Subway Series Has Lost Its Luster

It sure isn't 1997 anymore.  Tiger Woods was young then.  Brett Favre and John Elway were still slinging passes.  MTV was cool.  Derek Jeter was in his prime.  Michael Jordan was dunking on people.  People couldn't start rumors on Facebook and Twitter.  Instant messaging was considered cool.  Television shows were real without the "ity" at the end.  And United States foreign relations were strong.  Ah, and the Subway Series was fun.

Interleague play and the Subway Series sure were fun back in 1997 when the whole thing began.  And a few years past that.  Yanks and Mets during the regular season felt like the 1950's all over again, just in June.  If you didn't get a Subway World Series, hey, who cares?  Bragging rights in New York could be handled during the regular season.

But now?  This interleague thing is 16 years old.  And it feels 116 years old.  The games don't have the same build-up.  It has been going on too long and it is tiring at this point.  Fans don't come out.  Just 32,911 fans came to Citi Field to see the Yanks and Mets on Memorial Day.  Not exactly what Major League Baseball is looking for from the biggest baseball market in America.

Interleague play is fine (or as MLB now calls it, the unbalanced schedule).  But how about every two or three years?  That way, it won't feel like we've been doing this interleague thing for over a century when it comes around again.

By:  Mike Lindsley, "Mid-Day with Mike," 1-4, Yankees pre/post game host on 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio.  Follow him on Twitter @MikeLSports.