Mets Overcome Years of Struggle
The team has finally taken the top spot in the city from the Yankees
As college students, we have been told for years that all the trials and sacrifices made for our studies will pay off. We are told that when we finally get to the top and graduate, it will be well worth it.
Being a Mets fan is a similar story. For years, while watching the Yankees rule the town and celebrate while we suffer, we have been told that one day, it will be worth the wait. We are told that Queens will one day be the talk of the town, rather than the Boogie Down. As teenagers, we hear stories of the ecstasy of the fall of 1986 from our fathers, but also what could have been. What could have been a dynasty, until Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry caused Queens to lose all hope with their personal problems. We endure the pain of moments such as when Carlos Beltran struck out looking in the ’06 National League Championship, when the Mets lost to the cross-town rivals in the World Series, or when they choked away a seven-game lead in September to miss the playoffs.
However, now with this Mets team on the verge of possibly winning a World Series after not being expected to even make the playoffs and a young pitching nucleus that could turn into the dynasty that should have started after 1986, our hopes are finally coming to fruition.
Moreover, this team is a pure Mets team that represents what Queens is about. Between watching a homegrown player like Daniel Murphy shock the world after years of growth and inconsistency, and our star David Wright being rewarded for his loyalty after he easily could have left, this Mets team feels like our team. Players such as Wilmer Flores, who cried when he thought he had been traded, and the calm and always-poised Jacob deGrom, embody the gritty nature of Queens.
Finally, after years of tribulation, our consistent dedication to the New York Mets is paying off, and we are the kings of New York. Additionally, unlike Yankee fans, we know how fleeting our success can be, so right now we are savoring every second of it. And lastly, although we are happy to be here, we are not satisfied — we are hungry for the crown, and we will remain eternally hopeful and faithful to Queens and our Mets.
Darius Iraj is a freshman in the College.
KC Aims to Complete Rise to Top
After years of losing, recent success has changed the Royals’ culture
Another October, another World Series. After a near three-decade hiatus from the postseason, let alone the Fall Classic, the Kansas City Royals clinched their second consecutive American League pennant last Friday night. As a capacity crowd of nearly 41,000 clad in royal blue erupted in joy after the final out was recorded against the Toronto Blue Jays, I tried to compare and contrast the feelings surrounding these two incredible postseason runs.
As a lifelong resident of Kansas City, I have lived through years of mediocrity and worse from my beloved Royals. Then, after last season’s late push up the standings, it all changed in a hurry. A clutch, young, homegrown team with nothing to lose suddenly looked unbeatable. Led by veteran starting pitcher James Shields, the Royals captured America’s heart with a free-swinging, base-stealing kind of baseball that made every inning an adventure to watch. It was very clear that these kids were having fun and not letting the moment get the best of them.
Although the season ended in a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, Kansas City fans felt lucky to have experienced a month of postseason euphoria after such a long drought. Hope had been restored.
This year, the feeling is different. The team has the confidence of experience, and the knowledge that it is more than capable of playing its best when the lights are shining the brightest. From the start of the regular season, it has been the best team in the American League, and it has shown no signs of letting up despite the grueling length of the baseball schedule.
Led by the stronger top-to-bottom batting order and the best outfield defense in the league, the Royals entered their series with the New York Mets favored to win their first championship since 1985. Last year, when the Royals clinched their World Series berth, Kansas City fans cried tears of joy, and nine months later, the city experienced its largest baby boom since the end of World War II. This year, people still partied in the streets outside Kaufmann Stadium until the early hours of the morning, but the feeling was one of unfinished business.
This year, the Royals are expected to complete their meteoric rise and bring home the Commissioner’s Trophy. Last August, the prospect of the Royals being in a World Series at all, let alone in their second consecutive Fall Classic, would have seemed ludicrous. Now, it seems ludicrous to bet against them.
Sam Abrams is a junior in the School of Foreign Service.
