The Best Day of the Year

I just got the last of the puke out of my mouth.

As happy as the return of Entourage and The Sopranos make a Sip, spending too much time with Janice from the Sopranos and that tattoo on her breast can make the healthiest of men get sick.

I'm good now though. Before I get going let me give a hearty Y2K congrats to my good pal Kenny From Camp for his writing credit last night on Entourage. The kid is sharp and making his moves. I am happy to ride his coat tail. We're going to the top pal. California City, Summer '08.

I had last night and today on my calendar for a very long time.

This will me my 12th consecutive opening day. The first was 1996. My parents let me take the day off from school (a tradition I will pass down to Sip III one day) to go watch the Mets take on Andy Benes and the Cardinals. It was me and my buddy Jawn, and then my brother and his pals from 1996's Hunter High School.

There was a ton of buzz in New York at the time. The Mets had a slick fielding SS named Rey Ordonez who was going to change the way fans watched baseball. Defense would bring us to the stadium, and if every day was that opening day, then maybe the forecasters would have been right.

On the other side of town, the Yankees were unveiling their new pretty boy SS, a guy named Derek Jeter.

Looks like we got the short end of that stick.

That day remains a favorite of my life. It was pouring and Shea became a ghost town. By about the 4th inning I would say there were 5000 people in the stadium, AFOMG and the Hound included. The Mets went down at least 6 runs only to come back and win the game. I don't remember much about the game, other than the weather and when my buddy Jawn didn't make it on the subway that we raced to after the game.

But we all remember Rey Rey's throw from his knees on the left field line. Our star was born. Our SS position would be set for years.

NEW METS!

So here we are today. I'm 11 years older, a foot taller, 70 lbs heavier and about three steps slower. I'm pretty sure that I'm the only person in the world, who could run a 6 minute mile as a 12 year old who would have a heart attack at the thought of breaking 7 minutes now.

Oh well.

Opening day is my favorite day of the year.

It's 6 months since I have been at my favorite place in the world and the name sake for my future bull dog, Shea.

Not all of my favorites are going to make it to Shea, apparently this whole work thing is causing a bit of problem. But still, opening day at Shea is my ultimate escape.

I forget about all the things in the world and I just sit there with some of my best friends and watch the team that we have watched for almost a quarter of a century.

I get the B.O.A.F.O.M.G special in the 4th inning that I do at all Mets games. It's the hot dog, pretzel, soda (has to be a paper cup) combo. AFOMG's brother was a role model of mine growing up and I take this tradition very seriously.

I sit there, I talk baseball, I watch baseball and then I reminisce. I don't know how many games that I have been to in my life. Somewhere between 300-500 is a safe guess. But I do know that some of my best moments have taken place at Shea Stadium.

My brother's 12th birthday at Shea. I was 8 and we packed two cars to watch Kevin McReynolds lead the Mets to a 10-0 shutout. K Mac hit a grand slam which to me was the coolest thing in the world. In my wood working class I made a baseball bat and signed it with a faux McReynolds signature. It was a sad day when I found out that he was a huge prick.

Opening day 1996. Game 6, NLCS 1999. June 30th, 2000.

There are so many more.

But it is one of those things where I can say that I know where I was when for some pretty great moments of my childhood.

I love Shea Stadium and opening day is the first time you can go there in 6 months. Thats' too much time to not see an old friend.

Like Red in Shawshank, I miss my friend.

Hope that all of you that can't make it out to the ballpark today can make it out with me at some point this week.

If not, when I am running the Mets in 2014, give me a shout and I'll hook you up with some tickets.

Vaya con dios,

Sip

(Pics courtesy of movienetwork.com, nyc24.com, ballparks.com)