Roddy Piper rallied Mets' fans when they trailed 0-2 in 1986 World Series

The great "Rowdy" Roddy Piper may no longer be with us, but many of his greatest matches and most epic professional wrestling promos will live forever.

The man had a way with fashion, first and foremost, walking to the ring every night wearing his customary plaid kilt. But it was his way with words that cemented his legendary status. His promos could talk wrestling fans into 20,000-seat arenas like Madison Square Garden, and they could rally a city, like he did during an appearance in New York on Oct. 20, 1986.

[Related: For the Mets to rally in the World Series, they need to start hitting]

With the Mets trailing the 1986 World Series 0-2 to the Boston Red Sox, Piper grabbed the microphone at MSG and turned the disgruntled boos of frustrated fans into overwhelming cheers as he reminded them their team still had plenty of fight left in them. Piper was right, of course, as the Mets ultimately overcame the odds in memorable fashion in Games 6 and 7.

To be clear, this was a kinder, gentler version of Piper than most old school wrestling fans may be used to. In years before this, the man voted as WWE's greatest villain would have happily joined the booing fans in kicking the Mets while they were down. Here though, his role called for something more positive. Roddy delivered, and then the Mets delivered.

It's amazing to relive this moment for several reasons, but mainly because these are the exact same circumstances the 2015 Mets face after losing the first two games of this year's World Series in Kansas City. In 1986, the Boston Red Sox knocked off Doc Gooden in Game 2 to seemingly take control of the series. This season, Kansas City won games started by Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom. The only notable difference is that this time around, the Mets get to come home to Citi Field, where the embrace of their fans will be felt on Friday night.

[Related: World Series Game 3: Five things you need to know before first pitch]

Looking back to Oct. 20, 1986, that wasn't the only iconic moment during Piper's appearance. Moments later, he would agree to partner with Hulk Hogan in a tag team match against Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff and Harley Race, marking the first time the on camera and backstage rivals would team up at Madison Square Garden.

The WWE is scripted drama, as everyone knows, but that entire segment served as a reminder that anything can happen in sports and in entertainment.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813