October 25, 2004
Memo To Boston Fans
In the waning moments of New England's 13-7 victory over the visiting New York Jets, the CBS Sports cameras panned the crowd to show a fan who was gleefully carrying a sign emblazoned with, "Who's Your Daddy?" the derisive chant that Yankee fans greeted Pedro Martinez with when he pitched in New York during the ALCS.
Then, perhaps just an hour ago, a friend of mine here at the office who is a Red Sox fan stopped by to tell me how he tortured Jets fans at a bar yesterday, asking them: "How does it feel to have to eat a s*** sandwich twice in one week?"
To which I replied: "I'm a Mets fan, so I wouldn't know."
Back in 1986, I never got more grief for wearing my New York Mets jersey than I got from Boston fans. As far as they were concerned, I might as well have been wearing pinstripes.
So, in the interest of "coaching up" the best educated state in the country, here's the geographic lowdown on New York sports.
In general, you will find fans of all teams in every nook and cranny of the New York Metropolitan area (though I've never found a Devils fan anywhere except New Jersey). With some exceptions, battle lines are generally drawn this way:
Old School: Yankees, Giants, Rangers: Not a surprise, as these teams are the old New York stalwarts. If you were a football fan, you were a Giants fan. Hockey, it was the Rangers. And with the Giants and Dodgers breaking for the West Coast after 1957, it shouldn't be a surprise that the Yankees are still the strongest sports brand in New York. Though you will find fans of all three teams everywhere, their traditional areas of strength are Manhattan, Northern New Jersey, and the suburbs North of the Bronx.
New School: Mets, Jets, Islanders: Both the Mets and Jets started playing in the old haunt of the baseball Giants, the Polo Grounds, in the late 1950s (for the Jets) and early 1960s, but soon relocated to Shea Stadium in the Flushing neighborhood in Queens -- the easiest spot in all of New York City for folks from Long Island to get to (anyone who has driven on the Belt Parkway knows I speak the truth). Even after the Jets took off for New Jersey in the early 1980s, they still kept their training camp at Hofstra University on Long Island -- right across the street from where the Islanders play at the Nassau Coliseum.
So when a Patriots fan asks a Jets fan, "Whose your Daddy?" don't be surprised if he thinks you're an idiot.
ERRATA: Knick fans are everywhere, with support strongest in the city. The Nets used to play on Long Island, but they're a Jersey thing now (unless they move to Brooklyn), just like the Devils (who may be less popular in their home state than the Rangers). As for the MetroStars, folks in New York complain about having to visit relatives from New Jersey, so you can just guess how often they drop by for a Soccer match.
CORRECTION: Thanks to reader puckcat for pointing out that the Jets actually began play in the AFL in 1960 as the New York Titans (playing off the Giants, bad idea). The team name wasn't changed to the Jets until Sonny Werblin purchased the team in 1963.
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I think you misspoke. If you're a mets fan, then you've been eating s*** sandwiches for the better part of the 2004 season.
Posted by:
at October 25, 2004 01:44 PM
Sorry,but the Jets did not play in the Polo Grounds in the late 50's. The inaugural season of The American Football League was 1960 and the New York Jets were then named the New York Titans and played in the Polo Grounds.
Posted by:
at October 25, 2004 02:49 PM
I find it particuarly amusing to hear Red Sox fans delivering the same ridiculous pompous taunts to Yankee fans that New Yorkers have been laying on Bostonians for years. It's like Sox fans believe this is their right because of the abuse they've taken from Yankee fans.
I am of the belief that fans should put sports in perspective. In the grand scheme of things, sports are about as important as this post I'm typing right now. I've never understood why fans feel so compelled to taunt and beat the living hell out of each other (literally) over sporting events. Sox fans are being hypocritical by giving the business to New Yorkers. Bragging rights mean jack.
The fact us sports fans invest so much of our emotions and self-esteem in our sorts teams in fascinating to me. I'll never forget the stories from Sox fans last year after the ALCS.... lost sleep, personal depression, crying after the loss, etc. I used to cry when my team lost as a teenager, but for grown men and women to become involved in this type of activity is frightening.
Sports are meant to be enjoyed, win or lose. There's no shame in being on the edge of your seat, but to let the game possess you to the point where your very well-being and personal self-esteem hangs in the balance is over the top.
Posted by:
at October 25, 2004 07:40 PM
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