Hoping They All Lose

It's difficult to stay interested in turf wars when there's no one to root for. For example, I've lost track of what's happening with the westside stadium. Many enormous business ventures are spending millions on television commercials pretending to have their movements backed by the grassroots. Cablevision vs. the NY Jets/city government/2012 Olympic hopes. Throw in the added benefit of having the MTA own the current proposed building site with the potential of profiting enormously from any sale while subway service declines and fares go up, and seriously, I want all three-plus major players to rot in hell or, at least, lose.

Cablevision and TimeWarner are the players in the other battle I've lost interest in. I don't have cable television, but I watch the occasional baseball game at friends' homes that do. And with the current stalemate between the city's two cable giants, the majority of Mets' games are currently untelevised. While this is good for personal productivity and saves my wife from being a baseball widow, Mets' fans are missing their baseball.

Or are they? Turns out Mets' fans are creating their own mini-Shea stadiums in the form of sports bars that have DirecTV, the only carrier of all the New York teams. It's creating a communal buzz about the Mets throughout the city, both in terms of PR and blood alcohol level.

So now when the Mets break our hearts as they inevitably do, even though they're the only conglomerate in all these battles we desperately hope won't lose, at least we'll already be drowned in our sorrows.