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So I think most people would think Citi, right off the bat. They would think, how can a place nicknamed “shit-hole Shea” be better than Citi field, or shitty field as I like to call it. First off a note to the Mets. Stop calling your stadiums names that can so easily be turned into something shitty. But more to the point, I think Shea was a much better place to watch a baseball game.

Was it a better place to get high-end BBQ, burgers and sushi? No. Better place to enjoy the game from the comfort of an indoor restaurant/club? No. Better place to not wait forever to pee? No. But Shea was the better place to watch and enjoy the on-field product, the game.

Shea Stadium crowds cheered, yelled, chanted and generally acted like they were at a ballgame. Citi Field crowds are spread so thin that the cheering is minimal. The fans are either on line for one of the 100 food options, or in a semi-private club, or they’re standing behind seats that are better than their own, or they’re walking around and taking in all the non-baseball things to do. The game at Citi has become secondary.

Whatever the reasons, fans are not in their seats and are not cheering nearly the same way they were at Shea. Now, I dont think the people have changed. The same ticket holders in 08 at Shea are, for the most part, the same ticket holders today. Yet, the feel of the ballpark is drastically different.

This isnt to say all mets fans dont cheer anymore, the 7line army certainly does, as do other pockets of fans. But as a whole, Citi does not rock the way Shea did. I’m sure part of it has to do with the fact that the Mets themselves havent been nearly as good since leaving Shea, and if/when they get good again maybe Citi will rock too (the atmosphere was pretty good for the All-Star Game).

But for the time being, it’s pretty cut and dry. Shea, although it lacked in ammenities, was the better place to watch a ballgame.