In order to understand the psyche of the New York sports fan, one needs to be familiar with the psyche of the New Yorker in general. We live and die by the phrase, "You’re only as good as your last performance." It’s a genetics thing; we New Yorkers are impatient by nature. When we get what we want, we’re as happy as a lark. But the second our satisfaction level decreases, we tend to get a little moody. We’re big city folk, we’re just always in a rush and we want things now, now, now! When we don’t get the things we desire in a prompt fashion, we get cranky. So for those of you who aren’t from the Big Apple, don’t take it personally. It’s just the way we’ve been raised, we don’t know any different. Now how does that apply to being a New York sports fan, in particular, a New York Mets fan…
Last Saturday morning, we woke up with our team riding an 8-game win streak, we just got finished pulverizing the despised rival Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night, and were the top dog in the division. Everything was going wonderfully. As a result, all of us – myself especially included – felt like the team was finally hitting their stride, finally turning that corner, finally shedding that "loser" tag that’s been stuck with us ever since the 2006 NLCS concluded. Well, then Saturday’s game arrived. And ever since then, all of the positive vibes and big dreams that surrounded the team and its fanbase have completely evaporated. Remember! In New York, you’re only as good as your last performance. And what does the Mets latest performance look like? A 1-4 mark over their past 5 games (2-4 on the road trip overall), and a fall from first place in the process.
This 2-4 road trip was a complete representation of all that is wrong with the New York Mets. Number 1, they’re a completely inconsistent team. But more importantly number 2, they are 100% unable to close things out. They are completely incompetent when it comes to putting the finishing touches on things. They just can’t do it. We arrive in Philadelphia, win the first game in dominating fashion with dreams of a potential sweep of the Phils in their own ballpark, and what happens? Our top 2 starters are completely ineffective over the next 2 games, and we drop the series while being outscored 21-5 over both Saturday and Sunday.
