Can you be a Mets' and Yankee's Fan?

[baseball junkie]

I hope a moderator won't move this thread to the Yankee's or Mets' section because I think it is more of a general baseball question -- especially because it is centered in one of baseball's bastions.

Before I started graduate school I was a reporter and sat right next to an editor who was a die-hard Yankee fan. Between yelling at each other over stories and other assorted nonsense, we occasionally talked baseball. He held the firm assertion that a person can not be a fan of both the Mets and Yankees.

I disagree. Coming from New York, I grew up a Mets' fan but I grew to appreciate and even like the Yankees. To my editor this was blasphemy.

What do you think? Can a person be Mets' and Yankee's fan at the same time?

[Greerman29]

no.

we have the same problem in the bay area.

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

I seriously don't care.

Don't like em.

Mets always get a big name(see Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Paul Loduca) and they NEver win anything.

As for the Yanks, a salary cap would knock them out!


Who's for the salary cap?
Competition is good.

[ArealBASEBALLfan]

Mets and Yankees is like Cubs and Sox
Can you be a fan of both the teams
NO!

[baseball junkie]

I'm for a salary cap. The Yanks were best when there were developing and keeping their own prospects: Mariano Rivera (Future Hall of Famer); Derek Jeter (Future Hall of Famer); Andy Petitte; Jorge Posada.

Not to mention Nick Johnson, Eric Milton, Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, all Yankee farmhands that were traded for big-money free agents.

Funny how the Yanks have stopped winning World Series since they started buying up every slugger they could get to sign on the dotted line.

[KingJ]

Mets always get a big name(see Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Paul Loduca) and they NEver win anything..

Delgado and Lo Duca have yet to play a single game for the Mets, you can't use them as an example for the Mets not winning.

[wilkerson_rulz-06]

I'm for a salary cap. The Yanks were best when there were developing and keeping their own prospects: Mariano Rivera (Future Hall of Famer); Derek Jeter (Future Hall of Famer); Andy Petitte; Jorge Posada.

Not to mention Nick Johnson, Eric Milton, Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly, all Yankee farmhands that were traded for big-money free agents.

Funny how the Yanks have stopped winning World Series since they started buying up every slugger they could get to sign on the dotted line.

The Yanks look lost now.
Just look at Nick Johnson, tearing it up in Washington.
They are still searching for a 1B.
Giambi will DH.
The biggest mistake ever: YOU TRADED AWAY NICK JOHNSON!

[nmadd]

Ugh. Nope. :crazy

[LarrySC]

I don't see any reason that a true baseball fan can't be a follower of more than one team.

[nmadd]

I don't see any reason that a true baseball fan can't be a follower of more than one team.

Who's saying that you can't?

If you don't like both the Mets and Yankess you are not a true baseball fan? :noidea

[Jake83]

It matters the situtation in Chicago I do not see it happening because there is a huge difference bewteen Cub and White Sox fans in the socio-economic sense in Chicago. In NY and LA the differences are just based on geography

[Yankee Legend]

Though i do think that you have to be a fan of one, i know that my best friend is both a yankee and a met fan.

Now someone who is both a yankee and a red sox fan thats absurd.

[runningshoes]

I know people who are fans of both teams in a few cities..it's not as unusual as some of you seem to think.

[KingJ]

Any Yankees and Red Sox dual fanships out there? ;)

[Toy Boat]

Sorry, your editor was right. It is blasphemy. ;) I never got the concept of rooting for two teams anyway. It's kinda akin to going out with two girls at once. Yeah, it might be a little fun at first but you'll never have as good a relationship as if you stick with just one. And rooting for both the Mets and Yanks is like dating two girls who are neighbors and want to claw each other's eyes out every time they see each other.

[charlesblalack@yahoo.com]

I hate the Yankees. I pull for the Mets every year to win the NL East. The Mets aren't "my team" but I'm a fan and I like any sports team more than the yankees.

[Spiritboxer]

Yankees forever but the Mets have an interesting, exciting team right now and I'll be watching. Plus with Willie Randolph managing it's hard not to care a bit and wish them well for his sake.

[Yankee Legend]

Mets had an "interesting, exciting team" before last season too. And look what happened to them. There still in that same hole in 4th or 5th place. Honestly I dont trust delgado and beltran was a mistake. The Mets should have gone after starting pitcher. Because glavine is getting old and Benson and Trachsel aren't reliable enough. Besides Pedro they really dont have another good starter. And look at all the prospects they traded away to get these guys???

So in essence the Mets traded potentially good prospects for high priced "big names" and your claiming the Yankees are the only ones who do that???

