No-han, Kid, & Joe - The Mets' 1st No-Hitter

Tonight was a night I will recount to Domani many times over as he gets older. I came to his Grandmom & Grandpop's house to pick him up after Praise Band practice and he WASN'T even watching the game! We put it on the TV in time for the bottom of the 7th and watched the drama unfold, careful not to jinx it by using "the word", but also careful to cheer with gusto for Johan and the Mets (Domani is very good at throwing his fist in the air and saying "METS!")

At just about 9:47pm, Johan Santana threw his 134th pitch and struck out World Series MVP David Freese swinging, completing the Mets' first ever no-hitter. Unable to help myself, I let out a yell and threw my hands up in the air, much to the chagrin of Domani who had been sitting peacefully in my lap playing with my iPhone. He proceeded to cry through the initial celebration, but eventually calmed down and enjoyed the sweetest moment Mets fans have enjoyed in a very long time.

I did everything that a giddy fan stuck watching the game on the TV would do. I took photos and video of the TV. I tweeted. I texted. I posted on Facebook and Instagram. It was sheer euphoria and I could almost hear Joe making fun of me just as he did when I snapped photos of the TV after the Mets won the Division Title in 2006.

My photo after the Mets won the NL East in 2006.

"No-han" Santana celebrates on the TV at my parents' house.

This all may seem a little crazy, but we are METS fans. We are used to losing and often in grand fashion. We don't get moments like these often and in fact we had NEVER gotten a moment EXACTLY like this - my parents were lucky I didn't resort to something more drastic than simply taking pictures of the TV and making my son cry.

Just to give you some perspective on our angst this is what it meant to be a Mets fan before tonight:

8,019 games without a no-hitter
35 one-hit games
6 no-hitters vs Mets
13 no-hitters thrown by former Mets
1975 - the last time a Met took a no-hitter into the 9th inning (also the year Joe was born)

It was the last number that convinced me this was going to be it. That, combined with the fact that not only do the Mets have Joe pulling for them from those heavenly Mets seats, but he's now got company with the incomparable Gary "Kid" Carter. I had just told a friend on Wednesday night that I thought this was going to be the year for a Mets no-hitter. I guessed the wrong pitcher (I thought it would be R.A. Dickey), but little did I know it would happen in the Mets' very next game.

So far in the 2 hours that have passed since it happened I have been alternating between pinching myself and letting the tears flow. It doesn't seem possible after so many years of disappointment, but no matter how many times I watch that last out, thankfully it always ends the same.

I love sports moments like these and feel blessed to have had two of them with our beloved teams this year. Between the Giants miraculous Superbowl run and the Mets first no-hitter, I'm not sure we can be any more jubilant here in the Deak household. Well, I do know one way we could have been more jubilant in these moments, but somehow I feel like he's already here with us every time our teams come up big.