Met fans shrug off the naming of Citi Field

With work under way on a new stadium that will house the New York Mets starting in 2009, it was inevitable that the new digs would get a corporate name. A quick tour of the Mets-fan blogosphere indicates people are generally underwhelmed with the announcement that the place will be called Citi Field—or, depending on which article you read, CitiField. (Citigroup is chipping in something over $20 million a year for the naming rights.) A blogger at The Eddie Kranepool Society, named after one of the team’s early semi-stars,  expresses grudging relief that it wasn’t worse, “Like Trump Stadium or Cablevision Park.” Over at Deadspin, one commenter notes that it’s better than the second-place finisher: “The GawkerDome.” One drawback to the new name is that it lends itself easily to alteration by graffiti artists. The simplest version would read “Citified,” as if the Mets were a bunch of urban dandies who’ve outgrown their down-home origins. It could also be easily amended to “Sissy Field,” which might have seemed all too suitable for some of the light-hitting squads the franchise has fielded over the years. Given the delicate sensibilities of AdFreak readers, we won’t even ask you to imagine the cruder plays on Citi Field that are sure to arise when fans are feeling disgruntled with the place.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

November 14, 2006 | Permalink