IT'S OVER!

That's it - the Mets' season is over. That's a pity, but then I remind myself of a great statement by Indianapolis Colts' coach Tony Dungy that it's called the game of football because that's what it is - a game. It isn't life, it's a game. Baseball is too.

I had some fun watching the Mets playing this season. It was great to ride the wave with them that seemed it would take them into the post-season and even the World Series, but now that wave has come crashing down on the beach, life goes on.

I was at Shea three times this season -

On May 17th I introduced Basil D'Souza and his family to baseball on a chilly afternoon in Queens. They don't play the game in India where cricket rules, so this was a great contest to witness as the Mets rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the bottom of the 9th against the Cubs to score five runs and win the game.

The very next day some friends unexpectedly offered me two seats to watch the Mets play the Yankees. I wore thermals that evening and we huddled under a blanket, drinking hot chocolate, but the Mets beat their cross-town rivals. A wonderful thing!

The best game I went to was the third one, with my son and my grandsons in August. Cubs again. That was one of the best evenings of the summer. My team won that night too, but it was being there with the boys that made it special.

So thanks Willie and everyone else. It was a good season.

Pity it ended so soon.