Alumni in the Pros_April 2013

[Rosey]

Riley Nash makes his first NHL shootout appearance and beats Nabokov in the Hurricanes' win over the Islanders. Moulson with two assists.

And the point they earned by making it to the shootout, combined with the Caps beating Winnipeg, clinches a playoff spot for the Islanders.

Our long national nightmare is, well, we may be waking from it.  Very gradually.

You could be speaking of the playoffs missing years or the Nassau Coliseum.

I could.

It's really unfortunate that all of the non-establishment NY teams—the Islanders, the Mets, and the Jets—went through multi-decade periods of purgatory in which their home arenas either didn't exist or were the product of the worst architectural period since man was living in caves.

Of course, they now have to improve performance on the field/ice, but at least fans can watch them lose while lounging in style.

[abbottfan]

In the AHL, there are currently 3 Cornellians on the same team. Riley Nash has been reassigned to the Charlotte Checkers and Brendon Nash is with the Checkers on loan from San Antonio. Justin Krueger is also in Charlotte.

[Trotsky]

Riley Nash makes his first NHL shootout appearance and beats Nabokov in the Hurricanes' win over the Islanders. Moulson with two assists.

And the point they earned by making it to the shootout, combined with the Caps beating Winnipeg, clinches a playoff spot for the Islanders.

Our long national nightmare is, well, we may be waking from it.  Very gradually.

You could be speaking of the playoffs missing years or the Nassau Coliseum.

I could.

It's really unfortunate that all of the non-establishment NY teams—the Islanders, the Mets, and the Jets—went through multi-decade periods of purgatory in which their home arenas either didn't exist or were the product of the worst architectural period since man was living in caves.

Of course, they now have to improve performance on the field/ice, but at least fans can watch them lose while lounging in style.

Hey, now.  Shea was the Lynah Rink of baseball.  It was a dump, but it was our dump.  I haven't been to BanksterField, but it'll never be the same.   Tradition > comfort.

[Rosey]

Hey, now.  Shea was the Lynah Rink of baseball.  It was a dump, but it was our dump.

And here I thought Lynah was a rink with seats close to the action, a low roof that amplified crowd noise, and benches to make standing easier than sitting. In addition, of course, to being our dump.

Tell me again what was so special about Shea? Everything about Shea stank: the seating, the dimensions, the amenities, and the team. At least with CitiField, you have 3 out of 4.

[Swampy]

Riley Nash makes his first NHL shootout appearance and beats Nabokov in the Hurricanes' win over the Islanders. Moulson with two assists.

And the point they earned by making it to the shootout, combined with the Caps beating Winnipeg, clinches a playoff spot for the Islanders.

Our long national nightmare is, well, we may be waking from it.  Very gradually.

You could be speaking of the playoffs missing years or the Nassau Coliseum.

I could.

It's really unfortunate that all of the non-establishment NY teams—the Islanders, the Mets, and the Jets—went through multi-decade periods of purgatory in which their home arenas either didn't exist or were the product of the worst architectural period since man was living in caves.

Of course, they now have to improve performance on the field/ice, but at least fans can watch them lose while lounging in style.

Hey, now.  Shea was the Lynah Rink of baseball.  It was a dump, but it was our dump.  I haven't been to BanksterField, but it'll never be the same.   Tradition > comfort.

The Polo Grounds was better. Tradition^2 >> Tradition > comfort.

[Josh '99]

Riley Nash makes his first NHL shootout appearance and beats Nabokov in the Hurricanes' win over the Islanders. Moulson with two assists.

And the point they earned by making it to the shootout, combined with the Caps beating Winnipeg, clinches a playoff spot for the Islanders.

Our long national nightmare is, well, we may be waking from it.  Very gradually.

You could be speaking of the playoffs missing years or the Nassau Coliseum.

I could.

It's really unfortunate that all of the non-establishment NY teams—the Islanders, the Mets, and the Jets—went through multi-decade periods of purgatory in which their home arenas either didn't exist or were the product of the worst architectural period since man was living in caves.

Of course, they now have to improve performance on the field/ice, but at least fans can watch them lose while lounging in style.

Hey, now.  Shea was the Lynah Rink of baseball.  It was a dump, but it was our dump.

I'm a Mets fan too, but let's be honest: every group of fans says that about their historic dump.

[Trotsky]

Riley Nash makes his first NHL shootout appearance and beats Nabokov in the Hurricanes' win over the Islanders. Moulson with two assists.

And the point they earned by making it to the shootout, combined with the Caps beating Winnipeg, clinches a playoff spot for the Islanders.

