For Mets Fans Its A Winning Day At Shea

If you believe that Shea Stadium contains enough memories to fill a generation, well, maybe thats due to the fact that "the Big Shea" has been around for a couple of generations.
Shea Stadium, like the rest of the Worlds Fair grounds, turns 40 this week a longevity milestone that has arrived remarkably quickly, so say Shea Stadium event attendees. "Forty years old? It seems hard to believe. It seems to have arrived so quickly," said Alan Cohen, formerly of Forest Hills and a long-time Shea attendee. "It seems like just a few years ago, we were watching the Mets win the World Series in 1986. Its a clich, but time really does pass quickly."
Honors William Shea
As most New Yorkers know, Shea Stadium was named after attorney William A. Shea, a person who was instrumental in bringing a new National League baseball franchise to New York. When the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, after the end of the 1957 season, William Shea convinced Major League Baseball (MLB) that the city of New York could support a new National League franchise. MLB awarded one, and the Mets began play in 1962.
The club played its first two seasons under legendary manager Casey Stengel in the Giants old home in Manhattan, the Polo Grounds, then moved to Shea Stadium in 1964.
Shea Stadium and other facilities in Flushing Meadow Corona Park were constructed to accommodate the 1964-65 Worlds Fair, with Shea targeted for use by baseballs Mets, and later, footballs New York Jets after the end of the fair. Along with the unisphere, the Mercury/Gemini space program rocket replicas, Shea Stadium is one of the few physical remnants from the 1964 Fair. Furthermore, as music fans and others can attest to, Sheas memories include more than just sports contests.
John, Paul, George, & Ringo
For example, rock music fans are quick to point out that on Aug. 15, 1965, the earth seemed to stand still when The Beatles rock group played at Shea Stadium. More than 55,000 fans, comprised primarily of teenage females, heard "The Fab Four" belt out hit after hit heard, that is, when they werent screaming.
"My sister Sara was at the concert. I dont remember it, as I was only age 5, but Ive watched films of it," Cohen said. "My sister told me many times that she barely heard the Beatles play one song, because of all the screaming. It was one of those events that symbolized a generation and a period in time."
The Beatles concert at Shea Stadium represented the first time a band played in a large outdoor arena in the United States, ushering in the large stadium concert era in contemporary music.
Through the years, Mets fans may not have screamed as loud as The Beatles fans did on that August day in 1965, but they have seen more than their share of magical moments. Of course, high on the list are the Mets two World Championships, in 1969 the "Miracle Mets" year and 1986 a championship year led by stars Gary Carter, Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. Further, although the Mets have developed a reputation for being "lovable losers" and have not won nearly as many World Series as their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees, their sub-par years have not diminished the enjoyable experience that is a day and a ballgame at Shea.
"I think maybe because its a more open, amphitheater stadium, or perhaps because more families attend Mets games than Yankees games, Shea Stadium has always had a friendly, warmer atmosphere," said Carl Bauer, a lifelong Mets fan who has attended Mets game at Shea for more than 30 years. "Banner Day is a good example. Fans get to parade across the field with their banners. The Mets have had down years, no question. But I think other fans would agree that a sunny, warm day in June or July at Shea Stadium is just a very pleasant, leisurely afternoon. It certainly forms many of my happiest memories as a child."
Broadway Joe
Further, as Jets football fans know, Shea Stadium had more than its share of exciting football moments. Without question, the Jets 1969 season undoubtedly ranks the highest among Jets fans. Led by quarterback Joe Namath, the Jets won the American Football League championship and defeated the heavily favored NFL champion Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Throughout his career, Namaths strong arm and charisma catapulted the Jets to "Toast of New York" status, and made attending a Jets game at Shea Stadium in the late 1960s / early 1970s one of trendiest social events in town.
"Jets games were always events and they were also a tough ticket to get," Cohen said, adding that "the Jets may draw more fans to their new home, Giants Stadium, but they rarely match the excitement of Jets games at Shea."
Also, because of its location, near LaGuardia Airport and by the Flushing Bay, Shea Stadium has been affected by its surrounding neighborhood like few other stadiums in the United States. Of course, most notable for fans is the sound of passenger jets taking off from LaGuardia: when the wind conditions are right, the jets fly almost directly over Shea Stadium. The second involves damp air: the moist air by the bay makes it harder to hit home runs, particularly at night.
"Then there was the wind," Cohen added. "In the winter, that cooling summer breeze became frigid during football games. Sitting in the upper deck at Shea in December was not for the weak. You dressed warmly, or you left."
Papal Visit;
Whither Shea?
Shea Stadium also hosted a visit by the Roman Catholic Churchs Pope John Paul II, who celebrated a Mass on the field in 1979.
Now 40 years old, Shea Stadium is "beginning to show a little bit of its age," Cohen noted. Constructed during an era when public officials wanted stadiums to serve both baseball and football clients, multipurpose stadiums like Shea have given way in many cities to the architectural worlds new retro-design stadiums, also known as postmodern designs. The postmodern parks capture the grand, traditional design of older parks while incorporating new technological features, and amenities, like vast food concourses, club seating, and baby-changing rooms.
Further, with New Yorks campaign to secure the 2012 Worlds Fair, and some of Sheas dated facilities, some have argued that Shea should be demolished and replaced with a new Olympic venue, which could also serve as a new home for the Mets after the Olympic Games. Others, including the Mets management, have called for the construction of a postmodern park resembling Ebbets Field, on the Flushing site next to Shea, which would become a new parking garage after the new field is built. Then there are those, including Bauer, who will find it hard to leave Shea Stadium, if officials choose to build a new stadium in Queens.
"Shea Stadium has been the site of some incredible memories, so it would be hard to see it replaced," Bauer said. "But you have to recognize that societys needs change, and the Mets may want a new park. But if they do build a new park, they must build it right, because few things can top a Saturday afternoon at Shea."