Howdy all. So recently it has been stated in the Facebook group that us Mets fans utterly despise the timeless Neil Diamond classic "Sweet Caroline" (bah bah bahhhhh). Well, as Mets fans, we may like the song personally, but as our sing-a-long song at ballgames, it seems like a no go. I personally agree that it should not be our sing-a-long song, mainly because it is more associated with the Boston Red Sox and not the Mets (even though we used the song first, we also used "New York, New York" first for that matter…damn American League thieves). So while discussing this in the boards, we have discussed many replacement options for the fan sing-a-long. Being the resident music major of this group, I have decided to analyze all the legit suggestions in this very post, and determine what the new song should be. I am going to start with the existing song that we have.

"Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond: Alright so who doesn't like this song. Who doesn't like going "BAH BAH BAHHHHH" and "SO GOOD SO GOOD SO GOOD." I sure as hell don't. The problem is, this is a Red Sox song, and Red Sox fans have the IQ's of a piece of Atlantic driftwood. I don't know about you guys, but I do not want to be associated with Red Sox fans.

"Rock & Roll Part II" by Gary Glitter: There are two reasons why this song can take a long walk off of a short plank. The first being that every marching band this side of the Pacific plays this song at high school football games, and without that tuba part the song is useless. My second reasoning, well, Gary Glitter is a petterass.

"Highway To Hell" by AC/DC: This is an amazing song, and is personally one of my favorite tunes ever. The WWF (note the F and not the E) used it for SummerSlam a few years back; and it was awesome. It has a great chorus to sing too; if you are over the age of 18. I'm sure there are plenty of mothers who have a problem with their children talking about riding a highway to hell. That brings the highway to hell to a screeching halt.

"Livin' On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi: What could be better? The world's greatest 80's anthem, from the world's greatest 80's band. The chorus to this song is so soaring, and so monumental, and so epic. It's also very inspiring and the chorus is a great rallying cry. Plus they talk about diners, my favorite type of eatery.

"Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses: We are at a baseball game here, not trying to get some girl with super tall hair to marry one of us. Leave the power ballads at home.
PS: Slash is the man.

"Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard: Again we are at a baseball game, not a strip club. Nuff said.

"Don't Stop Believin" by Journey: This song like "Livin' On A Prayer" is a serious contender for a new sing-a-long. Every college student in the United States of American knows this song, and every one of his or her parents knows it also. I bet all of us have belted the chorus to this song drunk at some point and time in our lives. The word 'believe' has also been associated with the Mets for years. Plus, who doesn't like Journey. I mean not liking Journey is just cruel, wrong, and silly.

"Sweet Caroline" (Techo remix) by some DJ who thought it would be cool to remix a Neil Diamond song: Hey guys, what kind of music has no kind of real instruments and sucks?????

"Summer Of '69" by Bryan Adams: Another great suggestion with this Bryan Adams classic. It is another tune that all generations know, and it directly relates to New York Mets because of the 1969 reference. The problem is, there are so many people that just utterly hate Bryan Adams, and I really don't know why?

"The Lucas Prata Mets Song, Which I Have Never Bothered To Acknowledge" by Lucas Prata: The hell with Lucas Prata.

"Down With The Sickness" by Disturbed: Another great song, but the chorus isn't memorable enough. Though it would be cool as hell to hear 55,000 people screaming like a monkey.

"Friends In Low Places" by Garth Brooks: This song has one of the greatest sing-a-long choruses ever, but unlike the top contenders, this song has no underlying meaning to it. It's just a tune about a guy getting drunk and screwing up. This would be a great Keith Hernandez theme song though.

"Jump" by Van Halen: Van Halen is by far one of the best bands in the history of rock and roll. These guys rock hard and this song rocks hard. A mid 1980's synthesizer classic, with a crazy Eddie guitar solo is just what the doctor ordered for me most of the time. The chorus to this song would be awesome to sing-a-long too, but I would be scared that not enough people would know the chorus and when the correct time to say "JUMP" would be. Make note that David Lee Roth is a registered New York City EMT.

"It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls: Uhhhhh…What???? (Thank you GEICO Cavemen)

"We Built This City" by Starship: "We Built This City" might be the worst song ever written in the history of music.

"Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen: The video for this song actually shows The Boss watching the 1969 World Series if I remember correctly. The song itself though doesn't compare to Jovi or Journey, or Garth for that matter.

Something by Carlos Y. Jose: This is funny because the guys name involves the words Carlos and Jose. This is also funny because they don't speak English, and last time I checked, wait let me look down, let me check the map...yeah we are still in America, and we still primarily speak English here. End of story.

"The Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats: HAHAHAHAHAHA

"Get Drunk & Be Somebody" by Toby Keith: This song is just an awesome drinking song, but for baseball, not so much.

"Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffet: Take note, we are not in South Florida, and we don't drink margaritas at Shea.

"Swing" by Trace Adkins: This song is good for when a player strikes out, but for absolutely no other reason.

"L.A. Woman" by The Doors: This is an old school Mets classic, but it would not work now unfortunately, because of the fact that it is not a sing-a-long type song. This song was played for Mike Piazza when he walked to the plate, and he plays in Oakland now.

and finally….

"Piano Man" by Billy Joel: Like the Toby Keith tune, this song is mainly a let's get drunk and sing loud and out of tune song. The other main issue is that Billy Joel is a huge Yankee fan, and that just doesn't fly with me.
Take Note: I am a huge Billy Joel fan.

Alright ladies and gentlemen, these are the choices that we have come up with. I would actually like to hear feedback so we could possibly start a petition for the Mets to change their tune. Personally for me it came down to "Livin' On A Prayer" and "Don't Stop Believin", and in the long run my New Jersey bias ruled supreme and Jovi was the choice. So in closing I leave you with this.

"WHOOOOOOOOOA WE'RE HALFWAY THERE, WHOOOOOA OHHHH LIVIN' ON A PRAYER, TAKE MY HAND AND WE'LL MAKE IT I SWEAR, WHOOOOA OHHHH LIVIN' ON A PRAYER"

JD
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One of our most frequent topics of discussion over at the facebook group is the home run apple at Shea, and the mets future plans for the apple in the new stadium.

The home run apple made it's debut at Shea in 1980, and for the past 27 years, it arises out of the hat that hides it every time a mets player hits a home run. At 10 feet tall, 9 feet wide and weighing in at 582 pounds, the home run apple has become a symbol of the new york mets and their fans. The apple has undergone some changes over the years, including adding fireworks, changing the leaf design, and has been repainted many times, but the basic idea of the "big apple" emerging from a top hat every time a met hits a home run has remained.

The Mets will be moving to Citifield in 2009, and one of the most asked questions by all mets fan has been "What's gonna happen to the apple?" The Designs for Citifield all seem to include a drawing of a black top hat and an apple in center field, leading many fans to believe the tradition will be carried on to the new stadium.

There are a number of different theories on what might happen
- The other day, beat reporter Marty Noble indicated in the latest edition of Mets Mailbag that the home run apple would become a thing of the past.

"I suspect the venerable apple is fruit of the doom. I've never particularly liked it, thought it was a tad hokey. But it's grown on me. Just the same, I won't miss it."

- Earlier this month Metsblog author Matt Cerrone had indicated that he believed the apple would be auctioned off for charity, and a new more modern apple would be built for the new stadium. To me this seems like the most logical decision.

- There is however a lot of support from the diehard fans to keep the old apple and move it to the new stadium as a way to honor the past. A website called Savetheapple.com has taken this position. This idea is the sentimental play for the Mets, there is no question the apple is loved by the fans, and keeping the old one would be an important way to honor the past.

As of now, no official decision has been made on what to do with the apple.

We shall wait and see
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Shea has 56,000 seats, Citifield will only have about 45,000... the mets claim they did this so that fans could have more comfortable seats that are closer to the action.

This claim by the mets that they have less seats so that the fans can be closer to the action is completely false and stupid...

first of all, look at the height on the new stadium... it's considerable shorter than shea... the upper deck in citifield is the same height as the mezzanine in shea.

now think about it... that means that the seats that currently exist behind home plate in the upper deck dont exist in citifield... but meanwhile, citifield has seats comparable to fair territiry in the mezzanine!!!

anyone who has ever sat in the upper deck at shea knows that sections 1-20 are great seats, (even if you're in row U) it's much better than sitting in section 32 of the mezzanine, which is in fair territory... if the mets were really concerned about the fans, they would build a third deck behind home plate that would be equivalent to the current upper deck at shea... thats easily an extra 10,000 seats.

here's why the mets are building a smaller stadium

less seats=more sellouts, and even if they don't sell out, the stadium looks very full... if all the seats in the stadium are filled... they can justify raising ticket prices, and turn a greater profit.

for a simplified example... if all tickets at shea were $10, 55,000 x $10 = $550,000

now if the tickets at citifield are all $13,
$45,000 x $13 = $585,000

now... in order to justify raising the ticket price at shea, they need to sell 50,000+ tickets to every game

whereas, to raise the ticket price at citifield, they only have to sell 40,000+ tickets to every game

therefore, it's easier to sell 45,000 tickets at $13
than it is to sell 55,000 tickets at $10, and at the same time, you make a greater profit...

all i know is, it's gonna be harder to get tickets, and it's gonna cost more

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