Our long national nightmare is, well, we may be waking from it.  Very gradually.

You could be speaking of the playoffs missing years or the Nassau Coliseum.

I could.

It's really unfortunate that all of the non-establishment NY teams—the Islanders, the Mets, and the Jets—went through multi-decade periods of purgatory in which their home arenas either didn't exist or were the product of the worst architectural period since man was living in caves.

Of course, they now have to improve performance on the field/ice, but at least fans can watch them lose while lounging in style.

Hey, now.  Shea was the Lynah Rink of baseball.  It was a dump, but it was our dump.

I'm a Mets fan too, but let's be honest: every group of fans says that about their historic dump.

Of course.  If it weren't for all the things that happened at Shea it would just be a cookie cutter anonymous 60's multi-sport cemetary.  But, they did, so photos of Shea will always affect me much more strongly than the successor stadium (which is, let's be honest,  a cookie cutter affected 00's shopping mall).

[Rosey]

But, they did, so photos of Shea will always affect me much more strongly than the successor stadium (which is, let's be honest,  a cookie cutter fey 00's shopping mall).

Create new memories: win another championship. (By which I mean, pray you outlive Fred Wilpon.)

Or, just enjoy a sunny day in the ballpark now and then. I reiterate that CitiField is a much nicer venue in which to watch a losing team than Shea was.

FWIW, I understand what you mean, but I think it actually goes deeper. It's not just Shea; it's all of the 80's Mets. Gooden, Carter (RIP), Strawberry, Hernandez, Dykstra, McDowell, HoJo, Moooooooooo, etc. Hearing (RIP) Bob Murphy's call on the radio. Baseball will never be the same for me as it was during those years. But you can't go home: it's time to move on.

[Trotsky]

But you can't go home: it's time to move on.

These statements do not imply one another.  It is a fact that we can't live forever in the past.  But "move on" is one of those expressions that either means nothing or too much.  Nostlagia is not the same thing as stasis.

The Mets will make new memories (Harvey is doing it right now) which will be just as precious to today's 8-18 year olds as Kid and Straw are to you or Tom Terrific and Ya Gotta Believe are to me.   We'll enjoy them, too, in large part because they connect us back to our formative experiences when we could devote about 90% mindshare to the team, as opposed to the 0.9% we can barely manage now as adults.

[KeithK]

Hey, now.  Shea was the Lynah Rink of baseball.  It was a dump, but it was our dump.  I haven't been to BanksterField, but it'll never be the same.   Tradition > comfort.

I don't consider Lynah to be a dump at all.  It has a lot of great features that I like to see in a facility.  Namely, a low roof that amplifies sound, a relatively steep rake to the seating that puts you right on top of the action and it's small.  All of the above gives a nice, intimate feeling where you are close to the ice.

YMMV of course.  Some folks rate a facility based on the number of bathrooms or the comfort of the seats.  These aren't thing that I hardly care about at all.

Shea, on the other hand, had none of the nice features of old stadiums (the intimacy) and also none of the positive things about current parks. So I remember it as a dump.  Of course, I've neverbeen a Mets fan.

[Dafatone]

Hey, now.  Shea was the Lynah Rink of baseball.  It was a dump, but it was our dump.  I haven't been to BanksterField, but it'll never be the same.   Tradition > comfort.

I don't consider Lynah to be a dump at all.  It has a lot of great features that I like to see in a facility.  Namely, a low roof that amplifies sound, a relatively steep rake to the seating that puts you right on top of the action and it's small.  All of the above gives a nice, intimate feeling where you are close to the ice.

YMMV of course.  Some folks rate a facility based on the number of bathrooms or the comfort of the seats.  These aren't thing that I hardly care about at all.

Shea, on the other hand, had none of the nice features of old stadiums (the intimacy) and also none of the positive things about current parks. So I remember it as a dump.  Of course, I've neverbeen a Mets fan.

Shea was a dump, but it was MY dump, or something like that.  Citi Field is a nice place, but it doesn't feel Mets enough.  Making the fences blue has gone a long way towards that.  I will say Citi does a great job of giving you a nice view of the field from even the worst seats.

[KeithK]

Hey, now.  Shea was the Lynah Rink of baseball.  It was a dump, but it was our dump.  I haven't been to BanksterField, but it'll never be the same.   Tradition > comfort.

I don't consider Lynah to be a dump at all.  It has a lot of great features that I like to see in a facility.  Namely, a low roof that amplifies sound, a relatively steep rake to the seating that puts you right on top of the action and it's small.  All of the above gives a nice, intimate feeling where you are close to the ice.

