A Little Canadian Never Hurt Anyone

This will be my first post to Southern Mets, and thus I want to take this time to thank the creator ..Drew-Man (That's right...I just gave him this nickname now, and from here on out will refer to him as such) for allowing me access into this great blog. I grew up in upstate NY (hour south of Montreal) in sub zero temperatures, frostbite, and snow measured by feet, not inches. The only thing that kept me warm through those winter months, was the thought of another Mets baseball season starting up, and with that, the hope of another championship run. I was only 7 when the Mets won in '86, but can remember sitting on the floor with my Dad (the original Mets Fan in the family), and my Mom (possibly the biggest fan in the house), watching the games unfold. Through my 29 years on earth, the one constant for me has always been optimism, sure there are plenty of awful moments I could speak about, like the full count change up from Kenny Rogers to Andrew Jones, or the Sciosia HR that killed a team that should have won 3 or 4 titles, instead of just 1, or Armando Benitez (Enough said). But I would rather focus on the amazing moments this team has provided me over the years, like Game 6, Todd Pratt's HR that seemed to take forever to see if it was in Finley's glove or not, Ventura's Walk off grand slam single, The famous 10 run inning against the Braves, the leaping grab by Endy Chavez, and of course my favorite moment of all time, Piazza's HR against the Braves in the first game back after 9/11. Having lived in NY, and considered myself a New Yorker, I know how much that single moment meant to an entire city that was hurting bad. I will say that World Series is the only time that I have ever cheered for the Yankees to win, simply because of what it would have done to lift the spirits of the masses. I am a veteran of the organization, having worked there for over 3 years, while attending over 200+ games during that time frame. I can honestly say, some of the greatest sports moments of my life came while working at the stadium, and I for one am sad to see it go. I am very optimistic as all Mets fans should be going into 2009, knowing we have a solid infield (with the exception of 2B), a much much better bullpen, starters who should be able to go 7 inning's, and a team that hopefully has learned a lot about itself over the past 2 years. I will try to be the level headed one on this site, so that when the team goes on a 4 game losing streak, and Drew-Man is ready to throw in the towel and announce his countdown to the 2009 Cowboys season, I will be able to provide some insight into all things Mets. But first things first, as fans of the NY Mets, we should all ban together as one to cheer on the NY Giants this weekend against the hated Eagles...seriously do you need anymore reason to hate anything from that god for saken city!
- JDog