Citi Field Earned Its Stripes (So to Speak)
Yankees fans are notorious for proclaiming if and how a player has “earned his Yankees stripes.” It’s a bit ridiculous and it can get incredibly annoying to have a conversation with someone who insists a player on the level of Mark Texeiria wasn’t REALLY a Yankee until [insert appropriate Yankeeography episode title here] happened.
But… I get it. They want to feel like a guy is worthy of their support. They want everyone to know that they won’t blindly accept a player just because he is drawing a hefty paycheck from Yankee Baseball Industries & Merchandising Supply Co, Ltd.
Newsday’s David Lennon makes the case that Citi Field had its moment of Mets fan acceptance this past week, as the Mets steamrolled the Yankees and the Phillies:
I think it is fair to say, though, that the Mets new park has established its identity. Fans were rightfully upset last year when they noticed that the place looked nice and it had great food and all, but it just didn’t seem like home. The franchise did some improvements to address that, such as the Mets Hall of Fame and the Hodges and Stengel entrance and the banners depicting former Mets on the perimeter. [Citi Field finds its identity]
It’s an interesting theory and it makes perfect sense. Whether you think the Mets are now on their way to the postseason or not, you won’t forget this past week for a long time.
Whether you will now forget all of the negativity that has surrounded Citi Field up to this point is another story. But it seems like the Mets may have settled into their new home.
That being said, it really is a very nice park. I prefer it to the new yankee stadium, just seems to be bigger all over the place. Plus better parking, haha
And its not so much supply and demand, but look at some other teams. There are a lot of clubs who wouldn't even sell out if they made the playoffs, and their stadiums are practically empty during the regular season (Marlins/Nats/Rays, etc), so comparably the Mets do have a large and loyal fanbase. They also have a high payroll and a brand new stadium.
Hopefully that clarifies it a bit more.