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The 7 Line Army is a group of fans of the New York Mets started in 2012 by Darren Meenan, the founder of The 7 Line, a company that makes Mets-themed apparel and is named after the 7 train of the New York City Subway, which stops at Citi Field. They occupy the Big Apple Reserved section of Citi Field during Mets home games. The 7 Line Army also attends numerous Mets road games, sponsoring outings which attract more than 1,000 fans. This includes an annual trip to Yankee Stadium when the Mets play their crosstown rivals the New York Yankees in what is called the "Bronx Invasion".
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The first outing was the final home game of the 2012 season, September 27. Meenan had the idea to try to host a group outing. He began by purchasing 100 tickets in the Big Apple Reserve section, and then when they sold out, he purchased 100 more, and then 100 more. In the end, he sold 550 tickets to the game. The Mets played the Pittsburgh Pirates and R. A. Dickey earned his 20th win, on his way to winning the 2012 Cy Young Award.
Beginning in 2013, The 7 Line Army filled the 860 seats of the Big Apple Reserve. From there, Meenan began to plan full schedules each year including home and away games. Tickets were sold on The 7 Line website and often sold out quickly.
For each outing 2012 through 2015, ticket prices included a customized t-shirt. The July 14, 2014 outing was a fundraiser for a Met fan undergoing cancer treatments. T-shirts said "Love for Luke." The 2015 Atlanta roadtrip t-shirt said "Met Fans Have More Fun." The t-shirt for the last home game of each season said "Loyal to the Last Out."
In 2016, The 7 Line Army offered a season ticket package for 500 fans. Membership included an authentic jersey. Fans customized jerseys with the name and number of their choice. The remaining tickets for individual games were sold on The 7 Line website and t-shirts which mirrored the jersey design were made available.
The 7 Line Army Record
2014 included 7 games at Citi Field and outings to see the AT&& Park in San Francisco, Marlins Park in Miami, Citizien's Bank Park in Philadelphia and Yankee Stadium in New York.
2015 included 9 games at Citi Field and outings at Yankee Stadium in New York, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Turner Stadium in Atlanta, Camden Yards in Baltimore and Coors Field in Denver. When the Mets won the division, The 7 Line Army was present at every home post-season game, including the Worlds Series against the Royals.
2016 included 14 games at Citifield and outings at Petco Park in SD, Miller Park in Milwaukee, two outings to Nationals Park in Washington, DC, and the 4th annual "Bronx Invasion". In 2016, the Army attended both subway series games at Yankee Stadium, instead of just one.
Mets players have noted the effect The 7 Line Army has when playing on the road. “It almost felt like we were playing at home, the support the fans are giving us at other ballparks, it feels real good," said pitcher Jacob deGrom. In 2017, The 7 Line Army was featured in a video game, MLB The Show 17.
Road trips
The 7 Line Army has visited the following ballparks: