So I go to the Mets game last night. It was a beautiful day and I got lucky in that a friend of mine gave me free tickets. Nice seats too. Just past first base in the mezzanine boxes. Good angle but a mile from the field. I drove from New Jersey and left with plenty of time to spare. My son and I plus a friend cruised toward the GW without any problems until about a mile from the bridge. Stuck in traffic for about 30 minutes we finally made our way through the EazyPass lane. Nothing easy about it. From there we sat on the bridge and the Cross Bronx expressway for another 40 minutes. It turned out the traffic tie up was from a boat stuck in the road. You read it right, a boat. Somebody either dumped or lost a boat on the Cross Bronx. Crews were strapping the wooden hulk to a flatbed as we passed. The rest of the ride was a breeze. I was fortunate enough to get preferred parking with my tickets so we cruised into the lot and found a nice close space to the huge stadium.

We missed Mets batting practice so we took a walk to look at Citi Field. It’s the first time since last season I saw the new park in person. The various pictures on the Internet do not do the new stadium justice. It’s much bigger than I thought it would be and it is splendid looking.

We got to our seats a little after six. Having plenty of time, my son and I decided to get something to eat. A foot long hot dog each: 14 dollars. A couple of small sodas: 7.50. A friend of mine had a beer: 8 bucks. But the can did have the official Shea Stadium logo on it. A score book: 5 dollars. So before we even saw a pitch, I was down almost 30 bucks. I’m not complaining because the tickets and parking were gratis but a 7 dollar hot dog and an 8 dollar beer is a bit obscene don’t you think?. What’s it going to cost next year when the Mets move into their shiny new palace?

Nelson Figueroa took the mound and he pitched terrific once again. In the first, he walked a batter with one out then struck out the next two. After the first two Mets batters hit, the Mets had a 1-0 lead. Reyes singled then Church doubled off the glove of Willie Mo Pena. The ball should have been caught. Did I mention the beer was flowing rather well in the mezzanine?

John Lannan struck out two in the first also. In fact he kept striking out Mets at an alarming rate. From my vantage point he had one hell of a curveball. After the first two Mets reached base, Lannan retired the next 18 in a row, striking out 11. The Mets could not hit the ball out of the infield. A fan from behind us yelled something at Lastings Milledge that I cannot type here for fear of my blog being disabled. I guess he wasn’t paying attention to the Mets promo before the game that calls for no profanity. Figueroa made one mistake and that was to Nick Johnson who hit a bomb over the Mets bullpen. You could tell it was gone as soon as he hit it. Mets pitchers, and there was a flock of them, would not yield another run the rest of the night.

From behind us the chants of “Yankees suck” began. At least that’s what I thought it was. After a couple of seconds I realized the fans were not saying that at all. They were chanting “Show us your…” Again, the blog police prohibit me from writing what they were saying. A few sections over and up in the reserved mezzanine seats below the upper level, a young lady was being convinced to show off her, well you know. To my amazement, she did. The game continued on the field, an excellent pitcher’s duel. But instead of enjoying the game, the fans behind us insisted on another show. The chants of “One more time” were greeted with an encore performance which ultimately led to the young lady’s dismissal. I believe this is a problem that has plagued Jets games for quite some time.

The Mets finally got Lannan out of the game after an at bat by David Wright that forced his pitch count above 100. But even against the Nats bullpen the Mets struggled. The Mets did start to put runners on base however. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Mets were given an opportunity. A ground ball that should have been a routine play was bobbled by Belliard. David Wright walked then Carlos Delgado singled him home. An unearned run tied the game. Now there’s a fight behind us. My goodness, a fist fight involving a guy and a girl with glasses of beer flying everywhere, and the girl was winning! Maybe the alcohol should be cut off a bit earlier, you think?

I told my son we would stay one extra inning. If it were a Friday evening with no school the next day I would have stayed till the bitter end. The Mets had their shot in the bottom of the 9th when pinch hitter with a pinch nerve Carlos Beltran struck out. Then in the 10th with two out and a runner in scoring position, Angel Pagan pulled a hard line drive but unfortunately it landed in Belliard’s glove. The crowd of shirtless men behind us screamed obscenities. The group grew with each passing inning. By late evening Shea was getting pretty nippy yet that meant nothing to intoxicated young men with no shirts.

I saw a security supervisor and asked him if it has been like this every night. Not the game, the craziness in the stands. He assured me no. He said for some reason, the loonies all came out last night. I wonder if that’s true. Meanwhile another fight broke out in the field boxes beneath us. I read somewhere that the designer’s of Shea Stadium made it circular to evoke the Roman Coliseum. The behavior of the crowd around us did nothing to dissuade that intent. The only thing missing was a moat around the field and a pen full of lions.

It took me about an hour to drive to our home in Jersey. We listened to the 11th, 12th, and 13th innings on the radio while my son slept. When I finally arrived home, it was quite surreal to turn on the TV and watch the end of a game I sat through the most of. In the 14th, the Nationals gave the Mets yet a third run, the winning run on a bases loaded wild pitch. The Mets went away happy. I went to bed exhausted.

Maybe I’m getting old but it’s a bit alarming at some of the behavior I witnessed last evening. And trust me. I am no prude by any stretch of the imagination. It’s not the profanity, drunkenness, and lewd behavior that offend me. It’s the lack of regard and disrespect for others in a public place. There are children at the game too. I’m to the point where I think alcohol should be banned from stadiums period. I know that will never happen and besides, half of these trouble makers come through the gates half wasted to begin with.

The rising cost of going to games, plus the hassle of getting there makes watching the sport in high definition at home that much more enjoyable. Having to deal with the rowdiness and misconduct of some bad apples makes it a no brainer.