From Shea
Stadium chapter:
The fan-friendly effort worked, as the Mets outdrew the Yankees in each of the
first 12 years of Shea’s existence, even though the Yankees were a winning team
and the Mets were usually awful. From the beginning, it was clear that Shea
would draw an entirely different different species of fan from Yankee Stadium.
Mets fans were younger, wilder, and louder. They didn’t mind the deeafening roar
of jets landing on nearby runways, which quickly became a signature of the park.
Willing to root for loevable losers, the fans filled the stands with colorful
banners , and home-made signs saluting their heroes, another Shea signature
which eventually spread to other sporting venues throughout the nation.
From the Polo Grounds chapter:
The rotting hulk was no more attractive nor fan-friendly than it had been when
the Giants took flight, but it did give the tremendosuly popular Mets their
start. For two season, the lucky National Leaguers competed with the ghosts of
baseball greats gone by, surrounded by flickering memories of the sublime games
that had played out on its greenswad.
From the Citi Field chapter:
The other Shea remnant that made the pilgrimage to Citi Field was its gang of
feral cats. Since the early days of Shea stadium, between 20 and 40 stray cats
had made the ballpark their home at any given time, according to an estimate by
a local feline rescue group. The Mets took them to shelters whenever they were
able to capture them, but the stadium’s cat population nonetheless sustained
itself. Questions about whether the cats would migrate to Citi Field were
answered during the new stadium’s very first regular-season game, when an orange
tabby jumped onto the field and dashed past startled on-deck batter David
Wright. Play was briefly interrupted before play the cat scampered back in the
stands. It was an apt metaphor. Eternally in the shadow of the Yankees, the Mets
are still the stray cats of New York baseball, spanking-new stadium or not.
(Above excerpts from Big League Ballparks were written by other authors of the
book. They know what they’re talking about.)
$30 + s/h