A tale of two teams
Recently I stumbled across a friends picture on Facebook and they were wearing a Mets hat. Now, if they were a Mets fan then it would be great. This person swears to be the biggest die-hard Yankees, I bleed pinstripes, Yankees are Gods type of fan yet was wearing a Mets hat because they wanted to “blend in” at Citi Field. Honestly, that’s a bunch of horse sh**. Anywhere I have gone to see a game I was wearing my Yankees gear including Fenway Park. You couldn’t pay me to wear a Mets hat. They also wear it to Mets games because their significant other is a Mets fan, and it supposedly “makes them happy” and there is no difference because the “Mets suck anyway who cares”.
Separate incident, I was at Starbucks a few days ago and I saw a friend of mine sitting outside drinking coffee so I went over to say hello… Another one wear a Mets hat. They claimed that their Yankees hat was wet from sitting in the rain at the game the night before. Well, either wear a different hat or don’t wear one. Furthermore, why do you even own a Yankees hat? “I wear it when my company goes to Mets games.” What? Really, another bunch of B.S. that makes no sense to me.
In my world you are either a Mets or Yankees fan, you are not both. You do not root for both when they are not playing each other. If the Yankees are not in the playoffs I would root for whoever is playing the Mets on principal since their fans are such a**holes. Same thing if you are a Giants fan around here, you do not ever root for the Jets. Ever.
Now, what I want to ask you guys is this: Where you live, if there are 2 MLB teams can you be a fan of both? I know perhaps some places might be different although it seems like in California the Dodgers and Giants fans hate each other (rightfully so if you ask me). Anyone think being a fan of both teams is possible? If you are a fan of two teams within the same state I would like to hear about it.
Don’t get me wrong, if you like a bunch of teams or players from all over that’s cool. I love a bunch of random teams/players and have a bunch of different shirts I like to wear representing my favorites. Not one of them is a Met.
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not really the case with your friends, but I know about 15-20 people who have gone to professional games in Philly, New York, Cleveland, Oakland, and San Diego. In each case, they saw fans wearing "rival" jerseys. hats, etc get physically assaulted. Anything from the hats being stolen, to the jerseys being ripped off the people wearing. Some really great video for someone like me who has never seen a game to see. My personal fave was the Philly fans throwing their beer on a family of four wearing Mets jerseys. The kids were maybe 10?
If/when I go, I'll be wearing home team colours…
Violence is rampant at stadiums. Until that ends… you'll see more and more of the "fake" fan
as far as Chicago goes; you are either a north-sider (Cubs) or a south-sider (White Sox) fan. Never knew or heard of anyone as both. It is all about how (and where) one was raised. Go Cubs Go !
I don't hate Night Owl or GCRL. 🙂
I'm a big Giants' fan. I had a sick feeling in my stomach when Gibson hit that home run in the '88 World Series. I still feel the pain of watching Rick Monday hit that home run in game 5 against the Expos in 1981 (we were watching it in English class). But it's fun to see the replay of the Joe Morgan home run that knocked the Dodgers out in 1982.
Last week one of my students had taken his hat off and had it on the floor next to his desk. A girl walked by and accidentally stepped on it. She apologized to the young man. I said to her, "Don't worry–it's only a Dodgers hat." Hopefully the guy didn't get too mad at me. 🙂
Rivalries are fun as long as they don't get out of hand.
There is no way you can wear the cap of your rival and be that into the sport you are watching. I just don't think that it is possible. If you're that passionate about the sport, then you will respect the rivalries and have allegiances, and know the history, and all that.
There are real reasons behind why fans like the teams that they do. To me, the teams take on personalities and philosophies. There is a Red Sox personality and philosophy and a Yankees personality and philosophy and they are not the same. You can't be both. You can't be a Democrat and a Republican, you can't be an athiest and believe in God, you can't be a Red Sox and a Yankees fan. It's an impossibility.
I like the Red Sox. I DO NOT like the Yankees. I tolerate the Mets. But I rooted for them in the 2000 World Series, because they played the Yankees. I love the Dodgers, which logically means that I believe the Giants are pathetic.
By the way, I cringed over everything that Matt R. just said. Nice guy and all, but totally misguided 😉
I am a baseball fan and a Chicago fan. Typical allegiances are determined by geographical proximity. Cubs = Northside, Sox = Southside. I am from the Western Suburbs. I don't have to pick. I cried in 2003 (Bartman) and drank champagne in 2005. I consider myself bi-Soxual and know a handful of people that root for both also. Thay said, I am definitely in the minority.
I understand what you're saying Canuck, but I will never wear anything other than Yankee items at a game that features the Yankees.
On the other hand, I may my Kapler Milwaukee shirt or Kouz PAdres shirt, but that's because I like the guys.
