Mets fan fires an e-mail back
Fred Wilpon gestures as he talks to fans during a game against the Texas Rangers at Shea Stadium. (June 15, 2008) Credit: David L. Pokress
Mets fan Eric Usinger of Huntington found an e-mail from the Mets in his inbox this afternoon.
He didn't like it.
The Mets sent out a pair of news releases, one from Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, and one from their attorneys. The releases - which were apparently sent to season-ticket holders and anyone who has ever used a credit card to buy tickets on Mets.com - made the Mets owners' case against the lawsuit filed by Madoff scandal trustee Irving Picard.
Usinger, 32, an attorney himself, didn't appreciate being dragged into the Mets owners' legal and financial problems. He sent a scathing e-mail back to the Mets in which he stated, in part: "It is absolutely disgusting that you would use your e-mail base of dedicated Mets fans to try and win public sympathy for your legal problems . . . Tying the good feelings I have about David Wright and Mr. Met to your bad investment decisions is deplorable."
Usinger, in a telephone interview, said he did not receive an immediate reply from the team.
"I would say it outrages me because the financial problems that they have are personal to them and their companies," he said. "And the fan base attaches itself to the team, the history, the players, the nostalgia and all that other stuff. When you try to make a link between the two, it implies that I should be supporting the Wilpons, as if I'm a tool for the Wilpons and their financial problems."
Usinger said he attended about 10 games last season at Citi Field and wasn't planning to boycott the team this year, although he admitted thinking about it.
"I thought about writing a sentence saying, 'Don't expect to see me at the ballpark,' " he said. "But you know what? You like the team."
