As a New York Mets fan living in Dayton, Ohio, I don't get to see many of the team's games on TV. Whenever they're actually on TV here, then, I make a point to watch the Metropolitans play, even if they aren't any good. That would certainly be the case this year, as the Mets find themselves at the bottom of the NL East standings. Still, a chance to see them play the first-place Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets' chief rival these days in baseball, was too good to pass up. So last night I turned the TV on while studying for a final and watched some ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.
If you're a sports fan or watch Sportscenter ever, then you've heard about what happened during last night's Mets-Phillies game. During the ninth inning, the news of Osama bin Laden's death had spread quickly through Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and most of the fans could be heard chanting "USA!" for a significant portion of the inning. It was a unique moment that I can't remember seeing elsewhere in all the time I've been following sports, where fans cared a lot more about what was going on outside the stadium than inside of it (in a 1-1 tie in the ninth inning, no less.)
Of course on Sportscenter the symbolism of a New York team being the team playing when the country found out about the good news was talked about, but the symbolism went a whole lot further than me. In a way, bin Laden's death and what it means for the United States' battle against terror reflects just about the same thing most baseball teams, and especially the Mets, are going through right now.
Was bin Laden's killing important? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean this thing is close to being over. Ten years after the fact, does it really matter that we finally got the guy who was supposedly the head of the 9/11 attacks? You bet. But in the grand scheme of things, it's barely a blip on the radar.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we finally got him, and I hope that all those who lost love ones can find some form of closure out of the news. But his death is eerily similar to the Mets' 2-1 victory over the Phillies last night: They've still got lightyears to go before they've accomplished anything truly meaningful.
At 12-16, Terry Collins and crew are still one of the doormats of the league. Did beating the best team in the NL feel good though? Hell yeah, especially with Cliff Lee on the mound. Fact of the matter is, though, there is still so much the Mets need to work on, like their starting and relief pitching, not to mention their clutch hitting.
Don't take this the wrong way. It was an awesome moment for America, and an awesome win to watch the Mets get. But just like those last-place Metropolitans, we've still got 134 games to go, a seemingly unending season in front of us. Celebrate for a little, bit, but then it's time to get back to work.
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