Mets Pop Culture Resurgence
By Will Carafello
The Mets brand has been a part of a number of movies and TV shows over the team’s nearly 60 years of existence. Though times have changed, and we now consume movies and TV much more differently, I have noticed an awakening of sorts with Mets memorabilia and mentions appearing in some of the biggest movies and original shows as of late.
First, Disney’s new movie, Soul, features a main charter, Joe, who grew up as a Mets fan. One scene flashes back to him as a kid, wearing a late-80’s style, racing stripe jersey. An additional scene shows the back of this same jersey, and it seems to be that of 1986 World Series hero, Mookie Wilson. It’s certainly nice to see a current children’s movie highlighting a Mets great to a new generation.
Also in the film Soul, one can notice in the background of the barber shop scene, a number of New York sports teams signs and banners. And, one will also find a pair of Mets banners hanging on the walls, too. In the scene above, you can notice both signs, including a 1986 World Series Champions item.
In a separate instance, Netflix released Season 3 of Cobra Kai on January 1, 2021. Within one of Season 3’s episodes, the viewer flashes back to the first season, inside the office of the main character, Daniel LaRusso. One can easily notice the bobblehead of Mets great, Keith Hernandez, on his otherwise neat desk.
Fun fact: The bobblehead is actually a stadium giveaway from June 17, 2012, as part of the team’s 50th Anniversary season long celebration. The Mets viewer is left asking: maybe LaRusso took his family back to the East Coast, (the character was born and grew up in Newark, NJ) and they took in a game at Citi Field collecting the bobblehead as a memento of that trip?
Though fun to think about, it is more likely that the item came from the personal collection of either Ralph Macchio, the actor who portrays LaRusso, who is a real-life Mets fan, or the series writer, Jon Hurwitz, also a long-time Mets fan. Either way, the bobblehead is a cool tie in to the main character’s past for these real Mets fans.
Though its release date is set for later this year, some photos from the filming of Coming 2 America have been leaked. These stills depict Eddie Murphy’s character, Akeem, donning his best New York tourist uniform, complete with an I Love NY button on a wool and leather-sleeved Mets jacket. Akeem also wore this Mets jacket in the original film from 1988. It’s nice to know that Akeem is still believing.
On the December 12, 2020, opening monologue of Saturday Night Live, guest host Timothée Chalamet, quipped that he had his first kiss on New Year’s Eve with the Mets beloved mascot Mr. Met’s daughter, Stacey Met. Chalamet is a native New Yorker. Mr. Met took to Twitter to reply to Chalamet’s joke.
It will be interesting to see where and when the the next Mets reference appears in pop culture. Do you know of any more Mets references in current media? Let us know!
