If you've seen Mathematically Alive, the wonderful documentary on the condition known as Mets fandom, you will remember a cat in a hat straight out of Dr. Seuss. That cat, Matt Hoey, is the fellow who made it his business to camp out at Shea days in advance of the first tickets going on sale every February so he could get them before anyone else. (Could there be a loftier ambition in winter?) I was always amused to see his name and/or his picture printed in the papers without fanfare or backstory every single year. “Hey,” I thought of this fellow, “it's the same guy! How come they never mention that?” Eventually they did. The Dr. Seuss lid (blue and orange, natch) struck me as a bit ostentatious, but the film gave me a valuable insight into him: He's a Mets fan like you, like me, like all of us. Sometimes that's all we need to know about a person.
Kathy Foronjy and Joe Coburn, directors of Mathematically Alive, send word that Matt has been in a serious accident and was hurt pretty badly. They ask that Mets fans everywhere send our best wishes for a speedy and full recovery to one of our own via getwellmatt@mathematicallyalive.com. Kathy and Joe will pass your messages of love and support to Matt's wife Tracey, who will let him know that Mets fans everywhere are thinking of him. If you take a minute, it will mean a lot.
The last on-sale day at Shea (March 9th, apparently) wont be the same. Can we get him there somehow? Something tells me it wont be AS bad this year, being Opening Day, Closing Day, and Subway Series tickets wont be sold.