L et me introduce myself. My name is Matt, I'm from Ardsley, N.Y. (just north of New York City in Westchester County). I'm a Mets fan, and I will be a Mets fan until the day I'm cryogenically frozen.
Being a Mets fan is part of my identity. I am strengthened by their successes and weakened by their failures. Needless to say, this past season was one of great strength, followed by depression and disbelief, and then a gradual return to stability thanks to the support and phone calls of many friends. Am I obsessive? Perhaps, but a passion for the Mets that burns with the white-hot intensity of 1,000 suns is a major part of my personality.
Coming to Boston and not being able to watch the Mets was a major adjustment (MLB Gameday just doesn't cut it), seeing as how I planned my meals, homework and social life around the Mets schedule. However, the largest adjustment, larger than eating in the dining halls or having a roommate or not having ESPN, was being surrounded by Red Sox fans.
Mets fans and Red Sox fans have an interesting relationship. Since the teams only play each other once every few years, there is the possibility of indifference towards one another. However, it is possible that the two sets of enthusiasts could form an amicable relationship because of a common enemy: the Yankees. I can't speak for all Mets fans, but my experiences with the Red Sox Nation have led me to sometimes dislike the Sox about as much as I loathe the Tomahawk Chop.
I assure you, I'm not a Yankees fan. I hate how they always make the playoffs, how they throw money at their problems and how the season is a catastrophic disappointment if they don't win the World Series. I feel like Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon both sold part of their souls by cutting their hair or shaving their beards before putting on pinstripes. I'm sure many Sox fans echo my sentiments.
But Yankees fans are, for the most part, pleasant to talk to. I can have intelligent conversations with them about baseball and watch Subway Series games with them in a competitive yet non-hostile environment. I'm not saying Red Sox fans are stupid or violent, but sometimes their opinions are a little ... one-sided.
For example, I lived with a Red Sox fan, named Rob, during a summer program at Georgetown University in 2003. Before then, I'd never really had any contact with a member of the Nation. I initially thought we'd get along because we could both hate the Yankees - this summer will be great! If not for the fact that Rob was possibly the most arrogant and annoying Sox fan I've ever met, that would've been true. I can pinpoint that summer as the time I began to harbor angry feelings towards the Red Sox.
For five weeks, I lived with "The Red Sox are going to win the World Series. They're unstoppable!" Well, the Sox were stopped by Aaron Boone, crushing the Nation's hopes once again (just like in 1986 with Bill Buckner - had to throw that reference in there) and Rob got his comeuppance in the form of a knuckle sandwich (someone else couldn't stand him either). I was quite pleased.
Might that experience have colored my opinion of the Sox and their fans? Maybe I should give them another chance. My angry feelings subsided into ones of neutrality ... then I came to Tufts.
At this point, I realized how deep the Yankee/Red Sox rivalry actually goes. Don't get me wrong, it's one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, but sometimes the Nation takes it a little too far. Forget the "Johnny Damon is a traitor for crimes against the Nation" shirts; I'm talking about the "Yankees Suck" chants. These chants break out at Celtics games, Bruins games, and even wrestling matches (yes, I like wrestling, and yes, I know it's scripted), all of which take place in the middle of winter. I want to say, "Fellas, how about supporting the guys on the court/ice/ring instead of jeering a team that won't be playing until the snow melts?" Instead, I just keep quiet and realize it just comes with being so deeply connected to the Red Sox.
Clearly, as the Nation demonstrates, there is much more to sports than just the game itself. Sports encompass so much besides the game being played, and that is what this column will look at - the other elements of sports besides the game itself. The atmosphere, the media, the fans and all the other non-athletes involved are just as important as the athletes playing the game, even if they don't chant "Yankees Suck!"