Oh and by the way, if the Yankees get rid of all their prospects for free agnets then how come they used guys like cano, wang, chacon and small frequently this season???

[Yankee Legend]

And lets not forget that skeleton they signed for 2 years.

This is Julio Franco getting at bat:

"Ok, I'm walking to the plate now. Walking to the plate now..."

...5 hours later...

"Walking to the plate now. Almost there. Ow!!!! I broke a hip!!!!"

[BasEbaLlKnoItAll]

Though i do think that you have to be a fan of one, i know that my best friend is both a yankee and a met fan.

Now someone who is both a yankee and a red sox fan thats absurd.
Agree with you on the yanks/Sox thing there.

I myself am a DIE-HARD Yankee fan, but I have no problem sitting down watching a Mets game and rooting for the Mets as well. ONly time i'm not rooting for the Mets is Subway Series, whether it be regular season or World Series. The way I see it, im too proud of where I come from to hate a team that bears the name "New York", so my answer is yes.

[Edgartohof]

Sorry, your editor was right. It is blasphemy. ;) I never got the concept of rooting for two teams anyway. It's kinda akin to going out with two girls at once. Yeah, it might be a little fun at first but you'll never have as good a relationship as if you stick with just one. And rooting for both the Mets and Yanks is like dating two girls who are neighbors and want to claw each other's eyes out every time they see each other.

Reminds me of this one time... nah just kidding :laugh

I am not the biggest fans of either team, but as I love baseball, I have even learned to have an appreciation for all team - even the Yankee's. Of course, I am several thousand miles away from there, so I don't deal with people who may wish for me to receive bodily harm for doing so. Oh and I like the Red Sox as well.

Of course, that is different than being a die-hard for both teams - in that case, those people are crazy - I am just a far-off admirer of ALL teams, and a die-hard Mariner's team.

You can like all the teams out there, but you do have to have a favorite!

[Mattingly]

I would never describe myself as a Mets fan, but I can say that I've known several Mets fans who were far more than the "root against the Yanks every October" type. Some do know the history of their team, are aware of several Dodgers and Giants players of yore (as in pre-1958), so for those, I will always have a strong degree of respect.

I could never find myself wearing a Yankee cap and a Mets jacket, since everyone I know of in the NY/NJ area would ask, "Well, which one are you?" So I'll take the team of Yogi, Munson and Reggie over that of Seaver, Agee and Carter.

I think it's OK for me to wish that the Mets do well every year. Now that Omar Minaya's going for broke with all the free agents, all while tearing up top billing in the back pages (sports headlines on the back of the NY Daily News & NY Post), it could be interesting.

It'll give Mets fans more reason to cheer if they do well, but I'll still favor my Yanks first and foremost. I'll just keep a pleasant eye on the cross-town rivals. :)

One more thing: as to the poll question, it's Mets "blue & orange", not just "blue". You see, they got the Blue from the Brooklyn Dodgers' royal blue and gray, and the orange from the NY Giants' "orange and black". :D

[steveox]

Well im an orioles & Baysox fan.Does that count? I can never root for the nats.I bleed baltimore orange,Black and purple n black

[efin98]

Any Yankees and Red Sox dual fanships out there? ;)

Would a Red Sox and Mets fan suffice? There's three in my family:laugh

[stlcardsfan73]

Simple. You can't be a Mets and Yankees fan. You can't be a Giants and A's fan. You can't be an Angels and Dodgers fan. You can appreciate the other maybe, but not be a fan of both.

[steveox]

Can you be a Sox and a cubs fan?:D

[rockin500]

Can you be a Sox and a cubs fan?:D
not in my opinion you cant.

i have a better shot of being the president of the US than of liking the sox. while i may like certain individual players on the sox (rarely) the team as a whole no way.

[mojorisin71]

No man can fully serve two teams, for he will love one and despise the other.

I'm a fan of the game first, and a LA Dodger fan second. The rest are just teams I occasionally observe.

[steveox]

Well i never heard sox and cubs fans ever fight in wrigley field or in comiskey park in interleague game.And Yanks and Mets fans seem to get along fine in both parks and in oakland and in san fran for that matter.The only time youll see bloody fights is when red sox and yanks fans visit each other parks.The samething goes on in dodger stadium when giants fans go there.Orioles fans do fight only when yanks fans come to baltimore.Thats when youll see 1,000 baltimore city police officers in camden yards everytime the yanks come in there.

[BasEbaLlKnoItAll]

I would never describe myself as a Mets fan, but I can say that I've known several Mets fans who were far more than the "root against the Yanks every October" type. Some do know the history of their team, are aware of several Dodgers and Giants players of yore (as in pre-1958), so for those, I will always have a strong degree of respect.

