Mets baseball 9/21/2001
I watched a Mets Classic game today.
You know the story. I've retold it several times here in this blog, and I am far from alone.
Mets vs. Braves at Shea Stadium on 9/21/2001.
The first game after 9/11.
A sold-out game, many in the crowd wearing red,white and blue as well as Mets' blue and orange.
All the first responders on the field. The Mets wearing caps that read "NYPD" or "FDNY". The color guard accompanied by bagpipes.
Diana Ross sang "God Bless America".
Marc Anthony sang the national anthem.
Everyone liked Rudy Giuliani. The ultimate Yankee fan was warmly welcomed to Shea.
The Mets and Braves hugged.
Ralph Kiner was in the Fox broadcast booth along with Fran Healy and Howie Rose. They talked about how the Mets were involved in the relief efforts.
The game began, Chipper Jones came to bat, and was soundly booed by the crowd. Things felt almost normal. (There are cardboard cutouts of Jones and his son Shea in the stands at Citi Field this year.)
Seventh inning stretch time, and Liza Minelli sang "New York, New York".
And then, in the bottom of the 8th inning, with the Mets trailing the Braves by a score of 1-2, Shea magic happened. Future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza came to bat.
This is such a strange year in many ways. And still 9/11 feels like not that long ago.
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