Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
My animal-loving girlfriend can’t watch that Sarah McLachlan abused animals commercial; it makes her want to adopt yet another cat. Well, now there is a commercial that us Mets fans can’t watch — a hilarious “Stop Mets Cruelty” parody:
Date: January 13, 2012
Remember the Mets old slogan “The Magic is Back”? It was not an organic motto like “The Miracle Mets” or “The Amazins.” It was written by an advertising agency. This video from back then tells the story of when the Mets became the first MLB team to hire an ad agency.
The video has an interesting back story. The reporter from WNEW-TV (now WNYW) is Judy Licht. She interviewed Jerry Della Famina, the legendary ad man who personally wrote the campaign. They must have hit it off because she went on to marry him, despite his extremely questionable “beard” and the lack of buttons on his shirt (you’ll see what I mean when you watch the report).
Years later I worked with Judy at WABC-TV and she was doing a report about something and someone said “You Gotta Believe.” She said “I think my husband wrote that.” I caught up with her afterwards in the newsroom and informed her that indeed, Tug McGraw wrote that, that her husband was the creator of “The Magic is Back.”
Incidentally, Della Famina did not work for the Mets very long. He made some disparaging remarks about the Yankees and the lack of safety in and around Yankee Stadium, so the Mets fired him.
Check out the video:
Date: December 17, 2011
The New York Mets wish you a very happy Thanksgiving — or do they? This has to be the briefest holiday greeting ever produced. I guess the Mets could not come up with anything for which Mets fans actually have to be thankful.
Date: November 24, 2011
Rusty Staub is my all-time favorite Met, so imagine my surprise and excitement to learn that Rusty has his own YouTube channel. He has posted a handful of videos, but this is my favorite — highlights of his playing days with the Mets. It includes his cringe-inducing slam into the right field wall late in the 1973 season that separated his shoulder and hampered him throughout the post season. Still though, he was able to hit four home runs and bat .341, including .423 in the World Series. Enjoy:
Date: November 20, 2011
I can’t believe I missed this one. From the folks that brought you the hilarious Mets “help wanted” ad, here is a plea from “John Ricco” to please, please buy Mets tickets. Even though it was taped prior to the 2011 season, it’s still fun to watch:
Date: October 30, 2011
A 1986 WWOR Mets promo, urging the team to “Bring it Home.” Hey, they did!
Date: October 11, 2011
I got an email from the folks over at SnagFilms.com, a website that streams some 2,000 films. They alerted me to the infamous “Let’s Go Mets Go” video from the 1980s which I had previously posted. But this 27-minute film includes a behind-the-scenes making of the video, complete with player interviews and then-mayor Ed Koch saying his favorite Met is Darryl Strawberry! It’s cool to see the players looking like we remember them. And check out the quality — it is incredible, not grainy like so many YouTube videos.
Date: July 2, 2011
In honor of our ailing pal Gary Carter, here is a commercial he did with his daughter for 7UP while he was still with the Expos. I have previously posted a couple of ads he did with the Mets here and here – who knew he was so prolific?!
Date: June 25, 2011
Younger Mets fans probably don’t know this, but back in the day, the Mets used to hold Camera Day. People would gather in the field level seats at Shea, and players would come out and pose for pictures. Could you imagine today’s players agreeing to do that? Here is some video from 1975, featuring Jerry Grote, Jerry Koosman, Tom Seaver, Felix Millan and his moustache, Rusty Staub, Dave Kingman and Wayne Garrett:
Date: March 10, 2011
The 1986 Mets theme song “Let’s Go Mets Go,” featuring a blurry Howard Stern at the end:
Date: February 18, 2011
