Does anyone care about the Braves-Mets "Rivalry" anymore?
My take - not really. At least not since 2000 or so. Maybe I just haven't been alive long enough, but it doesn't seem like there really was much of one, at least as long as I've been alive/coherently following baseball.
Even at its most scrutinized, it seemed pretty one-sided all through the late 90s into the 2000s, with the Braves coming out on top most of the time. The last time it seemed genuinely relevant was in 2006, when the Braves pretty much imploded, and the Mets were there to take the NL East title for their own.
I think it's also hard to consider a rivalry, when it's either one-sided, or both parties are currently in the midst of playoff droughts of their own. Not to say that the Braves couldn't really use three more wins against the Mets, but when it comes to the subject at hand, there hasn't been a true Braves-Mets rivalry for quite some time now.
over 2 years ago
royhobbs
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There is always going to be a rivalry between two teams in the same division. I think our most heated one is with the Phillies, then the Mets. We used to have a good one with the Astros when we would meet them in the playoffs on odd-numbered years.
I think the Mets are more than the Phils.
Particularly long-term. I don’t really think us and Philly dislike each other, it’s just that Philly’s been more of a treat to the division the last few years.
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
by MichaelProcton on Sep 16, 2009 1:11 AM EDT up reply actions
In the 90's...
it was very real, but mostly a lot more fun for the Braves. Now, it’s sort of tradition, but still simmering on a back burner. I can remember very real hatred for the Dodgers and the Reds. It just depends on who is good at the time.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti
Exactly
Those of us that remember the Braves being in the NL West before realignment recall the intense rivalry with the Dodgers. I was lucky enough to be at a 13 inning game after the All-Star break in ’91 where the Braves beat the Dodgers and began their “Worst-to-First” run. After realignment, when the Braves and Mets battled for the East, the rivalry was much more than it is now. Basically it seems to be whoever is battling for the division lead and with passionate (in good and bad ways) fans.
I am not arguing with you~I'm telling you.
by Old Braves' Fan on Sep 16, 2009 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions
This rivalry still lives inside me
and any other hardcore Braves fan from the last 10 years. We all know the Mets will spend a ton of money and be in contention again once they lose this current bunch of losers.
I see it as one
Perhaps there’s not much in it for the players anymore, but I know there was at one point. But I loved watching a lot of those late 90s and early 2000s games, and it’s carried over until now.
I was debating this for a moment, but the truth is, I realized misery for the Mets still gives me more joy than anything else besides a Braves win. I hate the Yankees, I hate the Phillies, but I LOVE to hate the Mets. I snicker every time they blow a lead for Santana, I laugh out loud when they trade for Francouer, and I cheer when they’re forced to start Bobby Parnell.
The rivalry is there
It is there, it is real. Ironically it may be more of a rivalry for Mets fans considering they got the short end of the stick most of the time and you can’t watch a Braves/Mets games without ANY announcers, Braves or ESPN or whoever, talking about how “Chipper always plays well against the Mets” and how he named his kid Shea.
On the national front, it never really was a rivalry because usually one team was better than the other and it never was a down-to-the-last-day-of-the-season thing. Hell the greatest series the two played ended in SIX games, not seven hahaha. And the year the Mets made the Series? A year the Braves got beat in the divisional round, thus no head-to-head in the playoffs so no rivalry-flame-stoking then either.
It is there, smoldering, Frenchy will help us remember this rivalry in the short term….
I think you are on to something there…giving Frenchy to the Mets was FW’s way of rekindling this fire. It is like when you are in a fight, and you are both just worn out and laying there panting, then you reach over, cuff your fists and slam your fists right into your foe’s balls.
That is what FW did to the Mets.
"Actually, Justin was right."
by bigjoe on May 15, 2009 9:04 AM PDT
by justincredubil02 on Sep 15, 2009 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions
That is what OM did to the Mets. Frank just went along with it.
It’s kind of like that friend you had as a kid, who would trade you Hot Wheels for rocks.
(self-appointed President of Yunel's Cartel~~~)
"The future is no place to place your better days." - Dave Matthews ~ RIP Roi
by Chief Noc-A-Homa on Sep 15, 2009 3:05 PM EDT up reply actions
HAHAHA! Or my older brother who traded me a NBA HOOPS Scottie Pippen for a “college stars” Michael Jordan…I was 5 years old at the time!
"Actually, Justin was right."
by bigjoe on May 15, 2009 9:04 AM PDT
by justincredubil02 on Sep 15, 2009 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions
lmao. pwned. good times.
(self-appointed President of Yunel's Cartel~~~)
"The future is no place to place your better days." - Dave Matthews ~ RIP Roi
by Chief Noc-A-Homa on Sep 15, 2009 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions
I can definitely tell you
there is still a rivalry, especially still here in NY. There is constant heckling of Braves fans up here, albeit annoying, reminds me daily of the rivalry. It is the Braves fans that the Mets fans hate, they are just annoyed at Philly fans for being so good recently.
You are *almost*
as amazing as Matt Diaz..
by Titansfan9 on Sep 1, 2009 8:01 PM PDT
(Yunel is still the Queen of Hearts)
Amen brother
How many times in your life have you heard, “Your a BRAVES fan????”
I still get shit anytime i go to Shea, and Citi now. Theres nothing a Mets fan hates more than the Braves, aside from the Yankees. Myself, Ive always hated the Phillies more. Never really taken the Mets seriously, cmon, look at those colors….
I thought hurricane season was over........
by bravesguy311 on Sep 15, 2009 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
good stuff. I would just respond, “The Mets won it all, when? ‘86? Where the hell is all that money going? (there will be an awkward pause here. then say….) It’s ok. You don’t have to answer that. At least the uniforms suck, right? ……Wait.”
Then you might wanna run.
8 )p
(self-appointed President of Yunel's Cartel~~~)
"The future is no place to place your better days." - Dave Matthews ~ RIP Roi
by Chief Noc-A-Homa on Sep 15, 2009 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Haha. Run Forrest Run!
I actually just got out of a class where I took heat for being a Braves fan. And bravesguy, I get it all too often. But there’s nothing Bette than just doing the tommahawk chop in the faces of met fans.
You are *almost*
as amazing as Matt Diaz..
by Titansfan9 on Sep 1, 2009 8:01 PM PDT
(Yunel is still the Queen of Hearts)
No one cares as much as they used to. For me, the peak will always be late 1999, when ESPN borrowed Bob Costas to call the first game of a late season series and Chipper hit two homers to win the game.
"My God! Good news fans, the Braves are showing signs of life for the first time in weeks. As a matter of fact, they appear to be beating the crap out of each other."
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