This was a bittersweet day for NY Mets fans as Shea Stadium, opened in 1964, was torn down to make way for shiny, new Citi Field. I grew up with Shea and loved it as much as any inanimate object not named GI Joe, right down to the Home Run Apple (which, if you don't know, is a large apple that came out of a top hat when a Met hit a home run -- silly, but it was our silly, second only to "Bernie Brewer" sliding into a giant stein of beer in Milwaukee).
Of course, I didn't realize how brutally ugly Shea was until I started seeing other ballparks around the country. And boy, was it ugly, with the deafening sound of planes taking off and landing at nearby LaGuardia throughout every game.
But it was the magical place where I got to witness Doc Gooden chalk up 16 K's, the inaugural interleague game against the Red Sox, and even the Police in concert with REM opening for them.
So, I will miss you Shea Stadium, warts and all.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Going, going...gone
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3 comments:
Um, Vets Stadium in Philly was fuglier.
That may be, but it wasn't OUR fugly. I think what bugged me most about Shea was the overwhelming preponderance of the color orange. I hate orange. It's only acceptable on oranges.
Hear hear. Still, I was more appalled the other night when I watched some big basketball game (don't ask me who played, I was just along for the ride) and the stadium was named after a check-cashing joint. Yeesh. No wonder the aliens are dropping stuff on us.
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