Since I took over the Gather Sports Fan Group at Congregation Emanu-El, of the City of New York,we've developed quite a following in the sports world:YES Network Yankees sideline reporter Meredith Marakovits, ESPN MLB color analyst and US Olympic Softball Champion Jessica Mendoza,and now, writer/filmmaker/ Nick Davis,who produced an American Masters documentary for PBS on the Splendid Splinter, Ted Williams and wrote an episode for the ESPN miniseries THE BRONX IS BURNING,but more recently,and more notably, he has written and produced the ESPN 30 For 30 docuseries ONCE UPON A TIME IN QUEENS: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE 1986 METS, and its companion book, and that, and the fact that he appeared at the Emanu-El Men's Club in support of his book on the Mankiewecz family of CITIZEN KANE fame, to which he is related through his mother, COMPETING WITH IDIOTS, led me to ask him last month if he would like to be the special guest for our December ZOOM meeting on the 14th at 6:50 PM (for the pregame. We usually get things started at 7 PM on the nose.). He said yes, our fearless leader Rabbi Sara Sapadin wished me all the best,and I told my posse, Andy, Brendon, Mark and Mindy that this long-suffering Mets fan who parlayed his love for the team Casey Stengel called "My Amazin's" into a weeklong epic backed by Major League Baseball,Jimmy Kimmel and his Cousin Sal (d/b/a Kimmelot)",and Britain's ITV was going to stop by and talk Mets, reminding them to, as the 1986 theme song, "Let's Go, Mets" encouraged, put on their "Mets gear." As Thanksgiving gave way to Hannukah, I kept reminding my group that Nick was going to be our guest and bringing them up to date on developments from the baseball lockout to the postponement of the Rangers' Thanksgiving Sunday game to St. Paddy's Day to the Staples Center in L.A. changing its (VERY GOOD!) name to (HUH?) Crypto.Com Arena. Since it's in my Jewish DNA to worry, I sent Nick an email to see if he remembered he had this VERY SPECIAL session. He said yes (WHEW!), and I logged onto Zoom, cued up Arthur Fiedler's recording of the "Look Sharp! Feel Sharp! Be Sharp!" theme, put on my Mike Piazza jersey,and waited to introduce everybody to Nick Davis, who produced this movie which is as right for this time as the 86 Mets were for theirs in that they entertained a city scarred by crime,unemployment, and mistrust in its leaders. I WAS getting ready to lay down the ground rules, recite the blessings, play Mets (AND Yanks AND Knicks AND Rangers ) fan John Amirante's (of blessed memory) rendition of our National Anthem,but as 6:50 PM arrived, so did Brendon, Andy, and Nick. All. At. Once. I WAS going to follow the opening ceremonies with the 1962 "Meet the Mets" theme and an impression of Mets PA announcer Marysol Castro ("LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE! NOW STEPPING UP TO THE MIC, AUTHOR AND FILMMAKER NIIIIIIIICK DAY-VIS!")but Nick was raring to go and I didn't want to disappoint him. (I was the only one wearing Mets gear, Mindy was nowhere to be seen, and Mark vanished from the Waiting Room like Mandrake the Magician. Most of me reveled in the joy of landing that big fish, but part of me thought, Oh, boy. I'm up the creek.) Since the Wilpon family that used to own the Mets now owns the UBS Arena at Belmont Park, I warned my audience that if they wanted to see acts that also play Madison Square Garden, Prudential Center (Newark, NJ) or Barclays Center (Brooklyn), they should wait until those acts played their neighborhood arenas, but if they wanted to deal with V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W LIRR trains or slim pickings when it comes to rideshares just to see the Islanders make utter fools of themselves, they can be my guest. From 6:50 to 7:30 we talked about former Yankee skipper Buck Showalter as a possible Mets manager, the 86 Mets' wild nights of drunken debauchery, the moment that ball went through Bill Buckner's legs and the Mets unraveled the Red Sox to win the 1986 World Series, (I was in Scotland and when I ran into my hotel lobby to tell Mom and Gramps the Mets had just won, the management and an Australian rugby team looked at me as if I were from Mars! Nick had similar stories but other fans, but they missed the cut.) When Andrew informed me I had just ten minutes to go, (I had forgotten to set the timer for 100 minutes. YIKES!) I started to read a poem I had written in memory of sports luminaries who had passed in 2021 like Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda, Ranger icon Rod Gilbert, and even Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy, my audience protested very vociferously. I immediately apologized, plugged the book (available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and fine independent booksellers everywhere) and docuseries (on ESPN+ from the ESPN app or on the Disney Bundle along with Hulu+ Live TV and Disney+) and wished everybody Happy Solstice and a Happy New Year before apologizing to the rabbinate. It wasn't anywhere near perfect, as I told the rabbis, but, hey, the 1986 Mets weren't perfect and THEY won the World Series!
I also got thank-yous from my group, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY FROM NICK, and, whaddya know, a Festivus miracle! I gave it 110% although it wasn't exactly as I envisioned, but I still managed to hit a home run and make everybody (Especially myself!) happy! I'm sure the 1986 Metsies would be happy too!
(And in a related development, the Gather Sports Fan Group's MVP of the Year is Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles for her all-around athleticism and ownership of her mental health issues. In her honor, the Group will donate $100 to the Emanu-El Philanthropic Fund to help end homelessness in New York and repair communities in storm-ravaged areas of Kentucky. Not too shabby, huh?)
In case you were wondering, the rabbis were mad at me...NOT! They were happy that I gave it my best shot and reminded me we're all trying to get the hang of this brave new world. If the Mets could get a happy ending, I'm sure the rest of the world can...and will.
Have a great one!
Steve
