At first, I was bummed I didn't buy my seats from Shea Stadium. Now I am relieved, as i can put that money towards...a $5,995 Mets coffin (for use at a much future date).
Twenty
teams’ caskets will be available by December, including the Yankees and
Mets. The manufacturer, Michigan-based Eternal Image, plans to have all
30 franchises accounted for by the end of 2009.
Since the company began selling team-branded urns in 2006, CEO Clint
Mytych said the Yankees have attracted the most customers. Two other
sports leagues also may be added to Eternal Image’s future roster, he
said.
At a time when the funeral industry is focusing on the celebration
of a life, rather than mourning a death, the baseball caskets are
enlivening a typically grim experience.
Galante learned of the coffins in June when he attended his
grandmother’s funeral at The Branch Funeral Home in Smithtown. Branch
co-owner John Vigliante told Galante about the coffins that were slated
to hit the market.
“I said, ‘Hey, the first day you get them in, let me know. I’ll be
planning my funeral,’ ” Galante recalled. He pre-purchased his casket a
week after Branch received its first shipment last month.
Since then, the Mets and Yankees coffins have been a hot topic of conversation among clients, Vigliante said.
“They may feel like, ‘For me, that’s too much. But maybe for Uncle Joe, he would love this,”’ he said.
The velvet-lined caskets are made of 18-gauge steel with exterior
white ash wood accents — the same wood used in major-league bats. Logos
adorn the outside shell, as well as an inside panel and pillow.
Mike Coutu, 23, who lives on Long Island and works in the Financial District, said he’d consider being buried in a Mets coffin.
“I know my roommate from college would be all for this,” said Coutu. “He’s a huge Mets fan, too. He would definitely do it.”
When shown a photo of the coffins, Yankees fan Alex Duque said the
caskets weren’t for him but conceded that other fans would welcome them.
“That’s totally extreme,” said Duque, 31, of midtown. “But I guess if that’s how you want to go out … why not?”
Speaking of graves....
Visit baseball-fever for pics of Shea going down.
The began dismantling the loge yesterday. They are working from Left Field.
http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=83432&page=74
Not for the weak...
-Doug