Mets start #ImAMetsFanBecause hashtag, Twitter hijacks it

Why are you a Mets fan?

That's the question the New York Mets' official Twitter handle posed to the online public Monday afternoon, asking fans to reply by hashtagging #ImAMetsFanBecause.

'We are #Mets fans but how we became a fan differs. Share who made you a fan w/#ImAMetsFanBecause & you could win tix,' the @Mets Twitter account tweeted.

We are #Mets fans but how we became a fan differs. Share who made you a fan w/#ImAMetsFanBecause & you could win tix. http://ift.tt/1r69yt7

- New York Mets (@Mets) September 22, 2014

Sure, it wasn't the most elegant turn of phrase, but the hashtag campaign seemed like a feel-good way to celebrate one of New York's most embattled sports franchises -- especially with the lure of free tickets.

Some fans embraced the hashtag, pointing to the Mets' 1986 World Series win:

@Mets #ImAMetsFanBecause 1986!

- Dani (@dbBBfan14) September 22, 2014

Or adorable family ties:

@Mets #ImAMetsFanBecause of my grandfather who worked for the @Mets from 1969-1986 #firsttolast #PatMcmahon http://ift.tt/1B4sU1H

- Paul Edward (@PaurkChop) September 22, 2014

@Mets #ImAMetsFanBecause I watched day games with my grandmother when she took care of me when I was a kid. http://ift.tt/1r69yJr

- Karendipitee (@Karendipitee) September 22, 2014

@Mets #ImAMetsFanBecause of my older brother who taught me the magic of the 69/73 Mets. I've passed it on to my sons and hope it cycles on

- Robert Nolan (@factor71_rjn) September 22, 2014

But then Twitter's snarky user base and the Mets' tortured, surly fan base began to intersect. The result was a quickly hijacked hashtag that highlighted the shortcomings of the poor, poor Mets.

@Mets #ImAMetsFanBecause I'm mentally unstable!

- Kevin (@KVP_10) September 22, 2014

.@Mets #ImAMetsFanBecause without the hurt, the heart is hollow.

- Robert Shields (@rshields37) September 22, 2014

Perhaps it's because Mets fans haven't gotten over collapsing and giving away the 2007 National League East title to the Philadelphia Phillies. Or because they lost the division again -- and this time watched their rivals to the south win the World Series.

It could be that they're not over losing the 2000 World Series to their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees. The Yankees, by the way, have won five World Series titles since that last glorious 1986 title for the Mets.

Whatever the reason, Mets fans showed that laughing at yourself really can be the best medicine.