Stampede

Refraining, for a moment, from commenting on the Mets' playoff chances, because I'm in law school and can't afford to wantonly pour my emotional energy into the black hole that is the 2008 season, here's a top-10 list of good things about the team's decision to choose my hometown Buffalo Bisons as their new Triple-A affiliate:

1) The Mets land a winner

The New Orleans Zephyrs were run by good enough folks, I suppose, but the Bisons are a first-class operation, through and through. They're owned by Robert Rich, a blue-collar industrialist, giving them their own stable financial foundation, and the team is staffed by independent professionals who've done this for years. It's the same core that was around when the team was an expansion contender back in 1993.

In other words, the Mets have a partner, not a lackey. In a similar vein ...

2) The Bisons have real fans ...

Back in the heady days of near-expansion, when Buffalo's downtown stadium was new and the envy of the entire minor leagues, not to mention several major league clubs, the Bisons set attendance records like they were going out of style. The first minor league team to break the million mark? Buffalo in 1988 and 1989 (1.1 million). The next year, they broke the million barrier again, drawing more fans than the Braves, Indians and Astros. Of the top 10 minor league attendance figures in history, the Bisons own eight.

There haven't been as many fans coming in recent years, as the city has continued to hemorrhage population and the novelty of the park has worn off, but the team was still No. 5 in the minors in attendance in 2007, second in the International League to only Louisville and their brand-spanking-new field. New Orleans was down there at No. 53, and they were never much higher. Norfolk sits at No. 26.

If there's a product on the field, the Bisons' fans will come.

3) ... and a real park

Now known as Dunn Tire Park, sited on a subway line in the center of the city, the Bisons' digs hold 19,500 paying citizens. The field's dimensions are a good fit for the new CitiField -- 325 down the lines and 404 to center. There's a screen up in left field, which will simulate the Mets' righty-punishing gaps.

4) This would be the park that hosts an annual chicken wing festival

Seriously, do you know of another minor league team that hosts the premier wing festival in the world? Let me make this simple -- you don't. You really don't. If you were ever wondering where Mo Vaughn went, well, he's here.

5) Buffalo is close to Queens

Closer than fucking Louisiana, anyways. It was weird enough that the team enjoying shuttling its players back and forth to Virginia for all those years. I live in Virginia, and believe you me, this place is nothing like New York. You don't even realize the Big Apple is on the map when you're down here. All you can think about is grits and burgesses and Robert E. Lee and so forth. Baseball -- especially frenetic, neurotic New York Mets-style baseball -- just isn't a consideration.

And New Orleans? With all due respect to the Metsies, the people of New Orleans had and have more important things to worry about than a baseball team located on the far side of the country. The Zephyrs ranked pretty low on the priority list, and rightly so. You can care about turning the double play, or you can care about the levees. Very often, you're not going to be able to care about both.

Buffalo, meanwhile, is a quick JetBlue hop out of JFK -- 45 minutes in the air. You're on the ground before you can say "Cleon Jones." Which reminds me ...

6) Cleon Jones used to play here

Did you know this shit? Neither did I. Apparently:

This will actually be the second time the Bisons have affiliated with the Mets. Buffalo was New York’s Triple- A team from 1963-65 at a time when the Mets franchise was in its infancy. Famous Mets legends like Cleon Jones, Ed Kranepool, Ron Swoboda and “Marvelous Marv” Throneberry were on those Buffalo teams.

I'll be snookered. Of course, back then, the team played at the ol' Rockpile, across the street from Cheddar Ben's high school, where "The Natural" was filmed. But that's a whole different story.

7) Buffalo sure knows how to make a girl feel welcome

Par-tay!

The Mets logo was on the Bisons Big Board in center field for cars to see as they drove down Oak Street. “Welcome NY Mets” read the line score and the theme song “Meet the Mets” was playing over the stadium loudspeakers.

Mr. Met, the team’s longtime baseball head logo, greeted officials as they headed into the stadium restaurant. On hand was was easily the biggest collection of baseball and political figures in the ballpark’s history.

Gov. David A. Paterson, County Executive Chris Collins and Mayor Byron Brown were on hand to greet the Mets, as were Erie County Legislature Chairwoman Lynn Marinelli and State Senator William Stachowski. So were Buffalo Sabres minority partner Larry Quinn and University at Buffalo Athletics Director Warde Manuel.

If the gov shows up, you know it's a big deal.

8) The Mets show some class ...

... by donating $25,000 to the Buffalo schools' high school baseball league. That's pretty sweet of them.

“I thought it was extraordinary that the first thing they did when they got to town was donate $25,000 for inner city baseball — it looks like they mean to stay for a while,” said Dave Thomas, athletics director for the Buffalo Public Schools. “I think it’s terrific, and we will put it to good use.”

Respect.

(Funny side note: I once got in a shoving match with Dave Thomas. The full story is unprintable, unfortunately, but let's just say the old coot got what was coming to him.)

9) Fanbase expansion

The cable systems in Western New York already run SNY. They also run YES. They also throw together regional broadcasts of Indians games, which makes sense given that they were the Bisons' previous major-league parent club. The closest major league franchise, of course, is located in Toronto, not more than two hours away. Closer than New York still is Pittsburgh, and even in their current anemic state the Pirates retain some holdover support from their days as the Bisons' parent club. The waters run deep, my friends.

Put another way, Western New York is a baseball toss-up territory, with no big-league club holding a monopoly on the populace's loyalty. The Mets are making a logical move into Buffalo, then, in staking a claim in a market where there's a claim to be made. Why not try to set yourself up as upstate's team, given that there's no natural reason for the Yankees to be supported other than inertia or idle preference?

10) Character

Forget all the other stuff. Yeah, the Bisons are a real business, with real-live support, and yeah, it makes strategic sense for the Mets to get their toehold into a new market, especially one that's pretty convenient to the airport. All that is good.

But beyond that, the Bisons have something most minor-league teams don't -- they've got history. They've got personality. They've got spirit. They've got heart, damn it.

This stuff goes back to the 1880s, when the Bisons were briefly in the National League and had superstars like Pud Galvin and HOFer Dan Brouthers on the payroll. They got into the upstart Federal League during World War I, led by the scumbag-in-chief Hal Chase. Reconstituted during the '70s, they quickly developed new traditions and legacies of their own.

The Bisons, ladies and gentlemen, aren't just your average bear. They're something more, and while that may or may not translate into more wins for the Mets, it amounts to a richer and more fulfilling overarching fan experience.

Well done.