The Columnist Manifesto

The Mets have broken ground on a new stadium right next to their current one, Shea Stadium. The original Shea Stadium is named after William Shea, a rich New York lawyer who spearheaded the local movement to get a National League franchise in New York City in the aftermath of the departures of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants to California.

I have no idea whether the new stadium will also be called "Shea." The heroism -- if that's what you call organizing community and business leaders to get the a franchise from Major League Baseball -- may well have merited naming one stadium after him for 40 years, but a second stadium?

More likely the Mets will just follow the current trend and sell corporate naming rights to the highest bidder.

The Mets announcers referred casually to the new stadium in a recent broadcast as "the New Shea." It got B and me thinking -- whatever the real name of the new stadium, wouldn't it be great if it became known among the fans as "Shea New"? (As in the French phrase for "our house.")