PORT STREET LUCIE — After a season that was decidedly less fun on the field, the Mets are trying to make games at Citi Field more fun for fans.
The Queen’s Crew is a 19-member co-ed dance hype team (approximately 10 perform on game day) that entertains before games and during game breaks.
The Mets aren’t the first MLB team to create a dance team, as Vice President of Brand Marketing Trisha Donlin studied groups formed by the Braves, Astros and Marlins.
But she also researched local dance groups that add to the atmosphere at Knicks and Nets games.
Although the sports are different, both have pauses during the match and different types of performances.
After an audition in January at Citi Field where about 250 male and female dancers competed, Donlin helped create what he believes will be a unique team representing Queens.
“I had to think about what makes Queens Queens and what makes New York New York,” Donlin said by phone Sunday. “So I thought about diversity, different performance styles, street dance. Look at the performers on the subway and the fact that along with Broadway we have the largest talent pool in the United States. All of that. It influenced the identity of this team.”
Led by head coach Gina Mormando, a choreographer and dance instructor on Long Island for more than 20 years, the team will perform before the game and between innings, including during the T-shirt toss and the stretch in the bottom of the seventh inning. is.
Sometimes dancers stand in the aisle and perform a freestyle routine rather than a choreographed one.
When rumors about this dance group reached social media, reactions were mixed. Some fans just want to watch baseball.
Donlin’s answer: Give them a chance.
“Of course there are some longtime fans who don’t want change,” Donlin said. “But we’re very optimistic that people will buy into this because this talent is really undeniable. This team will captivate you in a big way.
“It’s going to bring out the crowd in a big way. … I think the fans will see what we’re seeing as well.”
When a fan complained on X (formerly Twitter) about the need for a dance team in a sport without halftime, Mets owner Steve Cohen responded: Donlin said Cohen’s tweet was emblematic of how supportive Cohen has been throughout this process, noting that Cohen “asked us and the front office to think differently, especially when it comes to the fan experience.” ” he said. ”
Cohen and the Mets want to engage with their fan base and entertain them at Citi Field.
Winning would be helpful, but the match can also be seen as a performance, not just a competition.
“We wanted to honestly break the boundaries of traditional entertainment when it comes to Major League Baseball,” Donlin said of the group, which he hopes will “bring life to Queens.”
