New York Mets fans fill a section in the left field stands at Coors Field on Saturday night. The Mets beat the Rockies 14-9. David Zalubowski, The Associated Press)
This is what Nick Groke wrote in his story about the on Saturday night:
In soccer, they’re called “ultras” — die-hard, organized, traveling superfans who, with enough beer, become “hooligans.” The New York Mets have ultras who call themselves The 7 Line Army.
On Saturday, that orange-clad regimen took over two sections at Coors Field just outside the foul pole in left. They screamed “Let’s Go Mets” even before the first pitch, and loud enough to carry throughout LoDo.
The only noise that eventually drowned them out were boos from Rockies fans.
Sunday morning, I asked Rockies manager Walt Weiss if it “bugged” him when opposing fans dominated the atmosphere at Coors Field. He answered with truth … and a bit of humor.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Weiss said. “Well, New Yorkers are louder than everybody else. So 100 New Yorkers are the equivalent to about 10,000 Mets fans. And that’s coming from a New Yorker.
“But yes, it does, it bothers us. Teams with a lot of history come in here … I think we have seen that a handful of times this year. But to answer your question, yes, it does bother us.”
Star third baseman Nolan Arenado, however, provided a different answer to the question.
“I kind of like it. I really don’t mind it,” he said. “I like that the crowd is loud. I’m OK with them being loud.”
Even if it’s the opposition’s fans doing the cheering?
“Yeah, because then I think it gets Rockies fans motivated at the same time,” Arenado said. “They start getting fired up, so I don’t mind it. But at the end of the day I hope our fans are louder than theirs.”
Arenado then pointed out a game in St. Louis earlier this month when a contingent of purple-clad Colorado Boy Scouts filled up two sections of Busch Stadium and started chanting “Let’s go Rockies!”
“Remember that? That was awesome,” Arenado said.
Tags: Coors Field, Mets fans, Nolan Arenado, Walt Weiss