I could never find myself wearing a Yankee cap and a Mets jacket, since everyone I know of in the NY/NJ area would ask, "Well, which one are you?" So I'll take the team of Yogi, Munson and Reggie over that of Seaver, Agee and Carter.

I think it's OK for me to wish that the Mets do well every year. Now that Omar Minaya's going for broke with all the free agents, all while tearing up top billing in the back pages (sports headlines on the back of the NY Daily News & NY Post), it could be interesting.

It'll give Mets fans more reason to cheer if they do well, but I'll still favor my Yanks first and foremost. I'll just keep a pleasant eye on the cross-town rivals. :)

One more thing: as to the poll question, it's Mets "blue & orange", not just "blue". You see, they got the Blue from the Brooklyn Dodgers' royal blue and gray, and the orange from the NY Giants' "orange and black". :D
Good Post, I would have to say im very much like that. Wouldnt catch me wearing a Yankee hat and a Mets jacket or something, but I still root for both teams, but mainly the Yanks.

[mojorisin71]

This reminds me of all the Giants/A's caps I saw in the Bay Area back during the 1989 World Series. It's ridiculous.

[steveox]

I wouldnt wear orioles & nats hats NEVER!!!! :evil

[nmadd]

Double post. Sorry.

[nmadd]

And lets not forget that skeleton they signed for 2 years.

This is Julio Franco getting at bat:

"Ok, I'm walking to the plate now. Walking to the plate now..."

...5 hours later...

"Walking to the plate now. Almost there. Ow!!!! I broke a hip!!!!"

:laugh

The best 47 year old player in the league. :)

[Indylavi]

I don't see why you can't be a fan of both teams. I'm a baseball fan. I don't dislike any team per se. I'm interested in good games. That doesn't mean I don't keep up with the players or their stats. Anybody can keep up with a single team and their stats. It takes a real geek to keep track of the whole MLB :cool:

[digglahhh]

Well, this is a more complicated question than it seems.

The Yankees are not a direct rival of the Mets. They beat us in the 2000 Series, but they had the clearly superior team. I have harbor no ill will toward the Yankees as an intrinsic function of my Mets fandom. Some people think that hating the Yankees makes them more of a "true" Mets fans. Unrelated! I don't root for the Yankees, but I don't really get any added sense of pleasure (beyond the normal reaction to a Davidian slay of Goliath) when they lose, because I happen to be a Mets fan.

I find arrogant and uninformed, bandwagon Yankee FANS, more annoying than the actual team. I know people who claim to be Yankee fans, yet I watch twice as many Yankee games as they do.:noidea

One thing I can't stand is the misconception on the part of Mets fans that the organizations have a significantly different business model. Compared to one team the Mets are a small market team, compared to all the rest, they are a bully who swoops in and offers big dollars for other teams best (and often worst) players.

By the way, in 1986, the Mets had 4 of ten highest plaid players in the league. They outright released George Foster in mid season, and he had the biggest contract in the sport.

[FatAngel]

Usually, as a fan, you know the teams of your hometown best - why not appreciate the accomplishments of the other team of the city ? Respect also contributes to better rivalries, I think.

[Mr. Met]

I have no problem with Torre, Jeter, Rivera & company. They are a class bunch and I wish them well. I see no purpose in rooting against a team simply because they play in the same city as my favorite team. I root 'for' teams not 'against' them. The only time I root against the Yankees is when they play the Mets.

[LouGehrig]

One cannot be a Yankees fan and root for the Mets, just as one cannot be a Yankees fan and root for the Red Sox.

But in the old baseball tradition, going back to 1901, which was the year I saw my first game, or at least when, as a baby, I was taken to my first game, the National League and the American League were at war.

Today, the leagues are losing their identity.

If the Red Sox won the pennant, and they did in 1967, and in 1975, and in 1986, American League fans rooted for the team that represented their league. Therefore, as a Yankees fan, I found it quite logical and natural to root for the Red Sox to win the WS, which they did not do those three times.

The best season is one in which the Yankees win the WS.
The worst season is one in which the Yankees lose the WS.

The Red Sox cannot beat the Yankees in the World Series and create a worst Yankees' season. The Mets can.

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

I can not see why one can not root for two or more teams. I am rooting for three teams myself. Mainly the Yankees, but also the Braves (except during the 1996 and 1999 WS) and the Mariners.

