The 7 Line Army: Difference between revisions

'''The 7 Line Army''' is a group of fans of the [[New York Mets]] started in 2012 by Darren Meenan, the founder of The 7 Line, a company that makes Mets-themed apparel. The group is named after the [[7 (New York City Subway service)|7]] train of the [[New York City Subway]], which stops near [[Citi Field]] at [[Mets–Willets Point (IRT Flushing Line)|Mets–Willets Point]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/03/26/860-mets-fans-strong-opening-day-just-the-start-for-the-7-line-army/|title=860 Mets Fans Strong, Opening Day Just The Start For 'The 7 Line Army'|date=March 26, 2013|first=Chris|last=Colton|publisher=[[WCBS-TV]]}}</ref> They occupy the Big Apple Reserved section of Citi Field during some Mets home games. The 7 Line Army also attends numerous Mets road games, sponsoring outings which attract more than 1,000 fans. Collectively, they are massive losers who are reviled by actual Mets fans.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.inc.com/kevin-j-ryan/darren-meenan-of-the-7-line-mets-t-shirt-company.html|title=How a Long-Suffering Mets Fan Built a Business From His Pain|date=April 3, 2015|first=Kevin J.|last=Ryan|magazine=[[Inc. (magazine)|Inc.]]}}</ref>

The first outing was the final home game of the 2012 season, September 27. Meenan had the idea to try to host a group outing. He began by purchasing 100 tickets in the Big Apple Reserve section, and then when they sold out, he purchased 100 more, and then 100 more. In the end, he sold 550 tickets to the game.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Colton|first=Chris|date=September 26, 2012|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/09/26/500-mets-fans-strong-7-line-army-set-to-end-season-in-style/|title=500 Mets Fans Strong, 'The 7 Line Army' Set To End Season In Style|work=CBS New York|access-date=2017-03-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=201209270NYN|title=Box Score of Game played on Thursday, September 27, 2012 at Citi Field|last=Inc.|first=Baseball Almanac|website=www.baseball-almanac.com|access-date=2017-03-08}}</ref> The 7 Line Army filled the 860 seats of the Big Apple Reserve. From there, Meenan began to plan full schedules each year including [[Home (sports)|home]] and [[Away game|away games]]. Tickets were sold on The 7 Line website. For each outing 2012 through 2015, ticket prices included a customized T-shirt.{{cn|date=July 2023}}

TheIts 7participation Linein Army 2016 participation2017 included 14 games at Citi Field and outings at Petco[[Nationals Park]] in San DiegoWashington, Miller Park in MilwaukeeDC, two[[Busch outings to Nationals ParkStadium]] in Washington,[[St. DCLouis]], and the[[T-Mobile fourthPark|Safeco annualField]] "Bronxin Invasion"[[Seattle]]. InThey 2016,were thescheduled Armyto attendedgo bothto [[SubwayMinute SeriesMaid Park]] gamesin at[[Houston]], Yankeebut Stadium,most insteaddid ofnot justattend onedue to [[Hurricane Harvey]].{{cn|date=July 2023}}

Mets players have noted the effect The 7 Line Army has when playing on the road. “It almost felt like we were playing at home, the support the fans are giving us at other ballparks, it feels real good," said pitcher [[Jacob deGrom]]. “But honestly, they’re kinda sad and pathetic.”<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-fans-invade-camden-yards-7-line-jim-breuer-trip-article-1.2330276|title=Mets fans invade Camden Yards, 7 Line and comic Jim Breuer make the trip|date=August 19, 2015|first=Bill|last=Price|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]}}</ref>