Tessie

Tessie, "'nuff said" McGreevey shouted
We're not here to mess around!
Boston, you know we love you madly
Hear the crowd roar to your sound!
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Tessie, you are the only only only ...
- Dropkick Murphys

If you've ever seen the movie Fever Pitch (and I am not recommending that you do), you may remember this song from the closing credits of the movie. If you are one of my friends or cousins who have been talking up the Dropkick Murphys for years, you'll be disappointed to know that every time I hear this song, I think only of the final scene of Fever Pitch.

I really love that scene. I love watching the Red Sox fans celebrating their team's World Series win and the pure joy in the faces of people with the burden of their baseball team's historic futility finally relieved.

And that's why I'm coming back.

For years now, I've often joked that I will cry like a woman on the day that the New York Mets finally win the World Series. It's not a joke, of course. I know full well that I will be so overwhelmed with joy that I will have no control over my emotions. No other sporting event in my life, with the possible exception of an NCAA championship for the Redmen, will ever mean so much or will feel so good.

I've invested nearly a quarter-century in the Mets. I was only nine when they won the World Series in 1986; my father had to wake me up and pull me out of bed so I could see the last three outs of that game.

My teens and my 20s passed with only one World Series appearance, during a wonderful season that will always leave such a bitter taste in my mouth. It's sad, because my passion for and my investment in the Mets was much greater then, and the joy I would feel watching them win a championship would be many times more visceral than it would be now.

All I want is a chance to celebrate. All I want is a chance to feel that joy.

And that's why I'm coming back.

I'm coming back with a chip on my shoulder and without a kind word for nearly every facet of this organization. I'm coming back despite fully expecting a 78-84 finish and despite fully expecting no repercussions for the general manager or the manager. I'm coming back with hope and a prayer that the Wilpons, perhaps more financially crippled by the Bernie Madoff scandal then any of us really know, will be forced to sell the team to a smart, savvy owner who will restructure the entire organization.

And that's why I'm coming back. Because I got nowhere else to go.