Today is the "other" Opening Day, the one where the team plays at home for the first time. It's not normally a holiday like last week's Opening Day event is, but it's still a bit of a celebration.
I always remember the first time seeing old glorious Shea on TV at the home opener each season. (It is pretty rare in my time that we have exhibition games in New York before the season starts.) I remember looking for those first images of Shea, whether it was live, on tape, later on the internet, or even in person (2003, 2007). It didn't matter if the Mets were 0-0, 4-2, or 0-6. We were home, and the season could start. You took it for granted listening to, first Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner, then the generation of Howie Rose and Gary Cohen, reading out the two teams' rosters that Shea would be around for another season and this was the start of a good 6 months.
I think Bob Murphy summed it up the best, in the audio clip on the right side of the page. "The ol' ballpark still looks awfully good when it's full of people."
Shea will be greatly missed.
