North-of-border Mets fan is definition of 'infanity'
Where Craig Simpson lives, his primary sports allegiance to baseball, let alone the Mets, is akin to treason, a betrayal of all that's Canadian.
"I hear it all the time. 'How can you not be a hockey fan?' " said Simpson, 38, born, raised and still living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, about 600 air miles north of Citi Field. "I'm not a hockey fan, not at all."
And then, in a brushback pitch of sorts to acceptable north-of-the-border customs, as a baseball fan he doesn't even root for Canada's lone major league team, the Toronto Blue Jays.
It's the Amazins. Always has been. Always will be.
"Ever since I can remember, I've been a Mets fan," said Simpson, a divorced father of two and an installer of fire sprinkler systems. He was 9 years old in 1986, when the Amazins' World Series championship team captivated him.
Like so many fans, he wears his heart on his sleeve. Well, more like his entire left arm, which is decorated with a Mets tattoo collage, including tributes to Shea Stadium, some Mets retired jersey numbers, the Big Apple, and his favorite player, Darryl Strawberry.
He called the ink motif "some of my Mets memories," his favorite of which is Endy Chávez's leaping catch at the leftfield wall against St. Louis in the '06 playoffs. "I'm hoping to add something to commemorate a 2015 World Series championship," Simpson said.
While no facet of his fanaticism needs validation -- yes, there's a Mets man cave at home, too -- Simpson is known for following his passion. Literally.
Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday will mark his fourth trip to Citi Field this postseason. Simpson went to Games 3 and 4 of the division series, and Game 1 of the championship series.
He paid StubHub $3,200 Canadian (slightly more than $2,400 American) for two tickets to the World Series Game 4 in leftfield, section 134, row 11, for him and daughter Olivia, 13.
So far, his four round-trips -- about 4,800 air miles -- and two tickets for each of the four games, plus amenities, add up to more than $6,500.
"I don't care how much it cost; I needed to see them in the playoffs," Simpson said.
Simpson probably doesn't rank No. 1 as the Mets fan who has traveled the farthest: SeatGeek.com, which tracks such Internet purchases, said online sales for Mets playoff tickets have been made in 44 states.
What Simpson has going for him is frequency, which, for his sake, you hope would translate to at least some airlines rewards miles. He said he's fortunate that his sister has helped with his travel. She works for one of the Internet travel companies and has hooked him up with some affordable deals.
And then there's one other component, which has little to do with the Mets -- believe it or not -- and everything about shaping memories with his daughter.
"I'm making her into a Mets fan," he said, acknowledging a bit that he needs family support for his personal twist on insane fan devotion -- "infanity," if you will.
"To be able to see and share the Mets like this with my daughter, it's one of the greatest things I've ever had," he said.
Who could hope to put a price on that? "If I could, I'd pay even more," Simpson said.
Next year, though, his son, Dominic, 9, gets to join them on their expedition south to Citi Field. "It's his turn," said Simpson, who will make that trip by car. "I promised him."