New York Mets: Support the Mets by Not Supporting the Mets

I’m a Met fan. I’ve been a Met fan since I was 12 years old. I followed this team like a religion. I attended Wednesday afternoon Pepsi Picnic Area games as if it was church.

I’m 25 now and have never been so disgusted in this franchise in my 13 years as a fan.

In the past we've seen the Mets make some terrible transactions. The list goes on and on—Roger Cedeno, Roberto Alomar, Jeromy Burnitz, Kenny Rodgers, Roger Cedeno again, Mo Vaughn, Jason Bay just to name some.

On the flip side we've also seen the Mets go out and acquire some players who have been pretty solid for them. Johan Santana and Carlos Beltran are a couple of examples that fall into this category.

The two groups do have some common ground though. They provided hope. The hope of improving. The hope of success. A hope that this could be “the year.” A hope that no longer seems present.

The problem with this Met team is not that they're bad or that they're going to be bad. It is the fact that the owners have the nerve to put a team on the field with no hope and don't seem to care about it. Then to lie about it to the fans. The Wilpons have said several times that their ongoing case about being associated with Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme has nothing to do with the outcome of the team. How gullible do the Wilpons think Met fans are? They are involved in a lawsuit that involves billions of dollars and they really think that Met fans will think that the fact the Mets suddenly dropped $70 million in payroll has nothing to do with that.

You would think after watching other teams spend millions of dollars signing free agents, re-signing expiring contracts or extending the contracts of current players, the Mets would do something. You waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing. You watched Jose Reyes walk. You watched the Mets take a downgrade in center field in Andres Torres. Then to top it off you see the Mets waive former No. 1 organizational prospect Fernando Martinez. Why? To make room on the 40-man roster for nomadic shortstop, Ronny Cedeno. Nothing. To think the Mets, who were a mediocre team to begin with, downgraded in every aspect and look to be significantly worse than they were last season.

After all that, at least ticket prices should go down. At least you should be able to see the Mets at a discount this year, right? Think again.

According to the Team Marketing Report, the Mets average ticket price in 2011 was $31.81. The cheapest ticket available on StubHub for Opening Day 2012 for the Mets is $58.11. Granted, Opening Day is going to cost more than the average ticket, however, that is a 50 percent increase for a team, well, you already know the story of the New York Mets' offseason.

However, this is your chance to fight back Met fans. The Wilpons think we are stupid, my fellow Met fan. They think they can beat the system. What the Wilpons don't realize, though, is that Met fans have a unique opportunity this year. They have a chance to save their franchise. The Wilpons think they can entirely drop the payroll, charge their same expensive ticket prices, put a putrid product on the field and the fans will buy the tickets, the fans will buy the jerseys, they'll buy hats. What Met fans need to realize, is without them, the Wilpons are gone. The Wilpons are depending on the ticket sales, the jersey sales and the memorabilia sales in order to keep their ownership alive.

The Met fans need to take this opportunity to make the Mets competitve again, to make them relevant again. Do your part to make the Wilpons sell this team.

If the Met fans don't pay, the Wilpons are forced to sell the team. With the selling of the team, the signings are back. The hope is back. The Mets are back.