I played volleyball last night and that meant talking to Jerry, the average Met fan. Jerry came up to me and said, "So, our big move is signing Roger Cedeno?" Obviously I corrected him on the Cedeno in question... but it didn't exactly make the Mets sound much better. Jerry is a Met fan, and he's loyal but he's never going to follow the minors or look 2 years down the road. While Jerry is a pretty mellow and rational guy, he is pretty adamant that the Mets would not be getting a dime of his money this year.Jerry is not wrong. The Mets ORGANIZATION do not deserve the loyalty and devotion we fans will be bringing. They watched as a fan favorite and the star of the franchise left town to go to a division rival, they signed some complimentary players and they improved the bullpen. I mean... if you aren't into the prospect potential... WHY ARE YOU WATCHING THE 2012 METS?
I won't talk about the Wilpons and I won't complain about Alderson and I won't even mention the fact that we gave away a prospect (YES, Fernando Martinez was STILL a prospect) to protect D.J. FRIGGIN' Carasco. I WILL SAY, that this is the kind of year where the Met Organization runs the risk of losing a good deal of those Average Fans.
What Do You All Think?
What Should The Average Fan Look Forward To in 2012?
8 comments:
2012 is a very simple year for the fans and a very exciting one for Mets blogs that target on the minor leagues.
IMO, fans will watch a championship team begin to form regardless of who owns or operates it.
A bunch of us here will write about it and we hope more will join us here.
Yes, but the "Average" fan doesn't follow the minors.
What should THEY watch?
Why should THEY buy tickets?
They won't watch or buy tickets to see a bad team. That's why their average, causal fans.
Thing is, it doesn't matter if the Mets lose those "fans" when the team stinks, because when they're good, they'll be back. Even if it isn't the same people, someone else will be a fan. It's how it works.
The Mysterious Man is PARTIALLY correct.
Casual fans who leave for other teams are "replaceable" but the issue of being the "OTHER" team in NY is a double-edged sword.
1) This is NY it's got TONS of media attention and TONS of people.
2) It's a lot easier for the Yankees to pick up casual fans.
Look at the NJ Devils. By all accounts the Devils have become a VERY succesful franchise. Unfortunately the team was placed into the center of an area that had already divided its loyalty to older franchises (Flyers & Rangers). Despite the fact the Devils have had an obnoxious amount of success since 1994 they still draw less fans etc...
The Mets have built their fan base since the 1960s and have an established core but this current ownership is SO abysmally revolting that I've spoken to fans who had been ardently pro-Mets who have said they'd rather root for the Yankees. The Mets cannot afford to have more than a single season below the NY poverty level. Bud Selig should force the sale of the Mets as soon as possible for the sake of the franchise's health.
The Wilpons are never going to be forced to sell until they can't make payroll. That won't happen until after they've sold the minority stakes, spent that money, continue to lose revenue, settle the Madoff case and finally be left with some lingering operating costs which includes the stadium payments. I have a feeling that they are sitting on a fortune of their own family money. Once they've established the amount that they'll be forced to fork over because of the Madoff case, they'll pay the bill and it might go back to business as usual. Right now, they just can't continue to spend millions on player payroll while still losing a bundle because those excess funds are needed to pay off the court settlement. If the settlement is reasonable(100million), they probably will remain the Mets' owners. The average fan probably isn't passionate enough to give two shits about all this. We're the ones who are pathetic enough to not only follow the Mets, but actually know almost every player in their farm system. We're not going anywhere and the others will be back as soon as the mets are contenders again.
@ Charles... we HOPE they'll be back
>> I've spoken to fans who had been ardently pro-Mets who have said they'd rather root for the Yankees. >>
That may well be the modern definition of “fan”—those whose self-esteem is measured by a seat on the bandwagon leading the parade. They take credit for the successes of others by claiming support—until those others struggle and then cast them aside lest they be associated with failure. This is not wisdom or sophistication, just transient hubris.
Sure, fantasy trades and face/palm reactions to managerial & FO decisions are all part of the fun, but this “If I can’t gloat, I won’t root,” philosophy is a sad evolution IMO.
It is sad
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