I felt I should let a little time pass since the loss last week by the New York Mets to the Kansas City Royals in the “World” Series. The time to perhaps let my sense of disappointment drain out from what had been a reservoir of hope. The time also to see the emerging outlines of a remarkable season of over-achievement by the Amazin’s and to appreciate family traditions.

Watching Game Four of the Series at Citi Field with my wife and son — my daughter had better Halloween plans after attending the Cubs series — I recalled how excited I had been as a 10-year old boy to see the 1969 Mets win their first World Series. Not that I got even close to old Shea Stadium, as my father was born five years before the first World Series was played in 1903 and, in any case, had little interest in the sport.

In their 53-year history, the Mets have been to the World Series four times and have won twice. That first time in 1969 they were joined by two of New York’s other teams, the Jets in football and the Knicks in basketball. I am perennially grateful that the heavily favored New York Rangers hockey team failed to win the Stanley Cup that year, as life for a sports-addled 10-year old could never been so great again.

When I was 10 in 1969, World Series games were played during the day, and that generally meant that I had to endure Fifth Grade Geometry while awaiting a scoring report from the school’s friendly custodian. By Game Three, I could no longer contain myself, and brought my then new Zenith portable radio to class and ran the flesh-tone monaural earpiece wire up my shirtsleeve. As you might imagine, this sleight of hand was no match for our Pythagorean teacher. My radio got confiscated, but the Mets nonetheless beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-0 that day.

My children, accustomed to watching baseball in HD on a big screen, or at worst via MLB.com or SlingMedia on their iPhones, cannot imagine what it was like to twist a rotary dial to tune in a game – although they still understand the importance of avoiding the confiscation of technology by teachers. More importantly for their father, it gives me greater satisfaction than even a Mets repeat of their 1969 win to sit with my kids in the stands of Citi Field and form memories that they can share with their children.

The “World” Series may only include the US and Canada, but the power of sport is universal.