Video: The Shea Stadium Scoreboard is No More

October 23, 2008 at 8:28 am · 42 comments

by Matthew Cerrone

The following video, sent in from a reader of MetsBlog.com, is of the scoreboard at Shea Stadium being knocked to the ground, and, I will not lie, it is sad and surreal to see:

Ouch…now that is a collapse.

Anyway, to move forward, and get a look at the infield, seats, locker room, among other places, in Citi Field, click here.

thanks to the great Metsiac for the link

{ 42 comments }

Prismo October 23, 2008 at 8:33 am

I have to disagree Matt.

This is awesome. Destruction, **** yeah!

I’m not going to get sad today when the scoreboard goes down, and tomorrow when the pitching mound is destroyed, and the next day when the seats are taken away, etc etc etc.

It was saddening the day of the final game, but it’s been time to move on since then. Look at CitiField in the background – it’s calling for us.

bill in stuart October 23, 2008 at 1:09 pm

Dont see the link????

atlantasnumber1metsfan October 23, 2008 at 8:34 am

I tottally agree with Prismo..this is progress at its best.

HitTheSinkerBall October 23, 2008 at 8:47 am

lol agreed … I can not wait for the new ballpark to open next year … I could care less about the old stadium. Some good memories but more heart break there then anything.

Not at all sad to see it go and definitely not sad to watch the scoreboard come down lol just wish I was on the crew ripping down that place.

ravi3 October 23, 2008 at 8:35 am

I completely agree with you…It is sad to see something I hold dear cease to exist.

Matt, do you have any idea when they plan on razing the grandstand? I want to make it out to flushing one last time before the big blue bowl is no more…almost as if to pay my respsects

ravi3 October 23, 2008 at 8:36 am

i mean respect

Ceetar October 23, 2008 at 8:46 am

As awesome as the place looks, and I can’t wait to get there, it doesn’t quite feel like home yet. I need to see a live game there first before it doesn’t feel like a cool stadium in another city.

ravi3 October 23, 2008 at 8:55 am

Yea..considering that the overhwelming majority of us have only seen the Mets have one home (excluding the old timers who were around in the Polo Ground days)….But I think it will take more than a few games before its home…They need a signature Mets win for that to happen.

UpperDeckDweller October 23, 2008 at 12:02 pm

Or signature loss as the case may be…

CitizenSnips October 23, 2008 at 8:59 am

I wouldn’t get too disheartened; it’s not like they’re breaking up the franchise. Though the way some people act around here that might be the best option ;)

Prismo October 23, 2008 at 9:33 am

Yep, this team is so awful!

In the past 3 seasons, 7 teams have made the postseason with the same or a worse record than the 2008 Mets.

Maybe they weren’t as bad as people think. ;)

CitizenSnips October 23, 2008 at 9:39 am

Well it’s kinda hard when you’re forced to have the NL West come in no matter what. If the playoffs went by the top 4 records in the league (which they should) the Mets would’ve most definitely made it.

Prismo October 23, 2008 at 9:49 am

Right, but 7 teams in 3 years is much more than just the NL West (also, one of those years, both teams from the West to make the playoffs had better records than the 2008 Mets).

Also telling is the fact that in the past 3 seasons only 2 other teams with at least 89 wins failed to make the playoffs.

So basically what I’m saying is that in the majority of seasons the 2008 Mets would’ve made the playoffs. Even with the horrible bullpen and lack of clutch hitting at times.

UpperDeckDweller October 23, 2008 at 12:08 pm

You guys are all apologists. This is exactly the mentality that prevents the Mets front office from getting this team over the hump. They need to clean house (except for some obvious “stars”) and start being held accountable for each year they blow a lead in September.

The thought that they should just take the best 4 teams in the NL to the playoffs is silly. Why even have divisions then…?

Fiya Minaya October 23, 2008 at 9:14 am

Farewell old friend.

Lidge=Mitch Williams October 23, 2008 at 9:18 am

The “collapse” is now complete!

TheBigStapler October 23, 2008 at 9:27 am

Alright now that was funny.

fongulalou October 23, 2008 at 10:12 am

Man!, that thing went down faster than Kimbo Slice.

LETSGO October 23, 2008 at 10:20 am

let it burn

Zoe October 23, 2008 at 10:31 am

What a sad belly flop that was.