YMMV of course.  Some folks rate a facility based on the number of bathrooms or the comfort of the seats.  These aren't thing that I hardly care about at all.

Shea, on the other hand, had none of the nice features of old stadiums (the intimacy) and also none of the positive things about current parks. So I remember it as a dump.  Of course, I've neverbeen a Mets fan.

Shea was a dump, but it was MY dump, or something like that.  Citi Field is a nice place, but it doesn't feel Mets enough.  Making the fences blue has gone a long way towards that.  I will say Citi does a great job of giving you a nice view of the field from even the worst seats.

That's definitely a fair complaint.  They were trying so hard to be retro and celebrate Ebbets Field and baseball history that they kind of forgot who was going to play in the ballpark.

[Dafatone]

Hey, now.  Shea was the Lynah Rink of baseball.  It was a dump, but it was our dump.  I haven't been to BanksterField, but it'll never be the same.   Tradition > comfort.

I don't consider Lynah to be a dump at all.  It has a lot of great features that I like to see in a facility.  Namely, a low roof that amplifies sound, a relatively steep rake to the seating that puts you right on top of the action and it's small.  All of the above gives a nice, intimate feeling where you are close to the ice.

YMMV of course.  Some folks rate a facility based on the number of bathrooms or the comfort of the seats.  These aren't thing that I hardly care about at all.

Shea, on the other hand, had none of the nice features of old stadiums (the intimacy) and also none of the positive things about current parks. So I remember it as a dump.  Of course, I've neverbeen a Mets fan.

Shea was a dump, but it was MY dump, or something like that.  Citi Field is a nice place, but it doesn't feel Mets enough.  Making the fences blue has gone a long way towards that.  I will say Citi does a great job of giving you a nice view of the field from even the worst seats.

That's definitely a fair complaint.  They were trying so hard to be retro and celebrate Ebbets Field and baseball history that they kind of forgot who was going to play in the ballpark.

Exactly.  I like the Ebbets-esque rotunda, but I remember first seeing the black and orange walls and feeling kinda sick.  Then the season started, and I felt sick for other reasons.

[Swampy]

But you can't go home: it's time to move on.

These statements do not imply one another.  It is a fact that we can't live forever in the past.  But "move on" is one of those expressions that either means nothing or too much.  Nostlagia is not the same thing as stasis.

The Mets will make new memories (Harvey is doing it right now) which will be just as precious to today's 8-18 year olds as Kid and Straw are to you or Tom Terrific and Ya Gotta Believe are to me.   We'll enjoy them, too, in large part because they connect us back to our formative experiences when we could devote about 90% mindshare to the team, as opposed to the 0.9% we can barely manage now as adults.

And for those of the Kid & Straw generation, this is probably because of having kids and the demands of their jobs. For those of the Tom Terrific & Ya Gotta Believe generation, the 0.9% mindshare is more likely due to early onset ::demented::.

[RichH]

Hey, now.  Shea was the Lynah Rink of baseball.  It was a dump, but it was our dump.  I haven't been to BanksterField, but it'll never be the same.   Tradition > comfort.

I don't consider Lynah to be a dump at all.  It has a lot of great features that I like to see in a facility.  Namely, a low roof that amplifies sound, a relatively steep rake to the seating that puts you right on top of the action and it's small.  All of the above gives a nice, intimate feeling where you are close to the ice.

YMMV of course.  Some folks rate a facility based on the number of bathrooms or the comfort of the seats.  These aren't thing that I hardly care about at all.

Shea, on the other hand, had none of the nice features of old stadiums (the intimacy) and also none of the positive things about current parks. So I remember it as a dump.  Of course, I've neverbeen a Mets fan.

Shea was a dump, but it was MY dump, or something like that.  Citi Field is a nice place, but it doesn't feel Mets enough.  Making the fences blue has gone a long way towards that.  I will say Citi does a great job of giving you a nice view of the field from even the worst seats.

Huh? The fences were blue in Shea at least since the mid-80's, which means about half of that stadium's lifetime, and besides, the orange seats were much more striking anyway.

Also, if we're comparing MLB stadiums to ECAC rinks, then may I nominate Tigers Stadium.  I've never felt closer to a MLB player than I did while sitting in the last row of the upper deck looking at the on-deck circle at that old park. Nobody cared about seat comfort, but it was intimate and enclosed, and LOUD.  I also got to see Al Kaline waiting to go up to to the press box, and he stood there, shaking all the hands of everyone in the cheap-seats who recognized him. Too bad the park (and neighborhood it's in) is decaying, empty.