I've worn Yankee stuff at Fenway and have gotten into several altercations.
I'll do it again.
F the METS!
I have grown to respect the White Sox somewhat, will always despise the Cardinals with the force of a thousand suns, and will never stop bleeding Cubbie blue. Back in the day when my little brother liked baseball, we had a Cubs fan (me), a Sox fan (my dad), AND a Cards fan (my brother) living under the same roof. I guess it is no wonder things used to be so volatile back in the day, lol.
The Chicago sentiments are correct for the most part. The die-hard Cubs and Sox fans are just that, die-hard. However, I know, and have seen many bandwagoner's jump on board when either team is winning. (although those times are few and far between).
It's the same way with Hockey. You can't be a fan of both PA teams. To be so would be blasphemous. You can't be a fan of any of the NY teams collectively either. I haven't experienced the CA team spirit directly but I am sure it carries forward there too.
At the Metrodome, Fox Sports has a segment called "Circle Me Bert," where Bert Blyleven will circle fans between innings who have clever signs. Every game, one fan is selected as the Fan of the Game for their sign, and they win $100 worth of Minnesota Lottery Tickets.
When the Yankees visited here this year, my girlfriend, sister and I went to the game – my sister and I wearing Yankees jerseys, my girlfriend in her Twins jersey. The GF brought along a sign that read "Circle Me Bert – Look Who I Have To Sit Between" with arrows pointed off at my sister and me. We were selected as fan of the game, and were highlighted on TV that night.
To be on TV, we were brought down to the front row in leftfield to be interviewed and shown on TV. These insecure Twins fans went nuts, yelling at the guy interviewing us that it's a crime that Yankees fans were fans of the game and people started throwing stuff at us. I physically turned my girlfriend around and pointed at her jersey and told the group of losers that she was a Twins fan, pointing out her jersey. The rest of the game, I went back and forth with the most insecure fans Minnesota has to offer, and thought for a bit that I would wind up in a fight.
Funny thing is, the Twins aren't a rival – in fact, they're my #2 team behind the Yankees, and I was back at the Dome that weekend for the White Sox series wearing my Mauer jersey. But I'll never be afraid to support the Empire in the Metrodome, just because local fans get their panties in a twist.
Hey, if Bert Blyleven decided to feature us, shouldn't Twins fans accept that?!?
Seriously, there is no law saying you have to wear baseball paraphernalia to a game. If you happen to go to the home stadium of a team that is not your favorite, you do have the option of just wearing something neutral, especially if your favorite team is not playing there.
When I had the chance to go to Yankee Stadium to see a Yankees vs. Rangers game, as a decided Yankee despiser, I wore a green shirt, no baseball cap, and didn't make an ass of myself by loudly rooting for the Rangers. I had a fine time.
In the Bay Area, nobody really seems to care which side you're on for baseball. I've been to a couple of local interleague games, and nobody really seems to care, as long as you do pick a side.
The only confirmed way to look like a dork is to wear any of the occasionally produced combo gear. A black/orange/green/gold melange just makes a person look like they sew their own clothes together in the dark.
The only action at AT&T is in the arcade or bleacher sections, where comments get made usually about Oakland's 4 world championships vs. SF's zero, though that's irrelevant to some extent since neither has won anything since the Earthquake.
Counter-points also get made about steroid usage, since both clubs have cheating poster boys that span three decades.
Competing chants of "Let's go Giants/Oakland" also duke it out at the same time, which are fun to watch. Giants fans are notoriously sedate, aloof or distracted, but they come to life a little bit when there are A's fans visiting.
When Giants fans go to Oakland, they've typically been their quiet distracted selves, but this year was some exception. These days it's not hard to outnumber the A's fans in their own park, with the "meh" assortment of players they've put on the field the past couple of years.
There are more Giants fans than there are A's fans, but A's fans, on average are more enthusiastic and die-hard, though they be fewer.
Now if we're talking football, you really have to go out of your way to get harrassed at a Niners game these days. There's no real rivalry anymore, since there's no LA team, and anyone in the division is just not good enough to hate.
However, going to an Oakland game is just as scary as it looks on TV. I went to a Raiders-Dolphins game, and my Dolphin-fan buddy wore his jersey. He got verbally abused non-stop for three hours, and then had beer dumped on him (twice) upon leaving the stadium. He's lucky he left without actual bodily injury.
I think it's a good thing that the Niners and Raiders practically never play each other outside of the meaningless pre-season. I think some fans wearing red would just flat-out never be heard from again if they went to a game in Oakland.
"I swear, Bruce just went out for a leak and a beer in the second quarter, and I never saw him again…"
I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. Brooklyn and Queens were Mets Fans and the Bronx and upstate were Yankee fans, and never the twain shall meet.
Yankees = The Evil Empire
I don't think you can and its far far worse with hockey.