London series is further evidence the Mets should move overseas

Over the weekend, the New York Mets broke new ground in the league's ongoing pursuit of global viewership, participating in the franchise's first-ever London Series. Splitting two games against the Philadelphia Phillies in the iconic London Stadium, the Mets surely earned a new fan or two (or several thousand).

According to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, the attendance for Sunday's series finale — a game the Mets won 6-5 over the first-place Phils — clocked in at a whopping 55,074 fans. That is the most at a Mets game since July 1... 2012.

That's right. The Mets haven't played in front of that many fans in well over a decade. If ever there was a compelling case for the Metropolitans to depart New York and absolve their tortured fanbase of decades of pain and suffering, this is it.

Attendance in London series is latest sign of Mets' waning fandom

To be clear, the Mets' fandom is one of the most dedicated and vociferous in all of sports. It has to be. Even with a more innately appealing and accomplished alternative rooting interest across town in Manhattan, Mets fans have poured blood, sweat, and tears into a perpetually disappointing franchise that seldom lives up to its titanic reputation in one of the world's most robust sports markets.

The Mets' last World Series win came in 1986. It has been almost 40 years since Mets fans were able to celebrate the ultimate victory. The New York Yankees, meanwhile, have reached the mountaintop five times since the Mets last won it all. To push through the pain, to stave off the temptation to flip sides and cheer for the Yanks. That is true fandom.

Still, it's getting harder and harder for fans to justify paying the entry fee at Citi Field. The attendance jokes write themselves.

The max capacity at Citi Field is 41,800 so, news flash, the London Series was always going to beat the Mets' attendance average. For it to garner more fans than any Mets road game since 2012, however, is a sign of broadening international interest in the sport. It's also a rather sobering example of the Mets' limited appeal in the States. Aside from Braves Country, not many fanbases are circling the Mets on the calendar. They are an afterthought in the National League — a long-running pretender.

It's not like the 55,074 fans in London on Sunday were all New York fans. There was a healthy portion of Phillies fans in the crowd, as well as neutral viewers just interested in engaging with a new sport. But, all the same, it was a new experience for this Mets group to play in front of such a packed house.

Until David Stearns and the front office can turn this ship around, the Mets probably won't surpass that attendance number for a while. Maybe for decades.