- why the long face???

See, this is why we lose! All these "fans" sending their bad juju to the team at the first sign of disappointment. Someone even said, "Even when we're winning I'm always waiting for someone to knock us down." FOR REAL, THO? Girl, BYE! We don't need your kind fucking it up for the team... can you believe this mess?

*deep cleansing breaths*

All in all I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary (even though the players' faces had to be scrambled out of the shots!) and would recommend it to anyone who loves the Mets, loves sports and enjoys watching crazy fans act, well, crazy!

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Mathematically Alive - A Story of Fandom (2007). Directed and produced by Joseph Coburn & Katherine Foronjy. Now available on DVD. Photos courtesy of the filmmakers.

The Newest Met: Hisanori Takahashi

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to an absolute welcomed addition to the Mets bullpen family, Mr. Hisanori Takahashi of Japan. The 35yr-old pitcher (#47) was signed to a minor league contract by the Mets in February, but his spring training performance quickly earned him a spot as a starter (especially since that knucklehead Oliver Perez got DEEE-moted!).

In his earlier career, Takahashi pitched in college and in Japan's Industrial League before landing a spot in the Nippon Professional League in 2000 for the Yomiuri Giants. He remained there until 2009 when he became an international free agent, scouted by teams like the Giants, Dodgers and Red Sox, but TOO BAD, SO SAD, we nabbed him!

So far, Takahashi has been doing the damn thing on the mound. In his 17 appearances (two starts), Takahashi has 4 wins and only one loss, a 2.13 ERA and 44 strikeouts.

This is pretty impressive considering he was not doing as well in Japan. Listen, whatever it is that's making him perform better *coughDRUGScough* I really don't care as long as he keeps those batters at bay. Is that wrong of me? Ask me if I care. WE NEED A CHAMPIONSHIP, DAMMIT!

Besides, it's nice to see some new talent on the mound; Santana can't do it all, and he's still recovering from his surgery. Takahashi- you have the Jaded Seal of Approval; BIENVENIDOS!!!

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MetsWatch '10: W25-L23-GB2
Next game: 5/28/10 VS. MIL @ Miller Park, Johan Santana (#57, 4-2 for the season) pitching

The Mets' Fan Guide To Enjoying The Subway Series

Ever since 1997 when interleague play was made a part of the regular baseball season, baseball fans in NYC have had the pleasure of watching their beloved Yankees and Mets go head-to-head at least six times per season. For me it is both invigorating- just the thought of being able to say IN YO' FACE to a Yankee fan pumps me up- and exasperating- knowing deep down inside that the cards will most likely be in favor of those Bronx dudes.

But that's okay, because part of being a Mets fan is having that child-like hope and wonder and anticipation and FAITH in our Amazin' team. Win or lose, we're there for them.

I have a certain ritual for watching the Subway Series these days, just to save myself the agita of dealing with those obnoxious Yankee fans (because lets face it- no one os MORE obnoxious than a Yankee fan) and figured I'd do my fellow Mets' peeps a solid and share the tricks of the trade:

1- Ignore the previous years' stats. SO WHAT if the Yankees have won significantly more of these interleague games than the Mets have. Who cares? Just keep telling yourself: This is the year we will knock them on their ass.

2- Try and forget the 2000 World Series. Don't let this psych you out of your zone. Think only GOOD THOUGHTS during the game or you'll f*ck it up for the whole team!

3- DO NOT WATCH WITH A YANKEE FAN. Or in the Bronx. They will ruin the whole experience for you with their taunting and pointing and laughing, and next thing you know you've been arrested for manslaughter because that idiot in the Jeter jersey would not shut the hell up.

4- Choose a Mets-friendly establishment. Try some of the new places in and around Citifield, or Bobby V's Bar & Grill at the Ramada Inn in Corona. I also hear that Mudville9 in Manhattan, Ann Reilley's in Flushing and Mooney's in Brooklyn cater to our ilk, too.

5- Join a Mets fan Meetup Group. I used to be a member of meetup.com and one of the groups I joined right away was the Mets one. They got together on a regular to watch the games together decked out in full team colors from head-to-toe. It truly felt like home!

If none of these tickle your fancy then please, invite some Mets-friendly folk over to your house, queue up the 1,000" flat-panel plasma, put out the chips n salsa and enjoy the victories from the comfort of your sofa. Just please don't forget to send me your address; I make a killer pasta salad :)

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May Series: 5/21-23 at Citifield
June Series: 6/18-20 at Yankee Stadium
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MetsWatch '10: W19-L22-GB6
Next game: 5/20/10 VS. WSH @ Nationals Park, John Maine (#33, 1-3 for the season) pitching

Jaded Takes On...Fencing!!

