SPREADING HOPE
Founder of 7 Line Army trying to help take everyone’s mind off pandemic
7 Line Army founder trying to bring hope to Mets fans
For the 7 Line Army, the Mets were always a distraction. A distraction from the news or life’s daily stresses. Whatever was weighing on their minds before walking into Citi Field got pushed aside for a few hours.
Now, the die-hard group of Mets fans are forced to focus on the one thing everyone is paying attention to. News is changing minute-to-minute and their eyes are glued to their phones or TVs for updates on the grim situation the coronavirus has created. When a Mets update, like Noah Syndergaard’s Tommy John surgery, momentarily takes over the news cycle, it’s taken a little less seriously, a little less passionately. The consequences of a season-long rehab are considered for a minute or two, but then it’s back to fighting the invisible enemy right outside the window.
No one feels this turn of the tide better than Darren Meenan, the founder of 7 Line Army, who’s trying his best to bring that distraction back while helping his close friends fend off the coronavirus.
“Baseball will be back eventually, but lives can’t be replaced,” Meenan said. “Of course it’s disappointing to see such a great sunny day yesterday, we could’ve been out there at Citi Field. It’s an annual tradition. But wouldn’t you rather not die?”
Make your own mask
One day last week, Meenan texted his close friend, who is considered an essential-worker during this crisis, to make sure he’s taking the right precautions before going into work. When Meenan found out his friend doesn’t have a mask to wear every day, he got creative.
“So I was just looking at my hat — I wear a hat every day — and looking at the front of it, it’s kind of the same shape as a mask would be,” Meenan said. “So maybe I could just cut it up and figure it out.”
He demonstrated, over a simple two-minute video, how to pull apart a baseball cap and turn it into a mask. At the end of the video, Meenan stressed the imperfectness of his “hat mask.” He understands that the CDC-recommended N95 respirators or typical surgical facemasks far exceed his version. But proper masks are nearly impossible to get a hold of during a time when health care workers like nurses and doctors are running out. So Meenan shared his “hat mask” idea because, in his mind, it’s better than walking outside with his mouth uncovered.
“I totally understand,” Meenan said. “It’s not even close to the best way, but it’s better than zero.
“Even if you wear this hat mask one time, maybe when you go out to pump gas, then you can come home and throw it in the wash. Even if it’s not blocking the virus airborne-wise, at least it helps you not touch your face.”
Stalling the Army
Meenan founded The 7 Line, a company for Mets-themed apparel, in 2009. He’s currently set up in a warehouse in Hauppauge — where he designs hats and t-shirts, makes the merchandise, then ships out orders. In 2014, he inked a licensing deal from Major League Baseball, which gave his brand the ability to use official trademarks. Later that season, he opened a kiosk at Citi Field just behind the Big Apple in center field.
Meenan is currently running a single-employee business and the responsibility of customer orders lies on his shoulders. He wasn’t sure if he should still make his products available ahead of Opening Day — a week that is normally his busiest of the year (besides the holiday season). He didn’t want to promote his merchandise, something that, in his mind, would come off as insensitive, during a time when customers are trying to save their money.
But his buddies encouraged him to sell his products despite the delayed season. The response, in Meenan’s words, was overwhelming. He received enough orders through Opening Day week to keep him going — for now — during these uncertain times.
“I guess they were using the term ‘retail therapy,’” Meenan said.
Meenan depends on the Mets season for both his annual compensation and his weekly schedule. In 2012, he founded the The 7 Line Army by buying hundreds of tickets for the final home game of the season. Over 500 fans cheered on R.A. Dickey as he captured his 20th win of the year in an eventual Cy Young award-winning campaign. That final home game led to a movement as fans quickly began invading opponent ballparks and taking their support on the road.
The coronavirus global pandemic has put The 7 Line Army in a holding pattern. Meenan is waiting to hear from the league on the possibility of a shortened season and how to go from there — managing future road trips, booking hotels and flights and piecing together whatever support he can.
“We were planning to go to D.C. on Saturday with 700 fans, so clearly that was canceled,” Meenan said. “So now we have to issue refunds. It’s kind of a nightmare. You have to deal with 700 people asking, ‘Where’s my money?’
“Opening Day was last Thursday, and our tickets were completely sold out. But if they have Opening Day in July, do we automatically have a ticket for that? We don’t have all the answers.”
Finding the bright side
While Meenan’s only source of income is put on hold, he’s trying to make the most of his time at home by uplifting those around him in a distressing time.
He created a series of art shows called ‘Art Class with Herm!’ where Brooklyn-based illustrator and graphic journalist Andrew ‘Herm’ Hermida takes viewers through a step-by-step process of drawing random Mets memorabilia. The shows have so far covered drawings of Mr. and Mrs. Met, the Home Run Apple and Bobby Valentine.
Meenan said the art shows are purposefully kid-friendly, and he enjoys taking part in them with his four-year-old daughter to provide a distraction for his family away from the news. After the drawings are completed, parents take pictures of the pieces and send them to Meenan. He gives out gift cards to the best drawings to create a mini-competition.
“It’s like an art class at your house,” Meenan said. “We’re trying to figure out different ways to stay engaged and still be active out there with more community-based activities.”
He recently created a bracket called ‘March Metness’ that features a bracket-style tournament on Mets trivia. Two opponents can connect virtually with Meenan as he guides them through nine-inning trivia questions ranging anywhere from dates in history to naming classic advertisements at Shea Stadium. Eventually, there will be a grandprize winner with a cash jackpot.
The goal for Meenan, in a world without Mets baseball, is to try and bring that distraction back. Since Mets updates are less trivial than they used to be, maybe game shows like March Metness and art classes will, at least temporarily, take the attention away from the state of the global crisis. He knows baseball and The 7 Line Army will return but for now, it’s about finding brightness in smaller moments.