I'm a Mets fan. I want the Mets to win the World Series for the next twenty years. They tend not to.
Sometimes I'm seen at Yankee Stadium. I even have a partial ticket plan at both stadiums. Yes, I spend money in the Bronx. Horrified?
I know for a ton of Mets fans you have to wish death upon the Yankees. I don't.
The Yankees only matter to following the Mets six times a year, and every 50 years they show up to face "us" in the World Series. My choice for the 2000 series would have been Mets in 4. It didn't happen. My choice in every subway series game: Lets Go Mets.
There's still 156 other games. You can hate. I root. Yeah I said root.
I live in New York. It's more interesting and better television for me to have the Yankees be good. It makes my use of sports radio more interesting. It's better reading in the Post. It gives me stuff to write about and things to talk with friends about. The Mets spent last week doing nothing and not signing Manny, so I followed the A-Rod & Torre stories.
Sometimes, on a random Wednesday night in August if the Mets are down 17 to nothing and SNY goes to commercial, I even change the channel. I know you don't Mr. Die Hard Mets Fan. You sit and wait for the 18 run rally that Willie Randolph just knew was coming (otherwise why else would he chase losses and use the bullpen the way he did? - but I digress). I switch over and see what's going on, and often come right back to listen to Keith Hernandez rip lousy baseball.
When the Yankees played in the series in 2001 I was there. Game 5 was the best baseball game I've ever been to. The Brosius home run gave me the same rush that Tom Seaver did when he walked in from right field on opening day 1983.
I went to the final game at the Stadium. I'm a baseball fan. It was a cool event.
My Met friends gave me a hard time back then, and I told them that they'd be the first ones reading (a madeup book I called) "The Jeter Yankees by Mike Lupica." I got the title and author wrong, but they are all reading Torre's book now.
So I don't hate the Yankees. Yeah they have a lot of steroids up in the Bronx. I'm not convinced that the Mets have dodged that bullet.
The Yankees can go 156 and 6 for all I care, just make sure the six are against the Mets. Go ahead, hit the comments button, call me names. I just choose to enjoy baseball in New York.
www.metspolice.com
