By Max Sass

The 6 – 5 score of the Mets’ loss to the San Diego Padres at brand new Citi Field did little to dampen the excitement and enthusiasm that accompanied the first opening of a New York Stadium, a sparkling, dynamic and well planned venue.

The sold-out stadium was full long before the 6:30 PM scheduled start of the opening ceremonies. Though Citi Field holds about 15,000 fewer seats than the former Shea Stadium, the environment and home field advantage for the Mets seems to have remained intact, despite the outcome of the first game. Though Citi Field will not shake like Shea, the seating levels are positioned so the fans – – even those in the upper deck – – are right on top of the players. Opponents (and maybe Mets second baseman Luis Castillo) might wilt under the pressure of the fans bearing down on them.

To honor America, active U.S. military service personnel marched out in front of the throng to display an enormous American flag that spanned about 90% of the outfield, while the cast of Rent sang the national anthem and then two F-18 fighter jets flew over the stadium. The crowd went absolutely crazy though, when two Mets legends made their way slowly across the outfield for the ceremonial first pitch. Wearing their old numbers, 41 and 31, Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza appeared to enjoy the adulation reigning down from the stands, taking several minutes to amble from the home bullpen to the pitcher’s mound. Seaver threw a borderline strike to Piazza, who looked as fit as ever behind the plate. The only person in attendence who may not have truly enjoyed the special opening of Citi Field Monday night may have been Governor Patterson, when the 42,000 in attendance let their displeasure for him be known with loud boos. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg received hearty applause.

Then the game started. Mike Pelfrey was the answer to more than one trivia question early on. Unfortunately those questions were: Which pitcher surrendered the first homerun in Citi Field and who was guilty of the first embarrassing moment at the Mets new home? Pelfrey’s pitch that was hit out of the park by the game’s leadoff hitter, Jody Gerut of the Padres, was one mistake by the Mets’ big righty, but his slip and fall on the mound a few innings later seemed to exemplify the way the Mets played that night.

The Padres jumped out with a 4 – 0 lead on Pelfrey in the first inning, but David Wright’s 5th inning blast to left field launched the crowd into a frenzy. Unfortunately, an error by Ryan Church followed by a balk by Pedro Feliciano provided San Diego with the slim one run margin of victory.

The Ebbets Field look-alike that is Citi Field is absolutely stunning inside and out. The Jackie Robinson Rotunda is a fitting and appropriate tribute to a man who changed the game of baseball and America. Beyond that, every seat in the stadium is angled to afford the spectator the best possible view of the field and the game. The food is also tasy and accessible because the concourses were wide enough to fit a large number of people through comfortably. The opening of Citi Field was inspirational for Mets fans and yielded the dawn of an optimistic, new era for the Mets in their splendid new home. The Yankees, who have their own brand new stadium opening tonight against the Cleveland Indians, have quite a standard to live up to after Citi Field’s opening.