Last year, after Eb the Celeb scolded me for ONLY writing about baseball, I conceived an ambitious little project in my mind. I thought, "Wouldn't it be a HOOT if I recorded myself playing different sports?" seeing as I'm SUCH a couch potato.

Well, six months later, the first in a series of "webisodes" featuring yours truly tackling a world of athletes is ready to be released.

And here it is:




Jaded Takes On...Fencing from The Jaded NYer on Vimeo.


I want to thank my good friend Elisheba for arranging the lesson with her son Samuel, Samuel for being such a great coach, and my film crew Video Vixon and Joshen Reborn for making me look good.

It was one of the funnest things I've ever done, and I can't wait to film the next one!!
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MetsWatch '10: W7-L9-GB3.5
Next game: 4/23/10 VS. ATL @ CitiField, John Maine (#33, 0-1 for the season) pitching

New Season, New Headaches, But I'm Still A Fan: LET'S GO, METS!!

Hello my dears, your favorite Mets' fan is back to cry all over your monitor over another year of rooting for the mismanaged ballplayers that call themselves the New York Mets.

Don't get me wrong- I always go into a new season with pom-poms in hand, sporting my team colors & fitted, full of hope and wonder...and then I watch a game and end up crying myself to sleep.

But no, no, no, I won't let the current last-place-standing-ass-shitty-record-ALREADY Mets get me down. Lets be real fans. Lets be upbeat.

The season opener at home was AWESOME. Johan pitched a lovely one. He was looking healthy there; the arm was doing well. We won that game against the Marlins... 7 to 1. Then Florida came back and beat us in the next game after an extra inning, 7 to 6. And then again the next game, 3 to 1.

I was beginning to see a pattern. AGAIN.

Then Pelfrey came on the scene on April 9th and we beat the Washington Nationals, 8 to 2. However the pattern re-emerged: Perez lost the following game versus the Nationals (4-3) and my Sweet Baboo Johan allowed four freakin runs in the first inning in the final game against Washington. We lost that one 5 to 2.

You know what makes me nervous about that pattern? Once my boys get into a losing streak/habit, it's so hard for them to break out of it. I don't know if it's the coaching or management, given that they're not BAD ballplayers, but there's something keeping them from being great *coughJERRY MANUELcough* *coughOMAR MINAYAcough* Because they proceeded to lose ANOTHER two games in the three-game series against Colorado. It really was more than my heart could take so early in the season. I usually save the Calgon for September.

And as exciting as that 20-inning win against the Cardinals was, it still doesn't take away from the fact that we are in LAST PLACE in the NL East. LAST PLACE. All I can think is, "There's no place to go but up..." because honestly what else am I going to do? I'm a Mets' fan, for better or worse. I ride or die for them, take much heat from Yankee fans for them, end up disappointed season after season for them.

And all these heart-aches and cringe-worthy losses will make our next World Series victory that much sweeter. Guess who's going to THAT parade?!?
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MetsWatch '10: W5-L8-GB3.5
Next game: 4/20/10 VS. CHC @ CitiField, Mike Pelfrey (#34, 2-0 for the season) pitching

Pre-Season Quickie: The Day Omar Minaya & I Agreed On Something

I know, I know, just reading that headline made you want to run towards the nearest house of worship and repent for all your wrong-doing but relax- I still despise the Mets' GM Omar Minaya with all of my being. However, he and I just saw eye to eye on a little matter known as prospective relief pitcher Jenrry Mejia.

The 20-year-old Dominican minor leaguer recently closed out an exhibition game against the Marlins that impressed the hell out of manager Jerry Manuel, so much so that he's thinking of adding him to the spring rosters alongside closer Francisco Rodriguez. Now I'm all for adding more quality players to the line-up, especially pitchers, but, um, one good game does not a major-league player make. Maybe Manuel needs to take a chill pill, as my generation used to say.

Minaya's response to all the hoopla is to have Mejia start in Double-A Binghampton in the spring instead and god help me, I agree. Let the boy hone his skills some more, improve his game, all that mess. THEN bring him on to play with the big boys. In his short career so far, Mejia has played in over 40 games, had 10 at-bats and scored NO RUNS. No. Runs. As a pitcher, he's had 11 wins and 11 losses, with a career ERA of 2.91, which is pretty good, but he's not consistent. I'm gonna need more consistency from Mejia before I buy his jersey.

So yes, Minaya, I agree with you- send him back to Binghampton but keep a close watch. If he's doing the damn thing then, hell, bring him on in June or July to close out games. Just not right now. Not yet. He needs more practice.

In other news, Mejia is a certified Hottie McHotterton.



That is all.

The Jackie Robinson Museum: NYC's Version Of A Baseball Hall Of Fame

As a baseball fanatic, one of the items on my To-Do list is to bask in the glory of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. But seeing as being a freelance writer seems to require me to live in poverty, Cooperstown is on the back burner for now. Luckily for me, the Jackie Robinson Foundation is set to open The Jackie Robinson Museum in Lower Manhattan- just a subway ride away.

