Did Don Draper Insult Mets on “Mad Men”?
Upon a second viewing of this past Sunday’s episode of “Mad Men,” it appears Don Draper insulted our beloved New York Mets. This was the conversation he had with his neighbor:
Arnold: I’ve been meaning to knock on your door anyway, you know, catch a game or something. I get baseball tickets, mostly the Mets.
Don: Well, I’m glad you didn’t.
Was this a dig at the Mets, that he’s glad he wasn’t asked to go to a game in Flushing? It certainly seems so.
What he doesn’t know is that the Mets would soon be the hottest ticket in town. This conversation took place in 1968 in “Mad Men” time. Don will be begging for a ticket in 1969!
He certainly won’t get one from Arnold; Don is sleeping with his wife, and he’s bound to find out sooner or later. Let’s hope it is before the World Series — why waste a ticket on a scoundrel like Don?
Don’t forget that hindsight plays a big part in the dialogue of Mad Men, but also don’t forget that until that 1969 season only a true die-hard fan would want to go to a Met game.
Well, I don’t know about that. The Mets were 2nd only to the Pennant-winning Cardinals in 1968 in attendence, and regularly were in the top 5 in the 60’s once Shea came into existence.
Didn’t the Mets outdraw the World Champion Yankees in 1962?
’62 Yankees: 1,493,574
’62 Mets: 922,530
So, not quite. But let’s take a look at the next couple seasons…
’63 Yankees: 1,308,920
’63 Mets: 1,080,108
So not there, but the last year in the polo grounds certainly gained traction. How bout Shea’s first year, also a pennant-winning year for the Yankees…
’64 Yankees: 1,305,638
’64 Mets: 1,732,597
And there you go. The yankees then went into a tailspin.
I used to go to the games as much as a 12 year old could coming out of NJ, but the fact remains that a casual baseball fan (or someone not a fan at all) would not be so inclined.