Written by Scores Report Contributor Mike Farley
Overview
It’s really hard to believe that Shea Stadium is being torn down, but 45 years is a good run for a sports complex. This DVD captures many of the great memories of Shea, mostly good memories, and does a really nice job of interviewing a wide array of Mets and Jets, fans, commentators and enthusiasts. The magical seasons of 1969, 1973 and 1986 are well documented, as are the Jets’ Super Bowl run in 1969, the very early years at Shea when Casey Stengel was manager, the Mets’ pennant winning season of 2000 and the almost-pennant-winning season of 2006. Among those interviewed are Ron Swoboda, Rusty Staub, Cleon Jones, Ed Charles, Ralph Kiner, Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry and plenty more too numerous to mention.
What’s Interesting?
The way they weave everything together on this DVD is really impressive. It’s not chronological, and that’s what makes watching it so compelling. Seeing some great Mets that I’ve forgotten about was really cool, especially the likes of Swoboda, Jones, Ed Kranepool, and Tommie Agee. They even interviewed the guy who flew into Shea on a parachute during the ’86 World Series and high-fived Ron Darling. Is that attention to detail or what? It’s also worth noting that two of the most memorable Shea characteristics talked about are the planes from nearby LaGuardia Airport flying overhead, and the fact that the stadium literally shook during a few playoff moments. It’s also interesting that the Shea scoreboard was groundbreaking at the time, but would be dwarfed by today’s video technology. And they did pay tribute to the fact that Shea has hosted concerts such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Police over the years.
There was a great tribute to Tug McGraw and his “Ya Gotta Believe” mantra that helped propelled the Mets to the 1973 World Series. But my favorite part was a video clip of Mike Piazza asking then-coach Mookie Wilson, “Were you gonna beat Buckner to the bag? Come on dude, tell me, it’s just us.”
Best Feature
There are quite a few special features, including moments featuring lesser-known stars like Benny Agbayani, Bobby Jones and Shawon Dunston. But the best ones are the highlights from ’69, ’86 and 2000.
Could Do Without
They had these “It’s amazin’ that….” bits that segued various parts of the DVD into others, but a lot of those were not very interesting.
What’s Missing
There was no mention of that infamous moment of the 2000 World Series when Roger Clemens threw a splintered bat at Mike Piazza. Come to think of it, there were no moments from that Series at all on this DVD. There was also no mention of the 1988 NLCS versus the Dodgers, as much as Mets fans would like to forget about that.
Overall
Every Mets fan should own this DVD, and it would make a great Father’s Day gift. There is just so much magic from Shea that is captured here, including a few obscure moments. It’s a terrific tribute and a great way to usher in the new era of Citi Field in 2009.