SweepTheLeg October 23, 2008 at 10:56 am

i have a question. why is everything in this stadium so far GREEN..i know the seats are green but whatever..what got me was lookin at those pics (stadium does look nice) but WHY IS THE DUGOUT GREEN?? does anyone know if that is the way it is going to stay..why is it not blue?? why do i feel that they are shying away from the whole “blue” theme?? hopefully im wrong does anyone know the situation??

vargmatik15 October 23, 2008 at 11:55 am

yeah, I noticed that too and let me say that I’m not feeling this trend at all!!! whats the deal??? anyone??

gipper82475 October 23, 2008 at 12:02 pm

Actually, the seats, though they look green up close…are a dark blue from a distance. The girders and light towers, and “bridge motifs” etc are all in a blue.

Just not the garish blue of Shea.

Fudbutter October 23, 2008 at 5:04 pm

The green is a tribute to Ebbetts Field, which you would have to be or close to collecting social security to actually remember. In case you don’t, it was the home of a team that broke NY’s heart more than any sports related incident in the city’s history

dave27 October 23, 2008 at 5:10 pm

Actually the green is a tribute to the Polo Grounds, not Ebbetts Field. One of the few.

Mitch45 October 23, 2008 at 11:05 am

OK, this is going to sound strange, but…

As someone who witnessed the WTC towers falling, seeing the scoreboard collapse and fall over like that gives me VERY bad vibes.

I guess I’m not over 9/11 yet.

magic00700magic October 23, 2008 at 2:22 pm

I agree.

It is an uncomfortable video for me for the same reason.

dave27 October 23, 2008 at 5:11 pm

I admit I felt the same way – collapsing buildings still evoke those feelings, as different as it is.

CharlieH October 23, 2008 at 11:25 am

I’ve seen the lights go out on Broadway
I watched the mighty skyline fall

iluvbuckner October 23, 2008 at 8:44 pm

They sent a carrier up from Norfolk
And ****ed the Yankees up for free

vargmatik15 October 23, 2008 at 12:06 pm

On a totally non related topic, i notice that the catagories section on the left just grows longer and longer and everytime i access this site from my phone it takes forever for me to scroll down this list of names, much of which are not even relavant any more (like Yorvit Torealba, or Rudy Jaramillo or Victor Zamabrano before I actually get to see any real content.!! can someone get a message to Matt to clean that section up or update and take off some names or group this list into some sort of archive folder? Thanks!!

therealsince86 October 23, 2008 at 12:42 pm

It would be nice if he could make this site have a mobile version like many other sites. I hope he realizes that a lot of us are checking in that way.

gipper82475 October 23, 2008 at 12:45 pm

Seconded!

emjay October 23, 2008 at 12:51 pm

Thirded!!

Yeah, accessing the site on my blackberry is very annoying…I think simply having the links be below the content when viewed on a moblie site would be a major help.

magic00700magic October 23, 2008 at 2:08 pm

Have to chime in here as a Mezzanine Box holder from Shea. I am now getting concerned at what I believe has happened.

Seems as if to fit in the new sight lines and luxurity boxes the following occurred:

(i) Loge was lifted so that sight line could be had at field level concessions; and

(ii) Mezzanine was removed to fit in the Luxury boxes, which are above the Loge; and finally

(iii) there is a single final tier, higher than where mezzanine was at Shea and perhaps just slighlty lower where Upper Tier was at Shea; and that is where the Mezzanine Box holders were deposited.

The result is a location farther away from the field (higher in elevation by probabaly 20-25 ft, and a price increase of almost 10 percent).

Cant say I am happy about this. I hope I am wrong, but from the pics (see 16-19 of the link) I believe unfortunately I am correct.

petemc1969 October 23, 2008 at 3:02 pm

Where’s the video?

Fudbutter October 23, 2008 at 5:06 pm

Finally !!!!

Some of you are starting to get at the truth here

iluvbuckner October 23, 2008 at 8:45 pm

Like we haven’t seen a monumental collapse like that more than once in our lives.

Wait a minute……………

jstocks5 October 23, 2008 at 10:26 pm

not the only collapse mets fans witnessed..
NOOOOO!

RichardK October 23, 2008 at 11:07 pm

If you look closly you can see a baseball hit the scoreboard just before it falls and at Home Plate when the camera pans there, you can see Delgado (who was hired to demo the scoreboard) with a bat in one hand admiring the bomb he just hit.

31yonkers5 October 24, 2008 at 10:33 pm

Reminds me of the sandlot movie when the old mans fence finally fell… awesome video

mets3024 October 25, 2008 at 10:45 pm

even though Shea was a dump where our hearts were broken most of the time i still like it better then Citi field. you all must think i am crazy but my reasoning is Citi field could be any teams stadium with its green seats and green dugouts and all the the other neutral colors Shea screamed Mets with its orange and blue everywhere. Citi Field is nicer and newer but Shea has the most important element character. Citi field feels more like a new stadium for the Dodgers then the mets.

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