According to the proposed museum's brochure,

The Jackie Robinson Museum will commemorate the life and legacy of a true American hero through an exploration of his commitment to service and to the achievement of "first class citizenship" for all Americans. It will be a prominent stop on existing cultural routes in New York City and environs, and as a venue for lectures, concerts and receptions. It will serve as a forum for debate and discussion reflecting the ways in which we as a society also can progress through an understanding that one life can make a difference.

In essence this cultural center will not only serve as a tribute to Mr. Robinson and his achievements on the baseball diamond, but also take it a step further and become a platform for social discourse through the example of his humanitarian efforts.

According to reps from the Jackie Robinson Foundation, the museum has a tentative opening date of mid- to- late 2010 and hope to make a huge announcement real soon. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out the artist's rendering of the museum, it's mission statement and all the beautiful exhibits, etc, they plan to make available to the public.

Click here for more information on the Jackie Robinson Museum.

In other news, we are officially 32 days away from the Mets' Opening Day...the butterflies in my stomach are acting more like piranhas. We need a great season so badly...but that's a story for another day!

Johan Is Ready, Are You?

These days I've been deleting any and all emails I receive from Mets.com. You could say I'm more than a tad bit bitter about the 2009 season, I don't care.

But this morning an email from them contained the magic words that made me jump off the couch and log onto my computer: "Greetings From Johan Santana..." YESSSSSSSSS!!

The email included a video link with a message from my beloved from Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the team has their mini-camp. (click on the link to see how much my boo bear's English has improved!)

And then on the commute into work, I see a great action shot of Santana on the back of the Post. Have I died and gone to heaven? Could it be true? His injuries will not keep him from shittin on hos during the 2010 season?

On September 1st, Johan underwent surgery on his elbow- to remove some goddamn BONE CHIPS (WTF?)- and I know I was not alone in my fears that he would be out for a lot of the 2010 games if not the whole season. Whenever these players go under the knife, especially so late in the season, you just never know what's going to come of it.

But after throwing 24 pitches on the mound at the mini-camp without incident, Santana declared himself ready for spring training. "The ball was coming out pretty good," he stated in the Post article. "I don't feel anything in my arm, so I think everything should be alright."

Can it be? Will it be? I want a championship win for the Mets and Santana and myself so bad I can TASTE IT. This news has been the first light at the end of the dreary, gloomy Mets Fan Tunnel that I've seen in months.

Is it really OK to put on my Optimism Cap and exhale now?

And the winner ...

... of the "No Shit Sherlock Award" of the year goes to *drum roll* Mark McGwire.
Seriously, when you saw the footage of his interview, did anyone say "OMG, I can't believe it!" I'll answer that, hell no, you didn't.
I'm really, the dude kept telling the same lie for more than a decade that he wasn't taking steroids. I'm not saying we believed it, but he told the same lie. That's how you're supposed to lie. You tell a lie until YOU believe it!
When dude said he wasn't on anything, baseball fans all over the world collectively turned their heads and hit McGwire with a "C'mon, Son." Just look at the pictures over the years.
Here, you see McGwire with Jose Canseco who admitted in his book, "Juiced" that he introduced ol' boy to the juice and even injected him with it. Now, if you look at them both now, it's obvious these dudes were on something besides carbs and weightlifting.
Granted when you're younger, your metabolism is faster and it is easier for you to keep your weight down. When you get older and particularly playing a game as slow as baseball, one can expect to gain a bit of weight. They may even beef up. But you don't expect them to gain their own body weight in muscle.
McGwire went from being a skinny kid to having a tree stump or a neck. Dude straight looks like if you would decapitate him, you could count the rings to determine his age.
Now there's this huge outrage because he finally came clean. McGwire coming clean about steroid use is like Rosie O'Donnell coming out of the closet. We knew, we just didn't want to talk about it because nobody gave a crap. Nobody still does. If you notice the newscasters, they are straight glossing over the story.
"In sports today, Mark McGwire is FINALLY coming clean about his steroid use ..."
*smh* Not that your big scary ass was ever in danger of going to Cooperstown, this will ensure that your ass ain't even welcome there. I don't care that he used "performance enhancing drugs," I'm pissed that he tried to insult my intelligence.
Hell, performance enhancing drugs should be the cornerstone of any professional sport. I said this last year. I'll be damned if I spend my hard earned money to see you play a mediocre game. I can go to the nearest high school and watch that.
You'd better be trying to enhance your performance, hell, for $47.50, you'd better show me some shit I ain't never seen before. I wanna see you hit a grand slam every time you step up to the plate. Dammit, I wanna see you make a triple play by your damn self! Something!

He's sorry ...