Second Class Citizen? I Think Not.

After the Mets beat the Yankees the other day, Jerry Manuel made a point that beating the Yankees is sweet because the Mets are the “second team” in the city. He was once the manager of the White Sox and equated the Mets situation to their’s and the Cubs. Now I don’t know Chicago all that well, but I see his point. The Cubs are this celebrated franchise. A team of lovable losers. The White Sox are the tough, working class team who were primarily a joke for 40 years until the 90’s when they started winning division titles and in 2005 they won a World Championship. Being in New York, I see things differently. Especially being on the inside of things. The Yankees are the constant winners with a ton of history and with everyone in their mother’s number retired. The Mets grew out of the wake of the Giants and the Dodgers. They came up from the working class fan base. But they also had a long history of baseball knowledge that was handed down to the younger generation of Mets fans. National League baseball in a National League town. When the Mets were created in 1962, they drew more fans than the World Champion Yankees. They would draw more fans until the Yankee resurgence in the late 70’s. The 80’s belonged to the Mets and they would continue to draw more fans until 1996. This latter day Yankee attendance, 4 million a year, is a new found thing for the team from the Bronx. As little as 15 years ago, George Steinbrenner kept threatening to move the team to New Jersey because no one wanted to watch a game in the Bronx at night. The Mets always drew. They still do. 3.5 million tickets already sold this year. But if you watch ESPN or listen to the pundits speak, you would think the Mets are not a big deal.

I find that to be false for a few reasons. First, lets look at the media. Tell me the days when WFAN get their most listeners and most callers? When the Mets are doing something wrong. Tell me which non-league associated single team blog gets the most hits? Metsblog. In this year, where both the Mets and Yankees are sputtering, which team has dominated the headlines? The Mets. All of this says a few things. The Mets fans have a larger group of fans that are passionate and not only care but are knowledgeable about the team. They are willing to consume any product that is discussing their team. The Yankee fans (not all of them) are primarily front runners and casual fans. Going to Yankee Stadium has become the in thing to do. It’s a status thing. How do I know this? Because in 2006 and last year these same assholes showed up at Shea, stuffing their fat faces and leaving in the 7th. Now I am not denouncing the true Yankee fan. Those guys know their shit, they are arrogant as hell, but they know baseball. But for years, the true Met fan outdrew the true Yankee fan. You throw 4 World Championships and 15 playoff seasons in a row on things, let’s just say they now have fans who couldn’t distinguish Dave Winfield from Luis Polonia.

Secondly, I look at baseball knowledge. If you sit in the upper deck at Shea, you are bound to hear some assholes, but you are also going to get yourself a pretty good lesson in baseball. The fans in most areas of the ballpark (except in the places rich people sit) have a knowledge of the team and of the game. They know situations. They will talk or yell about strategy. They know the players strengths and weakness. They also know the opponents strengths and weaknesses. If you don’t know something ask it, you will get an answer. I equate Yankee Stadium to a soccer stadium. It definitely has a tremendous atmosphere. The roll call, when heard in person, is definitely one of the cooler things to experience. The Cotton Eye Joe and YMCA is not. The crowd is boisterous and they are there for the event. The problem is, except in the bleachers, most of the fans are not baseball fans. They are Yankee fans. It is a difference. If you were to make a remark about someone else’s player you are bound to hear two things. He sucks. You suck. And then probably something about his free agency and whether the Yankees can sign him. You don’t hear strategy. You always feel like you are waiting for a home run. Now part of it is the American League lineup, but the other part of it is that these are not baseball fans. They don’t care about keeping score. They are not thinking about a pitcher’s pickoff move or a catcher’s arm. About infield and outfield positioning. You go to Shea and you hear endless conversation about where Carlos Beltran positions himself in Center. He plays too deep! But he gets into the Gaps! That is never even thought of over at the Stadium.

My last point involves the 1986 Mets. Understand something, I know that is the one championship won in my lifetime. I get that it means something. I also know it happened 22 years ago. The Yankees have a 26 Championships including 6 in the last 30 years. The Mets have 1969 and 1986. 2 Championships. But if David Weathers or Grahame Lloyd walked into a restaurant in New York, no one would even look at them none the less buy him a drink. If Rick Agularia walked into a bar he gets a drink. If Roger McDowell comes in he gets a steak dinner. My point is the Yankee fan does not revere its championship teams the way the Mets fan does. They love Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Tino and Bernie as well as Paul O’Neill. But those are the stars. They also won 4 titles. Their love is an accumulated love. The Mets fan remembers everything about 1986. Tim Teufel, Kevin Mitchell and Ed Hearn mean as much as Keith, Carter, Straw and Gooden. And the city remembers everything about that team too. All the partying. All the curtain calls. All the winning. And a lot of the what might have been. When Doc Gooden threw his no-hitter for the Yankees, the city cheered. Strawberry was loved by Yankee fans as was David Cone. Ex-Mets and winners. Why were they loved so much by Yankee fans? Because those same Yankee fans were Met fans in the 80’s. They are front runners.

I guess my point in all of this is to say that the Mets are not the “other team”. They are not “THE” team either. New York is a true two team town. New York is also an event town. The Yankees have provided more events over the last 15 years. But the true undercurrent of the town is the Mets. When the Mets are good there is an extra electricity. When the Mets are bad or underperfoming the anger is more palpable. It comes from the working class. It comes from the knowledgeable baseball fan. It stems from the grandparents and parents that grew up rooting for the Giants or the Dodgers. It is because New York is really a National League town. Throw the front runners on top of that undercurrent and things get really special when it is good. If your team draws 3.5 million people they are in no way second class. There is a great misconception that Mets fans are sitting there worried about the Yankees. Envious of the great team. Am I envious of the championships? Yes, I’d be lying if I said otherwise. Do I spend all my time worrying about them? Absolutely not. Knowledge is sometimes mistaken for caring. I know about the Yankees. They are a baseball team that plays in my town. Do I care for the Yankees? Hell no. I hate them. But my hatred does not consume me. I am a Met fan. I care for my team. I am not a fan who cares more about the Yankees losing than my team winning. My fandom is borderline psychotic but it is also healthy. I root for and love my team. I know many many people who feel the same way as I do. No matter what the Mets manager thinks.