Perry
October 20, 2000
It was crazy. I went to this game certain the Mets were going to lose. I mean, the braves had 3 games and the Mets none. I went in with a negative attitude, and came out of the stadium with a feeling of triumph! I felt like the entire crowd, young and old, came together that night. The entire stadium echoed "ASSHOLE" periodically through the night and occational "LARRY"'s. everyone, old men and little girls were all screaming it at the top of their lungs. thats what I love about being a Mets fan. such a diverse crowd that comes together regardless of any diffrences. I had so much fun and the Mets rocked, but it was overshadowed by the fact that after the game, I had the luck of meeting Gary CArter in the parking lot. he was my alltime favorite met and my childhood idol. the whole night was one to remember, even though I dont remember the specific detail of the game.

tom g
May 27, 2002
This was the first Met playoff game I had ever been to, although I have been a fan for nearly 25 years. I was sitting right next to the Braves bullpen in the picnic area. I remember all the police who had been there to protect John Rocker, and you should have heard the abuse he took from all the Met fans. In the bottom of the eighth inning, he came in to pitch and John Olerud hit a 2-run single off Rocker to score the tying and eventual winning runs. Benitez got the save in the 9th, and the Mets were still alive. I will never forget how crazy the subway ride home from Shea was that night.

Anthony
January 15, 2003
This was my second playoff game I ever attended (and second of 1999 for that matter) and it was awesome. It was my cousin Dan, my uncle Dave, my sister Julie and myself. My cousin and I took the upper deck tickets and my sister and uncle took the field level tickets. The upper deck was awesome though. The game was quiet for the first six innings.

I remember when John Olerud came up, I pulled my Rosary out of my pocket and all of a sudden, BANG! Olerud hit a solo shot. It looked like Rick Reed was in control, then suddenly, Brian Jordan (this guy always seems to get big hits against them) and Ryan Klesko hit back-to-back homers to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. Rick Reed looked sooo down was he was pulled out. He still pitched an awesome game.

Then, Mets have runners on second and third (Roger Cedeno and Melvin Mora did a double steal) with Olerud coming up. In came John Rocker and along with him, the roaring "a**hole* chants. It was sooo intense, Olerud had two strikes and then lo and behold, he gets what I believe was his first hit off Rocker and at the perfect time. My cousin and I screamed at each other in excitment. Then, Armando Benitez came in and closed out an awesome game.

Lee
July 4, 2004
I was really upset because the Braves were up in the NLCS 3-0 and were one game away from making the World Series and I knew I had tickets to Game 5 so if the Mets could just win this game I could get to see them play one more time this year. In the eighth inning, it was 2-1 Braves and things didn't look good and John Rocker was on the mound and everyone was booing him but the Mets got Mevlin Mora and Roger Cedeno on second and third for John Olerud and John Olerud hit a bouncing ball up the middle that went off Ozzie Guillen's glove and both runs scored and the Mets took the lead! Then Armando Benitez came in to save it and I was going to see them tomorrow.

Dave VW
August 9, 2024
What an unbelievable comeback. Rick Reed was absolutely brilliant, just as good as when he shut out the Pirates a couple weeks earlier to keep the Mets playoff hopes alive. For those not in attendance watching the game on TV, we went into the top of the 8th inning with a 1-0 lead feeling pretty good, Reed in complete control. Then NBC comes back from the commercial break late, the game already back in progress, and we're greeted with Darryl Hamilton on a dead sprint going back to the wall and Bob Costas yelling, "Jordan hits one deep and it's off the wall, and the umpires are calling it a home run!"

Whoa, WTF just happened?!?! Is this real? And before any of it could sink in, there's Ryan Klesko bashing another one over the RF wall. It all happened so fast, and it seemed like you could hear a pin drop at Shea, aside from the Braves dugout hooting and hollering. Reed goes from hero to zero in the matter of 3 pitches, and it seems like, with how the Mets offense has been this series, the sweep is inevitable.

But then the miraculous happened in the bottom of the 8th. Cedeno, clearly the Mets hottest hitter at the time, lines a leadoff single to center. However, hope was dashed a little when Ordonez, for the second time in the series, popped up a sac bunt attempt and was out. Matt Franco comes up to pinch hit, and the Braves counter by bringing in Remlinger for Smoltz. Smoltz was every bit as good as Reed, even after it looked like he suffered an arm injury in the middle innings when he yelped and had to shake out his arm following a pitch. The Mets brought Franco back and had Agbayani take the pinch-hitting AB, but he struck out. Not looking good.

Mora, who had come into the game for defense when the Mets had the lead, then worked out a walk, continuing to impress with his clutch ability. That's when Rocker came in to face Olerud, who he's already struck out twice in the series. Mora and Cedeno pull off a double steal without a throw, and then Olerud taps one to SS, where Ozzie Guillen had just come in to play as part of a double switch. He took a weird angle to get to the ball, and hence had it ricochet off his glove and into short right-center field, allowing both runners to score and put the Mets in front! Mora and Cedeno jump into each others arms at the plate, and Shea goes bananas.

Benitez got a scare from Guillen in the 9th, as he missed a HR down the RF line by about 10 feet, before flying out. But he then got Gerald Williams and Keith Lockhart without incident and the Mets survive to see another day.

How much longer the Mets can last with the middle of the order -- Alfonzo, Piazza and Ventura -- unable to buy a hit, and now with Henderson sulking because he's upset Valentine is taking him out for defense, is anybody's guess. With the pitching matchup for Game 5 Maddux vs. Yoshii, the Braves are undoubtedly heavy favorites.