This is it, Met fans – crunch time.
No, we’re not talking about beating up on the Phillies or the Braves and finally winning the World Series again.
We’re talking about our lovable stitch-head, Mr. Met, who is battling for the city’s honor for a coveted slot in that pantheon of goofy sports icons – the Mascot Hall of Fame.
The internet polls close today at noon in Mr. Met’s bid to join the Phillie Phanatic, the Famous Chicken et al in the hallowed hall of Rushmore-sized heads and gargantuan feet.
But he needs your help in putting away some mascot-come-lately called the San Antonio Coyote.
As it stands now, our rotund softie from Shea is eating the Coyotes’ dust by 13,000 votes out of nearly 80,000 cast. But that’s nothing that some serious ballot-box stuffing from Forest Hills, Coney Island or Amityville can’t cure.
Other than the Coyote, the nominees this year are Youppi, who roots for a team that no longer exists (Montreal Expos); the rather scrawny Oriole Bird (Baltimore); the Mariner Moose (Seattle); and something called Hugo the Hornet from a team that wasn’t around five years ago (NBA’s New Orleans).
But the front-running Coyote of the NBA championship team is a clown of the times and obviously stiff competition.
“He’s an entertainer, he’s showcased at their games,” said the Hall of Fame’s vice chairman Chris Bruce. “He rides a unicycle, he can dribble a basketball with his feet and he dunks off the trampoline.”
Mr. Met, on the other hand, has been around since 1964. And he doesn’t do tricks, thank you.
“He’s more of a symbol,” Bruce said. “He doesn’t necessarily get showcased. I know Met fans will take a bullet for that guy, but his biggest claim is he’s been around longer than anybody else.”
Placing a call to Shea Stadium to get some last minute trash-talk out of the blue-and-orange wonder didn’t work too well.
“He doesn’t talk,” pointed out Met spokesperson Shannon Forde – not even a Mort Walker cartoon balloon.
Bruce, a former mascot himself as the hen “YoUDee” at the University of Delaware, said the contest was “to shed some positive light and give these guys someplace to hang their hats.”
The winner gets bragging rights plus the Golden Silly String Award.
So let’s flex those fingers, Met fans, and vote in Mr. Met in a bottom of the ninth rally.
The internet ballot box is wide open at http://www.mascothalloffame.com
Let’s go Mr. Met!