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Tuesday October 24, 2000

The Out of Towner

Written By: Rick Reilly
Taken From: cnnsi.com


The wife and I moved our family to New York City for the fall so we could experience firsthand the thrill of rude cashiers, cabs that smell like a goat fry and the $19 tuna sandwich.

So we've had a front-row seat to the tension in Gotham lately, with elbows flying in grocery lines, mothers slamming their strollers into each other and half the populace screaming at the other half. And that was before the Subway Series.

Folks in the rest of the country see this World Series as the government versus Microsoft. They don't care who wins as long as a whole lot of New Yorkers suffer. But having studied the Mets' and the Yankees' fans, it seems to me there are some basic differences.

For instance, I've noticed that Mets fans occasionally take the peanuts out of the shell before eating them. In addition, many of them are from families who've been walking erect for two or more generations.

Mets fans are a paper-napkin kind of crowd. Yankees fans prefer their shirts, in the rare event they're wearing them.

Mets fans worship their heroes so devoutly that Mets players find it difficult to leave the house. Yankees fans worship players whose prior felonies make it illegal for them to leave the house.

There haven't been many, but Mets fans take great pride in each and every pennant their team has won. Yankees fans take great pride in each and every pennant their team has bought.

Mets fans enjoy the everyday food of the city -- a delicious hot dog from Gray's Papaya, maybe an egg cream or a street-corner knish. Yankees fans like beer.

Mets fans worship an odd mascot with an XXL head known as Mr. Met. Yankees fans worship an odd mascot with an XXL head known as Mayor Giuliani.

In big games Mets fans pray for another home run off the bat of 32-year-old legend Mike Piazza. In big games Yankees fans pray for another home run off the glove of 12-year-old legend Jeffrey Maier.

After wins at Shea Stadium, Mets fans love to celebrate to the beat of Who Let the Dogs Out. Yankees fans make visitors ask the same question. In fact, Mets reliever John Franco wouldn't let his eight-year-old son, J.J., wear his jersey to Game 1 at Yankee Stadium for fear it would cause trouble. But Yankees fans don't mind jerseys. It's Mets hats that they steal off heads and set on fire.

Mets fans root for outfielder Benny Agbayani, who once tossed a live ball into the stands. Yankees fans root for infielder Chuck Knoblauch, who once tossed a live ball to first base.

The hardest three-year stretch for most Mets fans was from 1977 to '79. The hardest three-year stretch for most Yankees fans was third grade.

A good question to ask Mets fans is, "Do you think manager Bobby Valentine will be back next year, or will he leave for more money?" A good question to ask a Yankees fan is, "Is this the stop for Yankee Stadium, or should I go screw myself?"

Put it this way: Mets fans are diehards, Yankees fans throw DieHards.

Mets fans take advantage of New York's unsurpassed array of cultural treasures, including art museums, opera houses and Broadway theaters. Yankees fans like beer.

At Shea Stadium, Mets fans get used to the wind blowing in from leftfield. At Yankee Stadium, Yankees fans get used to the wind blowing out from the owners' box.

Mets fans seem to be ethnically diverse, with a fan base that includes African-Americans, Asians and Eastern Europeans. Yankees fans have also gotten used to sitting behind poles.

Mets fans use their cell phones during games. Yankees fans use the phones in their cells.

The language of Mets fans can be a little coarse, sprinkling the occasional f word into conversation. The language of Yankees fans can be a little coarse, too, sprinkling occasional conversations in with the f words.

All in all, I'd say Mets fans seem to relish the honor of winning after years of sweat; of standing by their team because it's their team, through feast and famine; of wearing their old, frayed Mets hats past all the bandwagons and Senate candidates in the crisp new hats of the easy team to root for, the soulless one, the corporate one.

Yankees fans like beer.

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