By Geoff Walter / SNY.tv

Leave it to the Yankees to not only continue to dominate the New York press even in defeat, but to move onto the front page of the papers as well. With all the photos plastered everywhere you look, you’d think it was the Bombers who were the ones in first place, instead being 13.5 games back tied for last place, instead of the Mets, who are relegated to a small title bar on a regular basis, only moving onto the back splash a couple times per week.

 

Mets fans should be used to this treatment by now, as even though the team has proved itself these past two seasons, shown itself to be able to hold its own with the Yanks, their peculiar brand of Queens baseball will never be anything more than a mere curiosity, an exceptional oddity to many in the press, and to much of New York. Just face it: you're still considered "that other team." And anything short of Willie Randolph & Co. hoisting a World Series trophy over their heads, and a parade down Broadway, and that's all you'll ever be.

Even then, it may not be enough to escape second-class status. While the National League abandoned the city -- twice -- the AL stayed rooted and entrenched itself in the Bronx since 1903. A decade of being a one-team town goes by and all of a sudden you're asked to wear a cap whose colors reflect your status as the illegitimate child of the Dodgers and Giants? How else would you feel after having an abysmal first year? How else would you have been treated by a majority of sportswriters?

There is an ebb and flow to baseball like there is to life, and as the decades passed, New York found its teams a reflection of itself. Economic prosperities and virtual renaissances came during the seventies and nineties, while much of the sixties and eighties were better left unsaid. The former years were dominated by the Yankees, the latter the Mets. As while dynasties were crowned in the South Bronx, Queens found it could not hold on to their scepters and were consigned to the scrap heap along with so many others of the sport's one hit wonders: the Miracles of '69 had their magic worn off, the '86 Mets indulged in their own excesses, leading to the palace of wisdom and winning, subsequently imploding the following year. Last year the Cardinals caught fire at the last minute, Yadier Molina's homerun trumped Endy's catch, and the Mets ended a season that is now forgotten; that's how it is in New York -- we only remember the winners, and forget the rest.

Do the Mets deserve more coverage? For what they've done the answer is yes, but in order to get it they had to create their own cable channel, and even now they’re preaching to the converted. The Yankees have been and always will be the lifeblood of this city. All Met fans can do is hope for a temporary reprieve, a stay of execution, a reshuffling of the cards instead of altering the landscape permanently. Whenever a Roman general was given a parade after a successful campaign, a slave would stand behind him in his chariot holding a crown of laurels above his head, and repeating the words "remember, thou art mortal," in his ear over and over again to remind him that all glory is fleeting. So if there is any glory to be had Met fans, enjoy it while you can, because chances are it won't last long.

Wanna argue with the Ref? Don't like the call? Go ahead and make your own!