New Yorkers wished for an October Yankees and Mets meeting since it failed to happen last year.
From the beginning of preseason play people started buying subway tokens and gathering the 4 and 7 train schedules.
During the regular season subway series in which the Yankees won four of six games, one unanswerable question circulated the five boroughs: will there be another Mets versus Yankees game this year?
It seemed improbable in the midst of September. Both teams faltered and had daunting playoff schedules. Nevertheless neither wanted to disappoint the New York fans. The Mets wanted a rematch to redeem themselves and the Yankees wanted to continue their domination from the last millennium.
Well, the hopes and fears of every New Yorker have been answered. For the first time since 1956, two New York teams will be competing for baseball’s crown jewel.
Meanwhile, the intercity series will create a rift bigger than the short-lived Hillary Clinton and Rudy Guiliani Senate race, for New York sports loyalties are stronger than political ones.
“I think that this series will split some families,” Yankee manager Joe Torre said during a press conference after Tuesday’s clincher.
Baseball should be a staple of every American’s upbringing, after all it is the great American pastime. Pastimes should not cause family strife. Since when did a World Series turn into a rivalry comparable to the civil war?
Echoes can be heard on the East Hill. It was inevitable that the Mets-Yankees rivalry should rear its ugly head since a large contingent of the students at Cornell are drawn from the greater New York area.
After the Yankees ensured the subway series last night, it appears every one on campus readied their Met or Yankee paraphernalia according to their preferences.
Walking onto Ho Plaza this morning showed that allegiances have already been established. Cornellians are donning their war paint: blue and orange or pinstripes. I thought that a West Side Story-esque rumble would ensue.
I witnessed three fights, all on the way to my first class.
The first was a heated debate over which stadium, Yankee or Shea, has the better sound system. Who cares?
Next a Mets fan charged that the Yankees are only in the World Series because George Steinbrenner spends more on payroll than any other team. Guess what, the Mets have the fifth highest. I suppose that the Mets’ payroll has no correlation to their achievements.
The third fight almost became violent. The two people were bickering over whether Roger Clemens intentionally hit Mike Piazza in July. The Mets fan threatened the Yankee fan: “If Clemens hits another Met…”. The Met will get on base, not much else will happen.
As New Yorkers draw sides, the rest of campus hopes that someone will drop a bomb from the GoodYear Blimp during one of the games (preferably at Yankee stadium) obliterating the chance for another subway series.
“I’m afraid of what a subway series would do to this campus,” one Cornellian commented. He continued to mention that he would lock himself in his room until the hysteria subsides.
As usual New Yorkers are more interested in being the center of the baseball world for two weeks than the playing on the field. Hopefully the City will stand after the series ends.
Be careful what you wish for.
Archived article by Amanda Angel