Mets' Citi Field 5 Borough Mascot Race a big hit
The moment before the gate opens Friday afternoon is tense, pregnant with the possibility of both failure and conquest.
The participants stand in a single-file line, mute and unmoving. Only the man in the suit and headset speaks, giving updates to an unnamed figure on the other end — his eyes trained on the vast green arena ahead of him.
The five behind him are modern gladiators waiting to fight before a roaring crowd of 43,945.
They are: A building. A pizza slice. A ferry. A giraffe. A train car.
Welcome to Citi Field’s inaugural 5 Borough Mascot Race, an approximately 350-foot sprint around the outfield warning track that creates heroes out of mass transportation options, villains out of zoo animals and fools out of . . . other mass transportation options.
In the middle of the third inning during this Mets home opener, that gate swings open, and mayhem ensues. The building, representing Manhattan, is first out, then the Brooklyn pizza slice, the Staten Island ferry, the Bronx Zoo Giraffe and finally, the Queens 7 train.
They run for glory, from leftfield to the home bullpen in right.
They run because they know no other life.
“They’re going to be racing every [home] game, so I think the competition is going to be fierce,” said Trisha Donlin, the Mets’ vice president for brand marketing and in-game entertainment.
The runners on Friday came from the team’s seasonal staff, but they were vetted with the necessary scrutiny.
“Do they have the ability? Have they done this before? Have they been in a mascot costume?” Donlin said.
At the starting line, Staten Island runs in the wrong direction and Mr. Met first tries to stop him and then looks on in disgust. That is, he would look on in disgust if he were capable of changing expressions. Instead, he puts his hands over his spherical face — the tableau of an anthropomorphic baseball in existential crisis.
Bronx, the surly giraffe, takes a quick lead, with Queens a distant second. Manhattan and Brooklyn, meanwhile, run at the pace of two gossiping middle-schoolers being forced to do a mile in gym.
With victory just feet away, the Bronx becomes cocky, and you know what they say about pride.
It cometh before a fall.
And fall he does. As the Bronx lies supine, his bulbous frame making him as helpless as a turtle flipped on its back, Queens cruises to a Shakespearean triumph.
There’s plenty of mystery surrounding the mascots, mostly because they’re not allowed to speak to the media . . . or anyone else. But Donlin, who spearheaded the idea, knows the makeup of their souls.
Brooklyn is “sassy, flirty . . . and marches to the beat of her own drum.” Manhattan is “confident and classy.” Queens is “everyone’s favorite.” She has no words for Bronx, who clearly is the villain in this scenario, and doesn’t mention Staten Island, though if the first race is any indication, the ferry may be a little ditsy.
The Mets are open to having celebrities don the costumes, and Donlin’s wish list includes Mets fan and musician John Mayer. This Newsday reporter suggested comedian Pete Davidson, who is from Staten Island and co-owns a ferry with former SNL co-host Colin Jost. The Mets already have thought of that.
“I think [Pete Davidson] should definitely come and race as the Staten Island ferry,” Donlin said. “He was a big inspiration for this.”
Mascot races aren’t new around baseball. A partial list: The Brewers race sausages, the Nationals race presidents, the Pirates race pierogies, and Atlanta, somewhat inexplicably, races Home Depot tools. The Mets’ race, meanwhile, is a nod to old-fashioned New York tribalism.
“When we thought of New York and what makes us unique and iconic, it was the five boroughs,” Donlin said. “Second to that was the inherent competition and the pride that you have for the borough you came from . . . We think fans are going to embrace that.”
If the pregame block party outside Citi Field was any indication, that process has begun. There, all five boogied pseudo-rhythmically to “I Want to Dance With Somebody.” Lifelong Mets fans Anne Seger and Marcy Lawrence bounced along, coaxing Brooklyn to dance with them.
Mostly, they were excited at what the mascots represent.
“Finally, we have owners who love us,” said Lawrence, 71, originally of Lynbrook but now of New City. Added Seger, 64, of Glendale: “The old regime is the old regime. This is where it’s at right now.”
Nick D’Arienzo, 64, of Middle Village shared a similar sentiment. “I was impressed with how good-looking the mascots themselves are,” he said. “There’s some creativity. Clearly, the organization wants to be the best at whatever they do.”
Michael Campione, 51, of New Hyde Park, there with girlfriend Nancy Palma, said all the pomp was “shocking to see — they did a great job.”
Cynics will point out that the race likely was staged. The Bronx falling was simply too perfect for a fan base trained to hate the Yankees. But mostly, it was the 7 train’s fairy tale victory that should give pause.
The train was finally on time.
With Carissa Kellman
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
