Sunday, April 29, 2001
The line of baseball fans began forming at 7:30 p.m. Friday, growing slowly but steadily, until by Saturday morning it nearly stretched around the mammoth Kings Plaza in Brooklyn.
As they waited, they talked of baseball, of Opening Days past, present and future — the next being the June 25 debut of the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets’ new farm team.
Greg Packer, 37, a highway crew worker for the Town of Huntington, L.I., was the first on line. For his trouble, he met Cyclones executive Jeff Wilpon, son of Fred Wilpon, co-owner of the New York Mets. He also got gifts: a Brooklyn Cyclones logo baseball, pennant, hat and T-shirt.
Not far behind were old Brooklyn Dodgers fans Ilene and Myles Seitz.
“He’s the real thing, a Brooklyn Dodgers fan from way back when,” Ilene said of her 63-year-old husband. “It’s his life. He loves it. He got me — not even trying — to love it.”
Born and raised in the East New York section of Brooklyn, the two moved out to White Plains six years ago, although Myles still works in Brooklyn.
“This brings baseball back to Brooklyn, which has been delayed for 43 years, and I welcome it back,” he said.
By early afternoon, more than 2,000 people had shown up. More than 125,000 tickets — about half of the season — were sold.
Several games in the 3,500-seat KeySpan Park, in the shadow of the old Coney Island parachute jump, were sellouts: Opening Day — and all games against the Staten Island Yankees.
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