Ahh, the Subway Series. A beautiful time in which New Yorkers, or at least New York baseball enthusiasts, can gather and express each other's true feelings about their cross-town rival. As a matter of fact, there is a certain mystique ore surrounding the Subway Series. It's kind of an odd experience because, well, why the hate? The Yankees and Mets play a total of four whopping games amidst a 162 game schedule, and are hardly relevant to each others success or failure. The answer is quite simple, yet can be complex to understand if you're not from the area. So let's take a deeper look at to what makes the Subway Series so unique.
The rivalry between the New York Mets and the New York Yankees has dated back to the Mets' inception in 1962, but never reached quite a climax until the pinnacle of New York baseball fandom arose. A Subway World Series. A cross-town rivalry, for all the marbles. This happened at the turn of the new millennium, as the Yankees clashed, and ultimately bested the Mets in five games, to capture their (at the time) 26th World Series Championship. This truly was the climax of the rivalry, but it is the more subtle things that make it what it is.
The Yankees are a franchise dedicated by winning. They do so, a lot. 27 times as a matter of fact. It's more than any other professional sports franchise in North America. The expansion club based in Queens, otherwise known as the Mets, haven't seen such success, winning a modest 2 World Series rings. However, these traditions of winning, and losing, have defined both fanbases. It's the classic "little brother" versus "big brother" scenario. Both teams have captured the heart and pulse of New York, as seen with the Yankees and their dynasty in the late 1990's as well as the Mets recent trip to the 2015 World Series. These dynamics within fanbases is what makes the series so fun, and what makes attending such a treat.
Yankees and Mets fans go at it, a lot. They don't like each other too much. The Yankees and their fans perceive the Mets as almost an embarrassment to the rich tradition of success in New York, while the Mets and their fans perceive an arrogance from their Bronx counterparts that they, and many baseball fans, simply cannot stand. So whether a game is at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field, you're likely to see a split 50-50 crowd cheering on their clubs while bashing the other. It's what makes it fun. And at the end of the day, it's all just for four games of the year.
