SNY: Berg: What I’ll miss about Shea Stadium

Ted Berg’s touching tale of the Mets, Shea Stadium…and his brother.

Because to me, being a fan has nothing to do with sitting in cushy seats with reasonable legroom and cupholders and many fine dining options. And it has nothing to do with showing up to see a competitive team, as the Mets seem to field every year nowadays. Being a fan is sticking through the summer of 1995, trying to see promise in failure, finding the purity in a game with no postseason implications, and maintaining hope and passion and faith in a team that’s just not very good.

Chris taught me all of that, and no matter what happened to him or what will happen to Shea Stadium, I’ll always keep them both close. Because though this career—one that Chris never got to be a part of—forces me to fake some degree of professionalism, I’ll forever be a 14-year-old kid at Shea Stadium, just thrilled to be watching baseball at a bargain rate.

And though he’s probably headed for the Hall of Fame, Jeff Kent will always suck.