Sunday, October 09, 2005

A Tanked Anniversary

Where were you six years ago today?

I was on an underground train trying to listen to an extra inning ball game getting stared at because I'm banging the door in sheer joy.

Today is the sixth anniversary of Todd Pratt's series ending HR against Matt Mantei and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Pratt, known as "Tank", experienced the signature moment of his career that day. And you may think that the home run endeared himself to Met fans everywhere.

Except that Pratt endeared himself to Met fans just by being "Tank". Before there was Curt Schilling arguing online with Red Sox fans on the "Sons of Sam Horn" website, there was Todd Pratt posting as, who else, "Tank", on the New York Mets website message boards. But Tank wasn't posting to bitch about newspaper reports or privacy. Nope, Tank joined the common folk just to shoot the breeze...because deep down, Tank is one of us...one of the common folk.

In an age where the gulf between athletes and fans grows wider by the day...and as wide as their respective salaries...Todd Pratt was one of the few to take time out to connect with the average, everyday Met fan, like you and me. And Pratt even answered e-mails, as many a fan once found out. What athlete do you know that does this?

Now I'm not going to denigrate the good work that athletes do for charity. People who are in a position to do so should give back, and I'm the last one to question anybody's motives. The amount of charity done by sports franchises and leagues is amazing. But let's face it, there's a certain amount of P.R. that is gained by a player or an organization by organizing such events. That's why more and more athletes conduct their charity work privately so as not to be mistaken as someone looking for P.R.

What is the motive for checking in and conversing with the everyday fan? There's no mainstream P.R. that's attached to that. Yet Tank felt it important to connect by dropping Met fans a line every once in a while and making a real effort to give fans an inside view of the Mets and make them feel a connection...which is the very nature of being a fan in the first place.

You can set yourself a breed apart as an athlete with stats, feats, and rings. But Todd Pratt will always stand out by blending in, by being one of us. And although he may be a Phillie now (and probably posting on the Phillie boards), in my mind, Tank will always be one of us. And that's what I remember about Todd Pratt.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Check out Greatest Met of The First Forty Years No. 51:

http://mets2005.myblogsite.com/blog/_archives/2005/3/20/456741.html

Anonymous said...

When the Chop Stops
Braves fans hold out for another World Series.
By Robert Weintraub

http://slate.msn.com/id/2127638/


Smell ya next year Bravos! Rot in Hell.


p.s. the scary thing about Jeff Francoeuer

"The Rookie of the Year candidate is a mythic figure in these parts on account of his multisport brilliance at Parkview High in nearby Lilburn. Before Game 2, I talked to Mickey McMurtry, the head coach at rival Lassiter High. McMurtry was on the receiving end of a Chip Hilton-like performance from Francoeur in the 2002 state finals. In a best-of-three series, he golfed a gargantuan homer to win Game 1, hit a grand slam to ice Game 2 and the championship, went 6-for-7 with four homers and two doubles overall, and was the winning pitcher in both games. "You just sat there and said, This is what a guy who's gonna make some money looks like," McMurtry recalls."

p.s.s. the scarier thing about piss-covered braves fans

"Francoeur's Franks" turn up to every game dressed as hot dogs"

pj

Mets Beast said...

metstra quick question... i want to change my template, but it says i will lose any customizations i have made... what the hell does this mean? lol

metswalkoffs said...

Metstradamus, Should I be at all conflicted that the Braves lost, but that Roger Clemens was the winning pitcher on Sunday.

Metstradamus said...

meet,

It means that if you added anything to your template like a customized heading, or pictures in the sidebar, or a hate list perhaps...it would be wiped out if you changed your template. Your basic articles and profile and what not would remain...but any of your extras would be gone.

Metstradamus said...

Mark, yes you should. That was a series where there could be no winner.

This Dr. Phil moment has been brought to you by...Schaefer Beer.

Anonymous said...

Digging your blog, man. Keep it up!

I was at the "Todd Pratt" game and it was the best game I've ever attended. Can't believe 6 yrs have already gone by since then.

And, yeah, Tank is a great guy!

Mets Beast said...

thanks metstra