Citi Field? It's not Shea Stadium but it could have been worse. Imagine Wal-Mart Park? Too bad Metropolitan Life did not buy the naming rights. Then it could have been called Met Stadium or just "the Met".

"Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,

But there is no joy in Metsville—mighty Carlos has struck out."

I still can't believe that the Mets season is over. But even more amazing (no pun intended) to me is that I am not more upset. I hope this lack of feeling is not another manifestation of the aging process or just that I am tired of losing.

The passionate sports fan invests so much emotional capital into his or her team. What causes this phenomenon? Is it an escape from the humdrum and anonymity of our daily lives or does it go deeper? Does identifying with a winning team someone make us feel that we are winners? Conversely, does being a fan of a losing team make us feel that we are losers as well? During the baseball season over the last 40 years, my whole demeaner changes based on whether the Mets win or lose. My wife always knows when the Mets lose as I have what she not so affectionately calls "Mets face". Can the fate of a baseball team be a clinical cause of manic-depression? But somehow in the playoffs this year, the passion waned. I found myself changing the channels at critical points in the game. Twice I just TIVO'd the game and only watched when I found out the results the next day. I just couldn't take the emotional hit if I watched them lose. Am I now less of a fan or a just more normal person?