New York Mets vs Philadelphia Phillies, Shea Stadium, New York, USA - Sunday 7th September 2008

I was supposed to be going to the US Open men's final on my Sunday in New York, but the hurricane related rain on Saturday had washed out play for that day. So, everything happened a day later than planned, which meant that my tennis ticket rolled over to the Monday (when I had to be back at work in Philadelphia). You win some, you lose some. So, determined to see some sport, we headed off to Shea Stadium to watch the baseball. Shea Stadium is right next to the US Open tennis centre, which was pretty cruel, as if I was being taunted for my bad luck in not getting to see any tennis!

We got the Subway from Grand Central Station out to Queens, and as we approached Shea Stadium, the train started to fill up with New York Mets fans. When the train pulled in, we had the US Open on our right, and two baseball stadia on the left - Shea Stadium, and the Mets new stadium, which has almost finished being built, and which will become their new home next year. So, the last season at Shea Stadium, venue of The Beatles' legendary gig - I was pleased to have got to visit before it closed. Not surprisingly for a stadium that is about to be knocked down, it has been somewhat neglected recently - it reminded me of an old-school football ground in terms of the facilities. Still, some of the American marketing shine was still there, so I availed myself of a $5.50 "souvenir soda" (basically just a Coke in a nice plastic Mets cup).

The game itself was the second of a double header that day, against the Phillies. Strange, as I was due to be watching the Phillies at home a couple of days later. The Mets had lost the first game quite convincingly, so the crowd were restless! The first innings ended 3-1 to the Mets, which of course got the home fans making some noise again, and promised a high scoring game. But then, as baseball games can so often do (apparently - this was my first ever baseball game, so I didn't know this before), the scoring dried up - so after getting to 3-1 very quickly, the game finished dragged a bit before eventually finishing 6-3.

Whilst sat in the stands watching the game, it was interesting to see and hear the American version of terrace culture. Phillies fans sat in with Mets fans (the 2 being so close and it being the weekend, I suspect this was more prominent than usual), and Mets fans occasionally shouted "Phillies suck" whenever an away fan stood up. There were a few chants, the main one being "Let's Go Mets". All in all, it was pretty tame though, but then I suppose the comparison should perhaps be between baseball and cricket fans, rather than football fans. Overall, I didn't think much of the game of baseball (both this specific game, and the game in general) - there were a few tense moments, but that was about it - but I certainly enjoyed the whole occasion.