12 December 2008
The Endy of Irony
One of the more underrated aspects of the above photo is the incredible mis-en-scene achieved by the presence of the advertisement behind Chavez; it's as if the caption were already included in the photo. There are two intertwined ironies here: 1) the ad is for AIG, the foundering mega-insurer which has received around $150 billion in government bailouts, and 2) this photo was insufficient on its own to forestall AIG's collapse. Sadly, since Shea Stadium is no more, this ad, which attained a Citgo sign-like landmark status, at least for this Met fan, is likely no more as well. (I doubt AIG will be making the trip over to CitiField.) Hopefully they at least gave Chavez the opportunity to keep the outfield wall; he could put it up in the backyard or something.
