Mets Fans Anti-Tom Brady Protest Was About as Electric as You'd Imagine
Source – A white sign emblazoned with “Amazin’” in bold black letters hung above Ed Kranepool and Art Shamsky. That moniker forever will be associated with their 1969 world-champion Mets. The one belonging to their beloved teammate Tom Seaver — “Tom Terrific” — however is in jeopardy of being ripped off.
The two Miracle Mets reunited Tuesday evening at the Sojourn restaurant on the Upper East Side to take their stand against Tom Brady, the smug Patriots quarterback whose company, Teb Capital, is trying to trademark the nickname which the Hall of Fame pitcher Seaver earned over 19 seasons as one of baseball’s “GOAT” (to steal a Brady label).
Instead of baseballs, a small group of irritated Mets fans hurled Boston baked beans and black beans at a Brady jersey and poster before trashing both. …
“Maybe it’s the new athlete, who is the ‘I’ generation, and he’s only thinking about himself,” said Kranepool, 74, making his first public appearance since undergoing a kidney transplant a month ago. “He’s the greatest quarterback that ever lived.
“[But] there was only one Tom Terrific.” …
“Tom [Brady is] very egotistical and you can’t blame Mets fans for being aroused by this,” said Howie Shapiro of Flatbush, clad in a vibrant blue and orange Mets suit.
Sometimes a thing as seemingly inconsequential as a mere symbol can be the spark that ignites a protest and changes the world. Martin Luther nailing his “95 Theses” to a church door. A band of rebels dumping the king’s tea into Boston Harbor. Gandhi marching to the sea to make salt. Americans burning their draft cards in the 1960s.
The point is, something as simple as a mere symbol can change history. And I have no doubt this small rabble of sad loners will probably do just that with the powerful symbol that is the bean. Way to hit Tom Brady right where he lives. Those are not mere legumes slow cooked in broth and molasses. As anyone from Boston will tell you, beans are the very core of our beings. They are how we identify ourselves. That’s why you can’t listen to two Massholes have a conversation without the noble bean getting brought up every other sentence. And it’s why you never hear the word “Boston” come out of our mouths. We just say “Beantown.”
As in,
“Where’d you grow up?”
“Beantown!”
“Where’d you go to school?”
“Beantown!”
“Going out tonight? Where you headed?”
“Beantown, baby!”
We can’t get enough of it. So way to put your arrow right into our emotional 10-ring, Mets fans. No wonder you’re aroused.
I’ll tell you who I truly feel bad for in all this: Ed Kranepool and Art Shamsky. They’re before my time so I’m not familiar with their work beyond recognizing their names. But I’m sure they love Tom Seaver and it’s got to be heartbreaking to know he’s not doing well. And you’d think when you played a role in the Miracle Mets winnning, one of the top five sports upsets of all time, you should get to enjoy the spoils of victory on that for the rest of your lives. And not find yourself 50 years later slumming in the back of some dive, watching adult virgins throw beans at jerseys.
But mainly I feel bad for them because it can’t be easy having to put up with these young punks like Tom Brady. That generation born in 1977, growing up with their tape recorders and their Ataris and their “Star Wars” movies. But with no respect for their elders. Back in ’69 you knew what to with whippersnappers like him when they tried to steal your buddy’s nickname that he should’ve copyrighted but never bothered to. But these 41-year-old kids nowadays don’t know how to treat grown ups.