It was Oct. 3, 1951 all over again.

That helpless feeling encompasses you as your team loses, the other team wins and the lovely lead disappears game after game. The N.Y. Mets, who were leading the league since May 2007, are now tied for the lead with the Philadelphia Phillies. It happened so gradually. (Written before the game played on Sept. 30, 2007).

I was a Brooklyn Dodger fan(atic) since I was 12 years old. I state with no doubt that they were the most charismatic team in baseball over the last 60 years. Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, Don Newcomb, Preacher Roe and Carl Furillo were my heroes.

In July 1951 they were 13-1/2 games ahead of the N.Y. Giants, Willie Mays and his Giant teammates kept shaving the lead. At the end of the season, the huge lead was gone and the Giants won in a three-game playoff. Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca were the final protagonists. The Thomson home run was the final blow that sank the Dodgers and their huge army of fans.

Was it possible to go on living after the Dodgers lost?

It was, but with difficulty!

The N.Y. Mets of 2007 were also very charismatic.

David Wright (third baseman) was the All-American Boy. Jose Reyes, a great shortstop and base stealer, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado were sluggers and Billy Wagner, with his supersonic fastball, made the team unbeatable.

And then they started to lose!

Errors and lackadaisical play happened game after game. Billy Wagner was no longer invincible. Losing to the Phillies was now reality. Being swept by Philly and other low-ranking teams lessened their seven-game lead.

Soon it was Oct. 3, 1951 all over again.

On Sunday Sept. 30, 2007, it was do or die.

The Met fans were at a low ebb, but forever hopeful.

Can an old Dodger fan survive another defeat?

This column is being written before game time on Sept. 30. Old wounds are opening! What will be!

The results are in. To paraphrase F.D.R. "Oct. 3, 1951 and Sept. 30, 2007 are days that will live in Infamy."

A 17-year-old boy and a 73-year-old man have lived through seasons of utter disappointments.

Quote Yogi Berra, "It was déjà vu all over again!"