As everyone already knows, Mr. Met is the most beloved mascot in all of sports. It's a fact! Sometimes he's the only good thing about the Mets! So it boggles the mind to think that back in the late '90s, a Secret Service agent allegedly threatened to kill Mr. Met, bringer of joy to the entire world, if he came too close to President Bill Clinton.
A.J. Mass, who inhabited the spirit of Mr. Met from 1994 to 1997, recounts the experience in his new memoir, "Yes, It’s Hot in Here: Adventures in the Weird, Woolly World of Sports Mascots." Clinton was at Shea Stadium in April 1997 for the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking MLB’s color barrier. CBS has the important quotes:
“Now listen to me very carefully. … We have snipers all around the stadium, just in case something were to happen,” a Secret Service agent told Mass, according to a book excerpt making the rounds. “Like I said, do whatever it is you normally do. Nobody will bother you. But approach the president, and we go for the kill shot. Are we clear?”
The former Mr. Met wrote that it felt like the agent wasn’t “only looking into my eyes, but also into my very soul with his blank, unblinking stare.”
Then another warning, for good measure.
“Approach the president, and we go for the kill shot,” the agent told Mass. “ARE-WE-CLEAR?”
There's only one logical explanation for the inhumane treatment Mr. Met received: the Secret Service agent was forced to threaten Mr. Met because his family was being held by Mr. Met's greatest foe, the Philly Fanatic.
Philly Fanatic vs. Mr. Met from beepboop on Vimeo.
