Irish Night At Shea

I spent an enjoyable evening at Shea Stadium last night. It was Irish Night, with a celebration of Irish culture. There were Irish dances and Irish music on the field to entertain the fans before the game. It is an annual event, and I was there for it a couple of years ago, too. I was also there with my aunt, a few cousins and friends.

The beginning of the game was centered around the Mets lead, courtesy of a Carlos Beltran homer, and the game that newly-recalled pitcher Oliver Perez was pitching. He did not allow a hit for the first four innings, but walked four. It all came apart on him in the fifth as he allowed a grand slam to Ryan Howard. He's having some amazing year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him win NL MVP. The question now is will he hit more home runs than David Ortiz. As I write this, they both lead their respective leagues with 46 home runs each.

The Mets rallied for two runs in the sixth and seven more in the seventh, and they coasted into an 11-5 win. In the section over from us, there was a group of Phillies fans that had most of the section to themselves. They were feeling pretty good about themselves after Howard's slam, one of them even mocking the Mets fans in the area. But once the Mets bats got going, the Mets fans around them let the Phillies rooters have it good.

Chants of "14 Up" (the Mets NL East lead), and "Playoffs" filled the air. But then it got more personal as the Mets lead grew larger: "Philly Sucks" and then a really vicious one got going, "Cheesesteaks Suck!"

I just watched a great Mets comeback, and saw the Yankees lose in Anaheim from the scoreboard updates. Then I headed to Professor Thom's to watch the Red Sox game from Seattle. I was feeling good, but the hat trick was just not meant to be.

It was a good night to be a Mets fan, and to be of Irish descent (I think it is every day). But if you like the Phillies and/or Philly cheesesteaks, you've certainly had better nights in your life than at Shea Stadium on Saturday.