I still have no problem with that. :gt

[Toy Boat]

I find arrogant and uninformed, bandwagon Yankee FANS, more annoying than the actual team. I know people who claim to be Yankee fans, yet I watch twice as many Yankee games as they do.:noidea



Yeah, that's the one thing that bothers me the most is all the bandwagon fans. Before any Yank fan gets on me, I know every team gets them and it's natural that the Yanks have the most because they've been the most successful team in recent years, but it's still very annoying. I worked with a woman who was a "big Yanks fan". When I said I was a Mets fan, she said, "oh I liked them in the '80's". ARRGH!! Stick with one team and be done with it! I've always said you can split the NY fanbase into thirds : 1/3 Mets, 1/3 Yanks and 1/3 will root for whoever is doing better.

[digglahhh]

TB,

Exactly, where were those "big Yankee fans" in the Mel Hall years, oh yeah, in Queens- at Shea.

Bandwagoneers are the worst. I have much respect for the true, devoted Yankee fan, it seems as if they are the minority though.

[LouGehrig]

We are. I will NEVER again set foot (or any anatomical part) in Shea Stadium. Even when we played them in the WS, I did not go there. Ask no 0.25 and give no 0.25.

[Mattingly]

One cannot be a Yankees fan and root for the Mets, just as one cannot be a Yankees fan and root for the Red Sox.

But in the old baseball tradition, going back to 1901, which was the year I saw my first game, or at least when, as a baby, I was taken to my first game, the National League and the American League were at war.
I'm curious, that can't be right. You'd have to be at least 105 right now.

[Toy Boat]

I'm curious, that can't be right. You'd have to be at least 105 right now.

:laugh I thought the same thing when I read that, but just assumed it was a typo. It would be pretty cool if its true.

[zaxxon]

There are Yankees that I like, individuals, like Rivera and Joe Torre. But no, of course you can't be a fan of both if you're a fan of either. You don't back a team just for the ball they play, there're extra-baseball elements, the history of a team, it's traditions, it's tendencies, its soul. Without them Seinfeld is right, and we're just rooting for laundry.

[Joe Simbam]

There is no way that you can cheer for two teams in one city or area. The reason I didn't cheer for the White Sox in the World Series is that I am a Cubs fan. When (a big if) the Cubs win the World Series, I do not want to share any of the victory with Sox fans. Where is the fun in being able to shift sides or pick and choose?

The word fan comes from fanatic: a person motivated by irrational enthusiasm (as for a cause); "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject"--Winston Churchill. A casual fan can cheer for both, I guess. The only acceptable way a person can cheer for two teams is if they move. Say I moved to KC or something. I would go to and support the Royals. But I would still be a Cubs fan. Geography is the only way to allow this idea to work. :grouchy

[digglahhh]

Not rooting for, and actively rooting against are two different things.

It does not make you any more hardcore of a fan for one team to root against another team that is not a direct rival of yours.

Now if you asked, can you be a Mets fan and a Braves fan....

[Mattingly]

:laugh I thought the same thing when I read that, but just assumed it was a typo. It would be pretty cool if its true.
Consider me faulty on the elderly, though I've always had the highest respect for them, but that many words from someone of that age? I'd hardly think so.

I think it's OK for me to have the Mets almost like my 2nd team, hoping that they do well, but I can't whoop and cheer whenever Pedro fans the side or when Piazza got a game-winning RBI in the past.

If anything, it's more about knowing a part of baseball history, and since they're the local NL team, they're worth watching. Going back to Tom Terrific and his treatment by then-GM, M Donald Grant, that's a part of NYC sports history.

[hairymon]

I am a fan of both teams in the sense that I would like to see them both do, well, but I think there does come a point where a line is drawn and you have to be a fan of one over the other.

In the Subway Series (either the planned regular season one or a rare World Series like 2000) you obviously cannot root for both to win. In this sense I am more of a Yankees fan and have been most of my life.

But if the Mets made it to the World Series and the Yankees didn't I'd certainly want them to win. In 1986 I was in college in a college that had a healthy representation of people from both New York and Boston and believe me, if nothing else, civic pride and naturally Yankee-fan hatred of the Sox made me a rabid Mets fan that year.

I think a good point was made that Sox-Cubs are more determined by socio-economics whereas Yankees-Mets is more geographic (though until the 1970's I think they were socioeconomically defined also). My parents are both from Brooklyn but lived in the Bronx and Westchester when I grew up; they are kind of the exact converse of me, they want both Mets and Yankees to win, but if push came to shove like in 2000 they would go for the Mets.

There are also some people like my wife who are lifelong "Yankees only" but because she wants Willie Randolph to do well now at least likes hearing when the Mets win.


Go New York!!!!!