for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com JANUARY 23, 2014 • The CourieR SUN 55 sports Fan spirit alive at Queens Baseball Convention BY LIAM LA GUERRE lguerre@queenscourier.com New York Mets fans have heard this maybe a million times—they have a troubled franchise. The team hasn’t won a World Series in nearly three decades and has been disappointing in the last five years, as they struggled just to stay above .500. That’s just scratching the surface, but even as frustrating CROSSFIT FOR A CAUSE BY SALVATORE LICATA Research Foundation (JDRF). About 60 athletes from editorial@queenscourier.com gyms around the city competed for the number one spot in their weight class. CrossFit athletes came together at the Ave Maria “Events like this bring a community together, especially Catholic Academy in Howard Beach for a friendly when it’s for such a good cause,” said Anthony contest to help those less fortunate. Bencivengo, who competed. “The camaraderie you The owners of Howard Beach CrossFit (HBCF) set build in CrossFit is different than any other gym.” up a workout competition on Sunday, January 19, The competition lasted about four hours, with six where all proceeds were sent to the Juvenile Diabetes different groups. At the end, there were five different winners from different weight classes. HBCF program director John McGuire, who organized the charity event, thought the turnout was better than expected. “What we try to do is promote fitness and get people moving; it’s even better when we can do it for a good cause like this,” McGuire said. To learn more about HBCF gym, go to howardbeachcrossfit. com. as that has been, the spirit of Mets fans is alive and well, and was strongly represented by more than 400 die-hards at the first-ever Queens Baseball Convention (QBC) this past weekend. “It’s pretty exciting. We may not be in the playoffs every year, but it’s cool to see everyone, and the spirit of Mets fans,” said Andrew Hermida, an illustrator, who was selling his original Mr. Met drawings at the QBC. The event, which was at McFadden’s bar in Citi Field, was organized by a trio of die-hard Mets fans— Shannon “Shark” Prior and Keith Blacknick, the pair behind blog siteMetspolice.com, and The 7 Line clothing brand founder Darren Meenan. The premise was simply to celebrate past figures from the franchise and, according to organizers, a hopefully fruitful future. Wearing orange and blue shirts, jerseys, caps, socks, shoes and jackets, the Mets faithful played games, enjoyed Mets trivia, bought parts of the old Shea Stadium and Mets memorabilia, and talked about the past and the upcoming season. “Hundreds of people paid $35 to celebrate a team that hasn’t won anything in years. It’s like some weird cult,” said Mets fan and comedian Jeff Hysen, who was the event’s MC. Parents attended the QBC with their children, who brought their children, as generations of fans were present. The kids tried their hand at a dunk tank and got their faces painted. The event surely attracted many fans for its guest speakers, which included former players Ron Darling and Ed Kranepool, members of the Mets 1986 and 1969 World Series teams, respectively. The former players signed autographs, and had question and-answer sessions. Even Darling, who is now a baseball broadcaster, was astounded at how much love fans showed their troubled franchise. “You guys never give up,” Darling said. “I don’t know how you do it.” That’s because to some, being a fan isn’t about winning. “Sports is not about winning, it’s about enjoying the sport. I don’t think it’s exciting to be on the winning team every year. You have to have something to play for,” said Heidi Springer of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, who attended the event with her husband and two sons. The first QBC attracted a strong crowd, many of whom said they would like to see the event return. Organizers did say they would like to make it an annual event, but for now are just happy with the first QBC turnout. “The good part about it is everyone that’s involved in it is a Mets fan,” Meenan said. “It’s really a team effort.” THE COURIER/Photos by Liam La Guerre Mets fans big and small showed strong support for the team at the first ever Queens Baseball Convention.
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