Citi Field is finally feeling like Shea Stadium

For six years, New York Mets fans waited for Citi Field to sound like Shea Stadium.

Tonight, it did.

42,996 blue and orange diehards packed into the stadium opened in 2009 to watch Yoenis Cespedes make his Mets debut, Jacob deGrom #deGrominate the competition, and New York fend off the first place Washington Nationals.

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For the first time in a long time, there is legitimate hope. And not only for the future, but for now as well.

The team’s lineup — from top to bottom — is as potent when healthy as nearly every other lineup in the big leagues. If Mets GM Sandy Alderson can sign Yoenis Cespedes long-term, the team can potentially have a dangerous middle of the order — and not just now, but for years to come. Coupled with Lucas Duda (when hitting), Travis d’Arnaud and David Wright (when healthy), and Curtis Granderson and Wilmer Flores, the run support woes the rotation has endured will likely evaporate.

And speaking of the rotation, the Mets own the best young crop of starting pitching in the league. DeGrom has done a phenomenal job in his new role as ace of the staff, Noah Syndergaard is on his way to a Rookie of the Year caliber 2015 campaign and Matt Harvey is utterly dominant. That’s not even giving due credit to Steven Matz, who was superb in his first couple of starts, and Zack Wheeler, who provided glimpses of greatness before needing Tommy John surgery at the start of Spring Training.

While deGrom certainly didn’t have his best outing of the season, Lucas Duda delivered when the club needed him to, and guys like Wilmer Flores, Daniel Murphy and Curtis Granderson played sound defense en route to the team’s biggest victory in nearly seven years.

Fans stayed in their seats; actually, it was the first time in a long time they had a reason to this late in the season. The passion and intensity displayed by the Flushing Faithful cannot be overlooked.

“If they will win, they will come.”

It’s a good time to be a Met fan.