This Mets fan has stayed mum for too long...

I've stayed mum for too long. I have long neglected this platform that could potentially reach millions, and so it's time I start using it for the greater good.

It was mentioned in passing and in jest today that perhaps the New York Mets -- my New York Mets -- should be contracted from Major League Baseball. As a long-suffering Mets fan, I can see that this kind of thinking emanates from one of two places: 1) A NY Mets fan who just wants to end the pain and misery; or 2) Fans of other teams merely having fun at our expense.

Either way, I guess the point of fact is this: Yes, the Mets have fallen on hard times. Yes, they set a new world record for injuries begotten by inept medical care. Yes, Madoff took all of the Wilpons' money, and even though they still want ours, they don't want to spend a dime. Yes, Omar Minaya turned one of the best things to happen to the team -- firing Tony Bernazard -- into a meteoric PR disaster. Yes, they lack fundamentals in every phase of the game. Yes, they can't beat the San Diego Padres, the Arizona Diamondbacks, or even the Newark Bears at this point..........

But with all that said, is contraction the answer? No.

Despite all of the misery, despite this wasted season, despite two straight epic September collapses, despite Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS and despite all of the years and years of heartache and suffering since the 1986 championship season, I know in my heart of hearts that the New York Mets will one day come out of this soon-to-be-23-year drought, and they will get back to what made them so Amazin' to begin with.

I dream of a scrappy team that takes no prisoners on the field, managed by a man with the intellect and heart of a Japanese warrior. I see a freer, wiser man than he was before, still clever but without all the needless ploys, liberated from plastic glasses and mustache disguises as this franchise rises to meet their true destiny as World Champions once more.

This team, and this man, will overcome all of the arrogant Senseis and juiced-up Johnny Lawrences of the world, and they will take back this New York Town that they once owned, albeit for a fleeting moment, albeit soon-to-be-23-years ago.

So when you say contract the Mets, I say Mets, it's time to do the right thing and bring in the man we know is waiting, just waiting to come back home. It's not time to contract, it's time to sign the contract that will make all of this a distant memory.

It is a Flushing rallying cry that is worth the redux, and that cry is, "BOBBY V! BOBBY V! BOBBY V!"

I'll see you all again on Valentine's Day!

--CB40

"Boy, me and you are gonna PARTAYYYY"

CB40 here crashing the party. I'm the reason for the Kelly Clarkson mention in the first poll, mainly because everyone's jealous of my impeccable music taste and fondness for the greatest pop singer of our generation.

But this is SPORTSMUSINGS, or should I say THE ORIGINAL SPORTSMUSINGS, so let me get to it.

Here are some quick favorite random sports movie Quotes:
--"Boy, me and you are gonna PARTAYYYYY" -Sinbad, "Necessary Roughness"
(OR "Welcome to Foot........BALL!" -Kathy Ireland)

--"Who the Hell is Happy Gillmore?" -Verne Lundquist, um, hello!
(OR "The Price Is Wrong, Bitch! -Bob Barker)

--"Where's the Wolf?" -The Coach from Teen Wolf :-)
(OR from a recent episode of HIMYM: "They have a Teen Wolf on their team, Kenny!" -Jason Segel)